|  Goldy at HorsesAss reports that AL-02 candidate Cheryl Sabel has signed onto the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. You can download the entire plan at that link, but this is from the Executive Summary:
There are two strategic questions raised by our current dilemma:- How do we bring American military engagement in Iraq to a responsible end?
There is no military solution to the problems faced in Iraq: the real progress that can be made requires diplomatic, political, and economic means. We must stop counter-productive military operations by U.S. occupation forces and end our military presence in Iraq. - How do we prevent a repeat of the mistakes we've made?
The breakdown of checks and balances in our government led to bad decision-making which damaged America's national security. Ending this war and preventing future situations like it requires that we restore these Constitutional checks and balances and fix the ways in which our governmental, military, and civil institutions have failed us.
Discussions of Iraq in the media have focused almost entirely on military operations and issues, but any real solution will require us to look at a broader set of problems. Beyond redeploying our troops, we must place equal importance on applying the full arsenal of non-military tools at our disposal. The American public must also re-engage in the discussions and decision-making about how to proceed. What follows is a series of objectives that, taken together, refocus our current military involvement in the region while repairing damage to the U.S. to prevent a repeat of our mistakes. We have included some sample legislation currently in Congress to show that these objectives have been identified and can be addressed given sufficient political will. We have also included recommendations that the Baker-Hamilton Commission published in the Iraq Study Group Report. In some cases, no existing legislation or clear recommendations exist and new authorizing legislation plus careful planning would be required. Supporters of this document have committed to these objectives.
Finding a diplomatic, political or economic solution that gets our troops out of Iraq, stabilizing the region, restoring our Constitution, repairing our military, phasing out private militias, delivering on healthcare promises for veterans, rolling back media consolidation and ending our dependence on foreign oil are policy positions that should find broad support in Alabama. I'm glad Ms. Sabel picked this day, the 5th Anniversary of the start of this ill-conceived foreign war, to embrace the Responsible Plan. More power to her and may other candidates rally around her. Reward good behavior. Cheryl Sabel has an ActBlue page. Add .01 to your donation so they know it comes from the netroots. |
