Negotiations Begin

26 June 2006



Prime Minister Maliki’s Announced Plan is Just a Starting Point

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki went before the Iraqi parliament earlier today and outlined a 24-point proposal to end the Iraqi Civil War. The talking heads in the US got wind of it on Saturday, and by Sunday morning, the consensus was that the plan was dead-on-arrival. In fact, it is merely the opening bargaining position of a government that must negotiate to secure by talking what it cannot by fighting.

There is a willful stupidity in Washington that says the only solution to the problem is to “kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out.” In other words, peace will come when the last terrorist in Iraq dies a violent death. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A negotiated settlement is the only way to solve this mess because no side has sufficient firepower to win. Historically, this is alien to the American experience, but it is quite common throughout world history.

Prime Minister Maliki said, “The plan is open to all those who want to enter the political process to build their country and save their people as long as they did not commit crimes.” In Washington, the plan was laughed out of the talk shows, but the PM is trying to drive a wedge between Iraqi, nationalists who want the occupation to end, and the Fascislamists. He also offers compensation for bureaucrats of the Saddamite era for their lost employment, a return of people to their homes and compensation for losses suffered, and a large scale economic development plan to get jobs to those who need them and infrastructure to everyone.

As a nationwide solution, this isn’t going to work. However, it might bring a few thousand into the fold who weren’t there before. If it shows signs of success, other may join. Still others may object to certain points and offer better solutions of their own. Indeed, Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems start like this.

The plan doesn’t bring peace tomorrow, or even by the end of the year, or decade. Instead, it is the beginning of an elected government trying to come to grips with the problems it faces. It is the carrot, and the stick must continue to be used against those who want to turn back the clock in Iraq by 1,000 years or so. And just so no one is surprised, people who have killed occupation forces may get amnesty out of all this. That will be part of the price of peace.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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