Nothing so pleases the republican heart as the re-implementing of a failed policy. Times, many a failure required to prove them right.

Since I was adamantly opposed to our use of force in Iraq, I feel it is wrong for us to stay and continue to manipulate Iraq's poltical future.

Iraqis rightfully resist American interference in their business, as we would, if the position were reversed.

I fail to see how any further unilateral actions on our part will improve anything in Iraq and again propose that the UN be called upon to provide UN Peacekeepers to stabilize things and UN Special Advisors to help the Constitutional Drafting Committee come up with an acceptable ruling document that is fair to all factions. This cannot be done by America, the invader.

The UN would have been there with us if Busholini had not insisted that we have ALL the control over the economic developments in Iraq. BushCo will not feel we have acheived "victory" until the the oil leases are signed, giving American companies control of Iraq's oil. Soooo, we have to "stay the course" until Chalabi can "win" the election and "sign zee papers".

Why would anyone expect anything altruistic from this regime?

Your altruistic designs fail to take into account the MOTIVES of the Bush Administration, which have NOTHING TO DO WITH altruism directed towards the Iraqi people. The goal here is to LOOT the Iraqi assets, and establish a military presence in a strategically advantageous geographical position, from which to stage further military expansion. And, of course, to provide protection to Isreal, that is the TRUE driving force behind so many of Bush's neocon handlers.

Until we have an administration in place that has the best interests of the Iraqis in mind, ideas such as yours will NEVER be implemented. To advance such plans and hopes is surely laudable from a humanitarian viewpoint, but, (in light of the actions and motives of this administration), really amount to little more than intellectual masturbation.

You don't rain white phosphorous on the men women and children of a people you seek to better. You don't TORTURE a population you seek to embrace.

Great ideas Steve, but if you want to see them implemented, you're going to need to FUMIGATE the White House first.

"While I opposed the invasion of Iraq, once we crossed the line and became occupiers, it became hugely important to get the occupation "right". The only way occupations go well, in my view, is if the occupier creates a class of political and economic "winners" that become the backbone of the society that emerges and which are thankful for the role the U.S. played -- but also happy about the occupier's departure and the resumption of genuine sovereignty."

"We did nothing like this "

Pshaw...

Guided by Chalabi and Allawi, Medal of Freedom honoree Bremer's off the books disbursement of hundreds of millions were distributed along established tribal lines . . .
with significant amounts going towards tribal militias and private security forces,

Many of the naysayers, who of course hate America are now telling us these acts preclude, pre-empt any real chance of a National Iraqi Security Force ever standing up

so let' give credit, where credit is due

P.S. The Raw Story has a piece by the Daily Times that some Iraqis want Saddam Hussein to run for the office of president of Iraq. What a twist of fate that would be, if he actually won.

I wonder, if he did well in the polls, if we would stop the election the way we did in Vietnam when the US learned that Ho Chi Min would win 85% of the vote in a UN observed election

Talk about bringing the troops home is misplaced; first we need to bring Halliburton home. We need to give reconstruction cash to Iraquis on as local a basis as possible on the condition that it is accounted for in open fashion on the internet so that interested US taxpayers can see directly where their money is going. There are any number of off-the-shelf software packages available right now that would suffice and Iraquis certainly have the skills. If Halliburton is really the best for the job then the Iraquis can hire them, but it seems they managed to build schools, bridges and hospitals all by themselves prior to the occupation. Security? If they're investing their own time and effort in a local project they'll invest in protecting it themselves, too. Bring Halliburton home.

Come to think of it, open and transparent accounting of taxpayers money would be nice here, too.

since vitually 60-70% of monies spent on USAID projects flows back into the pockets of ex-pats as salaries and fees (consultants, project staff, contractors, sub-contractors, etc.), looking at $1.3B as going to iraqis is nonsense... in fact, looking at the amount the u.s. spends on foreign aid in any context without that percentage factored in presents a completely distorted picture...

I support your model of getting the most money to the Iraqi people. It, however, will not appeal to the tradional DOD suppliers who like the maximum billable hours to "develop a program."

The Iraqi stabilization model should be economic development along the lines of a bank that loans money and dispurses money to individual Iraqis and small Iraqi businesses.

The US needs to get moving with the $18B in reconstruction to build/rebuild the physical infrastructure (e.g., electricity) so the stabilization money functions as an investment and not the expense of a short term government welfare program.

The US cannot stabilize the Iraqi society, the Iraqis, with some of our money, have to do it for themselves.

My cynical side:
USAID - an opportunity for Bolton and some of his infamous cohorts of the past to get involved.

My real cynical side:
USAID - an opportunity to gather intelligence with goodwill economic facade.

Wow.......this takes me back to the War in Vietnam when I had a similar plan....we were spending equivalent billions trying to bomb the NVA back into the Stone Age, never mind that there were already there....seeing all that money and space-age hardware doing zip-shit, I came up with this idea.
Bomb the country with Sears, Roebuck catalogs and commissary script. Turn the Vietnamese into materialists and capitalist. Create a market for spare parts and repeat business.
All at a cost probably a tenth of the military cost.

'Course the SR ctatlog is no more.......

While I agree wholeheartedly that anything would be better than handing the next $1.3 billion over to a bunch of psychopaths who like to play shoot-em-up with Iraqi civilians, the fundamental problems that cripple America's engagement with the Middle East are firmly in place:

Even if the US were able to successfully bypass Allawi, Chalabi and even the local administrations that supposedly constitute Iraq's hope for a democratic future, who would the occupier talk to instead? How, in practical terms, would it be possible for the administration to appeal to a broader swathe of the local population? Also, consider how many different groups are jostling for power in any given location in Iraq at this point -- local militia, the minions of the central government, insurgents (both local and foreign), occupiers (both military and mercenaries)? Under these conditions, how could you possibly reach out to those that don't hold any power? How would you stop the local strongmen from just walking away with that money, immediately?

If the occupation was devastatingly successful in any respect at all, it would be the complete destruction of the pre-war society. The structures of civilian life have been completely eradicated and replaced with non-stop urban warfare. How to appeal to the decency of the former 'citizens' of Iraq in the midst of utter lawlessnes and urban warfare? The cultural, even linguistic gap between occupier and occupied is as wide as it's ever been. How do you reach out to a disenfrachised majority when you are being despised by 98% of the population?

"...some Iraqis want Saddam Hussein to run for the office of president of Iraq."

Can you blame them? Bad as Saddam was, Iraq was stable, the sewage and sanitation systems worked, they had electricity for more than two hours a day, health care was available, women's rights were protected, and, according to a UN report, when Hussein was overthrown, about 4% of Iraqi children under five were going hungry; now that figure has almost doubled to 8%.

Given the misery we have imposed on them, I can easily see why some Iraqis want Saddam back.

Bush's determination to democratize Iraq has been a disaster for BOTH of our countries!

Have you ever known the Bush administration to hand out money or contracts that fail to benefit the benefactors of Mr Bush?

Corruption to the core makes it nearly impossible for this administration to implement sound policy.

"Have you ever known the Bush administration to hand out money or contracts that fail to benefit the benefactors of Mr Bush?"

See numbers 9 and 13.

14 Signs of Fascism:

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes the media are directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media are indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

OT:

Bush pulling 75% of troops:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/ new...1898794,00.html

"...virtually 60-70% of monies spent on USAID projects flows back..."
Profmarcus, from what I know of recent US aid in South America I don't doubt it, but do you have a cite?

King George, for some odd reason, is against gun control. That no doubt explains his reticent in facing His Subjects without the threat of white phosphorus to rain terror upon the local populace. I also hasten to note that $162 is a reasonable price, at the local bizaar, for a Kalashnikov in good condition...

To put the upcoming $1Billion for 10 cities in perspective, the USG's Community Action Program (CAP) spent about $100Million this year on local stuff in cities and towns (this excludes the big infrastructure like power & water and includes stuff for municipal services like fire trucks and ambulances and garbage trucks as well as other "soft" local services). These funds were spent in 17 of the 18 provinces and in all five official "regions" of Iraq.

Here is the basic breakout:

· Northern Iraq and Al-Anbar Region: The NGO partner ACDI-VOCA in this region focuses on the conflict-impacted areas of the Sunni Triangle, Mosul, Kirkuk and the Iran-Iraq and Syria-Iraq border areas. 433 projects have been completed with over $29 million in project commitments.

· South-Central Region: The NGO partner Community Housing Foundation (CHF) in this region has established active Community Associations in the Shia'a areas of Najaf, Karbala, and Babil governorates. The program has been well received by local government and religious leaders. The NGO has completed 322 projects with project commitments of over $21.5 million.

· Baghdad Region: The NGO partner IRD has completed 522 projects through its Community Association in Baghdad. Income generation is an important emphasis due to the high levels of unemployment in the city. To date, 124 small business grants have been approved which will generate 550 long-term jobs, of which 31 percent will target females. Total project commitments are $22.3 million.

· Southeast-Central Region: Mercy Corps, the NGO partner has completed 179 projects and has over $16.7 million in total commitments in the predominately Shia'a areas of Qadisiyah, Maysan and Wasit governorates; the projects are addressing needs resulting from decades of governmental neglect.

· South Region: The NGO Save the Children has completed 625 projects through 138 Community Associations in which women's participation has averaged over 40 percent. Total project commitments are $21.9 million.

Realist Nation Builder

Total of "project commitments" above: $114 million and change. Amount spent on maintaining US occupation: between $4 billion and $6 billion per month. Wow, we're good.

ten Strategic Cities

Like 'strategic hamlets', only bigger....?

I say we pull out, and out of the $5 billion a month we're spending now we hand out $4 billion to the Iraqis.

We save a $1 billion a month, the Iraqis now have their own country and a per capita income of around $5,000 per family per month.

The new middle class created is happy and eating well, the 93% of insurgents (per Murtha) that are natives lose interest, and the trickle down economics creates a host of new jobs for foreigners to come in and perform manual labor, similar to Saudi Arabia. We might be able to organize Central Americans and relieve our illegal immigration problem at the same time.

Everyone is happy, and we have an extra $1 billion PER MONTH to spend on schools and roads.

Or perhaps we could just give the $1 billion directly to federal politicians and neutralize the efforts of lobbyists like the military industrial complex. That would by a lot of yachts.

I strongly approve of your proposal. It is amazing that we have managed to spend so much money in Iraq while convincing Iraqis to hate us.

I think you could have phrased "While the CIA lists that purchasing power parity per capita income in Iraq is $2,100, that figure is vastly inflated." better. The CIA figure divided dinar income by the price of a basket of goods in Iraq then multiplies by the price of the basket in the USA. This gives a much higher income than dividing by the exchange rate, that is, prices are generally much lower in Iraq. What you mean is that the purchasing power parity value of $162 converted in to dinar and spent in Iraq can buy vastly more than in the USA and is vastly more than Iraqi per capita GDP. Of course the simple thing to do, in principle, would be to look up Iraqi per capita GDP converted into dollars at the current exchange rate, but I don't know where to find that.

One other thing. Your proposal is not completely totally original. It was proposed by Michael Froomkin here http://tinyurl.com/3kjwl . He provides a dead link which used to show that it has also been proposed by "The Onion."

It is allarming that the policy proposals actually being implemented are so clearly and vastly inferior to those proposed in "The Onion."

Steve,

I wholeheartedly endorse your idea of doing something for the Iraqis that would show them “the other America” – one that represents humanity, magnanimity and some humility.

I would ask you, though, to think of a project that would appeal to their cultural sensibility. The Iraqi Arab intelligentsia is culturally among the most sophisticated in West Asia. In their third and fourth grades Iraqi children learn that they are heirs to a four great civilizations including the world’s earliest. A quarter-century of hardships from wars, trade sanctions and now foreign occupation and sectarian blood-letting haven’t really diminished their pride about their heritage. It’s this pride that makes Iraqi Arabs – including the Shiites whom America has liberated – resent the American occupation almost universally. I wonder whether a program offering financial rewards would be the best. In the 1990s I saw government employees in Baghdad, hit hard by economic sanctions, selling furniture and jewelry to put food on the table and yet refuse aid from foreign humanitarian agencies. So I would vote for some project that is big on cultural symbolism.

"perhaps we can begin improving the fiscal circumstances of a broad cross-section of Iraqis -- broadly distributed -- and not centralized in the clutches of thugs and city bosses."

Wouldn't that be ideal though? Problem is, thugs and city bosses is the sort of people these PNAC assholes run with and share money with...Bush and his buddies care not ONE DOT for you or I or for what is right. They have thier agenda and that is that. They have to all be cleaned out and JAILED.

I applaud your message which speaks to Naomi Klein's several articles on the economic problems in Iraq and how they are fueling the insurgency and popular support for it... however this is B$shco... so your ideas have about as much chance as the proverbial snowball in hell...

WANTED: PLAN TO STABILIZE IRAQ CITIES TO DEFEAT INSURGENCY. $1 BILLION AVAILABLE. INVITATION OPEN TO ANY TYPE OF ENTITY..(U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID))

Mmmm. This IS a tough one. My whole plan is two more pages but here is an executive summary.

Here’s my solution. Take away the reason for jihad. Just like when you call good customer service to complain, the company representative agrees with you and immediately deflates your argument. That’s what the United States does in the Mid East.

First let’s assume that it is a British billion dollars and not an American billion dollars (I mean as it achieves the goal I gotta get something out of this). Second that it is a cost plus contract--let's not quibble over small change when it comes to peace. Third, at this time of national import, equal opportunity will be waived. (It will still be cheap). This is a three year campaign. No Foreign entanglements. No outsourcing to other countries. Homegrown all the way.

Start by lobbying each and every federal legislator at $50,000/yr. for a single vote. (A lot of our elected have done it for less). Give every church headquarters $100,000/yr. for their quiet support and brotherhood on one issue. Give radio and TV advertising departments (no matter how small) $25,000 per station for their carrying (or not carrying) of advertising. (Not a lot of money, but a whole lot of non commentary and support when you need it) Give big time radio hosts during the time of the campaign similar to shock jocks and Rush what they need-- for example: girls in one case and pills in the other. This cost is negligible. Take the vocal TV hosts and spend PR money to discredit some in front of the masses, and big time pay off some of the others—provided they say what you want--the bigger the hair and the redder the lipstick the higher the check amount. Pay the most obnoxious media outlets to rerun then rerun some more “people” stories, crime, and red herrings like flying saucers or sea monsters. Build edifices in the largest ten cities in the most populous states. (Use big government contractors to do it) Pay an advertising agency to place false stories with the media—not fair I know, but we do it now anyway. Pay another ad agency to develop a dumbed down but appealing campaign. Promise newspapers they’ll come back and increase subscribers by threatening to censor TV. Tell TV producers that they can expect rewards for their immediacy and will guarantee scoops over other forms of media. Leak information from high government sources to "special" reporters. Award the formerly important Presidential “Medal of Freedom” to anyone in the way, and retire them with honors. (At what? $1,000, a dinner, a day's worth of press, and a handshake—laughing money) Pay fashion designers $100,000 and royalties to launch fashion for men using ogals, shumaggs, thoubs, and tagiyah’s. For the women stress the cool look of the hejab and campaign both fat and sexy women that the abayah with nothing underneath can lead to a new private sexual revolution. Stress that using this new system, parent/teenage battles dissolve because the respect of the child is GUARANTEED under penalty of death. Have Disney make a blockbuster movie about a lost camel and a wounded child (or vice versa). Have “Survivor” TV shows generate sympathy by way of a show in the Rub’Al Khali desert. You can expect a season of “Lost” and “The Great Race” too. At the same time of course people of the religion of Larry David and Stephen Spielberg will have to get the Medal of Freedom and be forced to withdraw “to spend time with their family”--but tell them it's for the good of the nation. Advise athletes that they want to “praise Allah” for their great game and that they just want to be a part of the team.

While all of this is underway call in the chit and require Congress (remember that single irrevocable vote) vote to make the United States a Muslim nation. Of course they’ll have to change the Pledge of Allegiance to “under Allah”, but here’s the beauty of that, that’s where paying the church’s come in. They did it once, they can do it AGAIN. Now the only real decision is to decide whether to be Sunni or Shia and we can do that by picking the one with the greater number in the world.

Now that we are all brothers and sisters in the countries of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, much of the Far East and the Pacific Rim there is no need for jihad. Wars over! Praise the Lord, opps, Allah. Bliss at last and only the cost of a wing of stealth bombers and maybe a Shuttle flight. Seriously, why hasn’t our brain trust thought of this? Why not use religion to create public opinion and support? After all, God is in all of us. Why, for a little compromise with a name we can have world piece.

Sorry, Steve................. Waaay too late for this. Should have been done within the first six months, certainly within the year. Wouldn't have been easy but would have been do-able. A full belly and a few dollars in pocket on a regular basis can achieve a lot more than tough-minded occupation covering a hidden agenda. Now, the damage is too great. Too many needless civilian Iraqi deaths, imprisonment, torture. Ambivalence/Hope about America has been replaced by resentment/hatred.

(P.S. I wonder if the above bookmark post is Dumbya's Favourite Sites post. Few words, lots of pictures...... Might even be that fake reporter's new website link's) Dimwit.