Your opinion on this idea for Iraq is appreciated

[Greyhound]

The situation as I understand it is that most of those killing us are Iraqi insurgents that are pissed 'cause we are there, and a small number are the 'foreign terrorists'. The people of Iraq are suffering greatly because they're being killed by both (all) sides. They have astronomical unemployment and shortages of everything, except weapons & explosives. OK?
Here's my idea; We tell them "we need 90 days (or 180 or whatever is realistic) to pack-up our shit and leave. We will take all of the contractors and other foreign looters with us, as well as the puppet regime we've installed and pay you to take over the work you already know how to do. We will leave the equipment and provide any non-military assistance you explicitly ask for, such as technical advice, and raw materials, so you can get your infrastructure back together. We will try to get the UN or some other 3rd party to help you through the transition. If you stop blowing stuff up and killing us and each other we will be able to get out even more quickly".
It will be up to the Iraqis to;
a.) Form a representative government (another Dictatorship, Monarchy, or Theocracy is not acceptable), or governments if they need to form separate nations. The people must be free to retain or change this government at regular, pre-defined intervals.
b.) Secure your own borders.
c.) Kill or otherwise get rid of the terrorists, that we attracted here (sorry about that). Pledge to not produce or support terrorists in any way.
d.) Protect and pay any advisor's you invite in.

OK, start punching holes and let's see if we can make this workable.

[Kipling]

1. I foresee a problem with a): they might WANT a theocracy.

[Greyhound]

2. I'm pretty sure a significant number would

but that is the deal. You want us gone? No theocracy. BTW that doesn't preclude muslim rules, just no official religious government. That way when they elect a bunch of Mullah's, after 5 years (or whatever time-frame they use), the people will have the opportunity to change their minds.

[Alcibiades]

3. Kill or otherwise get rid of the terrorists

Iraqi President Kills, Otherwise Gets Rid of Terrorists

Baghdad (AP)

The newly elected Iraqi president, Mohummed Jihad Al-Talibani, killed, and otherwise got rid of terrorists in Iraq, a spokeswoman for the government said yesterday.

"He just waived his magic terror-destroying wand and did it," the spokeswoman said. "Yes, we have long, porous borders with several other middle eastern nations that harbor any number of terrorists. No, these terrorists are not readily identifiable and can blend in with the civilian population. Yes, the US government has been unable to get bin Laden, despite four years of trying. Thankfully, the new leader of Iraq has magical talents. Now, I must go report in to my husband."

[Greyhound]

4. Oh please, you think they don't know who's who there?

They are most proficient at finding and killing people, and with no homegrown insurgency the terrorists will stand out. Hell, they know who they are now, but as long as they keep killing us they are tolerated.
I also know and deplore the inevitable price the Iraqi women will pay, but with a constitutional right to vote it will change in time. It's not like it will be better for them if the current puppet regime is allowed to continue.

[Alcibiades]

6. Agreed

That: "They are most proficient at finding and killing people," which is to say that they will find people to kill. They may or may not be the right people.

I can see at least one situation wherein foreign terrorists will be able to stay with the full cover provided by the civilian population, namely if some sort of phony constitution is cooked up without real Sunni support. We could get a deal democratically endorsed by the majority of Iraqis, or even the majority of the Sunnis taking part in the constitutional process, that nonetheless fails to pass this test.

I agree that 70% of Iraq's problems will be solved by a US withdrawal. If we had not invaded, there would be no terrorists there. As long as they do want to stay, however, getting rid of them will not be easy, for us or the Iraqis.

Whatever regime that's on the ground in Iraq when we leave will be a puppet regime with no legitimacy. Though I appreciate the sentiment behind your plan, I'm not sure it springs from a sufficient appreciation of how things are so completely and utterly screwed up, in part because of us. We royally screwed up. I am really unsure any plan can reestablish anything we might call normalcy anytime soon. That's in part because what we consider normal is absolutely abnormal in the Middle Eastern context.

[Greyhound]

8. Yes, exactly. We screwed the pooch on this, and the best we can hope

for now is to get out, while leaving them with a viable country. If we allowed them to do the work (as opposed to the current gang of contractors/thieves), the unemployment problem would be nearly eliminated. Unemployment is one of the largest factors in causing unrest. Iraqis are, like most people around the world, hard working and just want the opportunity to take care of their families. Employed people don't riot, join partisan or terrorist groups, risk their families future by manufacturing IED's etc.
The Sunni - Kurd - the other name escapes me right now, problems are far older than the artificial country of Iraq. That's why I think letting them split up might be an option. Seems to me the major problem there is the oil, who gets how much etc. But, what about the prospect of getting us out of there? I think it would go along way toward unifying them, at least temporarily, to hammer out an agreement.

[Alcibiades]

9. Shi'ite (Or Shiite)

is the work you're looking for. They are followers of Shi'a, the second largest branch of Islam.

The Middle East is used to artificial political structures such as, say, the Ottoman Empire. I agree we need to get out quickly, but we should be realistic about the long-term prospects for peace and stability, which are not good, and we should remember that nation building is a difficult enterprise. It took us two tries to get it right.

I have no faith in any constitutional process we set up. A legitimate constitutional process cannot be set up by foreigners. I also think we can do more for the Kurds. For example, we pretty much conceded that the Kurds cannot have autonomy, but why? We made them give that up to the Sunnis and Shiites, but the Sunnis are the ones who are destabilizing the country in the first place. In other words, we gave up the dream of the Kurds for an independent Kurdistan for stability we have not got. Meanwhile the Kurds have been loyal to us, through thick and thin, and have organized the only political subunit of Iraq that is safe and free from terrorism. Screw Turkey, I say, and let's give the Kurds the freedom they deserve!

[Greyhound]

10. Agreed, and thank you.

I'm absolutely not saying this will create some kind of altruistic Republic, but self-determination will go a long way toward stability, and without our presence they may, in time, become real allies. If we would only admit our failings and let people run their own lives, they would hate us less.

[Greyhound]

5. No details, but this may indicate the possibility of a real constitution

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4415863

[BeFree]

7. It's a plan

And it's far better than the one the White House has cooked up.

Whatever we do, Iraq is gonna be screwed up for a long, long time. The longer we stay, the longer it will be before they get it together. We send money, lots of it, and nothing else comes from the US. Let the rest of the world physically help the Iraqis using our money.

We can be out of there in 90 days, and we should be out already. There is no other reasonable alternative. Bring our troops home, Now!