Defending the Truth

Seems lie this has a pretty good idea about what is going on. Here is his plan for Iraq: (Sounds pretty unwacky to me)

The Kucinich 12-Point Plan for Iraq
Introduced by Congressman Kucinich in the House of Representatives on January 9, 2007
1 The US announces it will end the occupation, close military
bases, and withdraw. The insurgency has been fueled by the
occupation and the prospect of a long-term presence as indicated
by the building of permanent bases. A US declaration of an
intention to withdraw troops and close bases will help dampen
the insurgency which has been inspired to resist colonization
and fight invaders and those who have supported US policy.
Furthermore this will provide an opening where parties within
Iraq and in the region can set the stage for negotiations towards
peaceful settlement.
2 US announces that it will use existing funds to bring the
troops and necessary equipment home. Congress appropriated
$70 billion in bridge funds on October 1st for the war. Money
from this and other DOD accounts can be used to fund the
troops in the field over the next few months, and to pay for the
cost of the return of the troops, (which has been estimated at
between $5 and $7 billion dollars) while a political settlement is
being negotiated and preparations are made for a transition to an
international security and peacekeeping force.
3 Order a simultaneous return of all US contractors to the
United States and turn over all contracting work to the Iraqi
government. The contracting process has been rife with worldclass
corruption, with contractors stealing from the US
Government and cheating the Iraqi people, taking large
contracts and giving 5% or so to Iraqi subcontractors.
Reconstruction activities must be reorganized and closely
monitored in Iraq by the Iraqi government, with the assistance
of the international community. The massive corruption as it
relates to US contractors, should be investigated by
congressional committees and federal grand juries. The lack of
tangible benefits, the lack of accountability for billions of
dollars, while millions of Iraqis do not have a means of financial
support, nor substantive employment, cries out for justice.
It is noteworthy that after the first Gulf War, Iraqis
reestablished electricity within three months, despite sanctions.
Four years into the US occupation there is no water, nor reliable
electricity in Baghdad, despite massive funding from the US and
from the Madrid conference. The greatest mystery involves the
activities of private security companies who function as
mercenaries. Reports of false flag operations must be
investigated by an international tribunal.
4 Convene a regional conference for the purpose of
developing a security and stabilization force for Iraq. The focus
should be on a process which solves the problems of Iraq. The
US has told the international community, "This is our policy and
we want you to come and help us implement it." The
international community may have an interest in helping Iraq,
but has no interest in participating in the implementation of
failed US policy.
A shift in US policy away from unilateralism and toward
cooperation will provide new opportunities for exploring
common concerns about the plight of Iraq. The UN is the
appropriate place to convene, through the office of the Secretary
General, all countries that have interests, concerns and
influence, including the five permanent members of the Security
Council and the European community, and all Arab nations.
The end of the US occupation and the closing of military
bases are necessary preconditions for such a conference. When
the US creates a shift of policy and announces it will focus on
the concerns of the people of Iraq, it will provide a powerful
incentive for nations to participate.
It is well known that while some nations may see the
instability in Iraq as an opportunity, there is also an even-present
danger that the civil war in Iraq threatens the stability of nations
throughout the region. The impending end of the occupation
will provide a breakthrough for the cooperation between the US
and the UN and the UN and countries of the region. The
regional conference must include Iran, Syria, Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Jordan.
5 Prepare an international security and peacekeeping force to
move in, replacing US troops who then return home. The UN
has an indispensable role to play here, but cannot do it as long
as the US is committed to an occupation. The UN is the only
international organization with the ability to mobilize and the
legitimacy to authorize troops.
The UN is the place to develop the process, to build the
political consensus, to craft a political agreement, to prepare the
ground for the peacekeeping mission, to implement the basis of
an agreement that will end the occupation and begin the
transition to international peacekeepers. This process will take at
least three months from the time the US announces the intention
to end the occupation.
The US will necessarily have to fund a peacekeeping
mission, which, by definition will not require as many troops.
Fifty percent of the peacekeeping troops must come from
nations with large Muslim populations. The international
security force, under UN direction, will remain in place until the
Iraqi government is capable of handling its own security. The
UN can field an international security and peacekeeping
mission, but such an initiative will not take shape unless there is
a peace to keep, and that will be dependent upon a political
process which reaches agreement between all the Iraqi parties.
Such an agreement means fewer troops will be needed.
According to UN sources, the UN the peacekeeping
mission in the Congo, which is four times larger in area than
Iraq, required about twenty thousand troops. Finally the UN
does not mobilize quickly because they depend upon
governments to supply the troops, and governments are slow.
The ambition of the UN is to deploy in less than ninety days.
However, without an agreement of parties the UN is not likely
to approve a mission to Iraq, because countries will not give
them troops.
6 Develop and fund a process of national reconciliation. The
process of reconciliation must begin with a national conference,
organized with the assistance of the UN and with the
participation of parties who can create, participate in and affect
the process of reconciliation, defined as an airing of all
grievances and the creation of pathways toward open,
transparent talks producing truth and resolution of grievances.
The Iraqi government has indicated a desire for the process of
reconciliation to take place around it, and that those who were
opposed to the government should give up and join the
government. Reconciliation must not be confused with
capitulation, nor with realignments for the purposes of
protecting power relationships.
For example, Kurds need to be assured that their own
autonomy will be regarded and therefore obviate the need for
the Kurds to align with religious Shia for the purposes of selfprotection.
The problem in Iraq is that every community is
living in fear. The Shia, who are the majority fear they will not
be allowed to government even though they are a majority. The
Kurds are afraid they will lose the autonomy they have gained.
The Sunnis think they will continue to be made to pay for the
sins of Saddam.
A reconciliation process which brings people together is the
only way to overcome their fears and reconcile their differences.
It is essential to create a minimum of understanding and mutual
confidence between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
But how can a reconciliation process be constructed in Iraq
when there is such mistrust: Ethnic cleansing is rampant. The
police get their money from the US and their ideas from Tehran.
They function as religious militia, fighting for supremacy, while
the Interior Ministry collaborates. Two or three million people
have been displaced. When someone loses a family member, a
loved one, a friend, the first response is likely to be that there is
no reconciliation.
It is also difficult to move toward reconciliation when one
or several parties engaged in the conflict think they can win
outright. The Shia, some of whom are out for revenge, think
they can win because they have the de facto support of the US.
The end of the US occupation will enhance the opportunity for
the Shia to come to an accommodation with the Sunnis. They
have the oil, the weapons, and support from Iran. They have
little interest in reconciling with those who are seen as Baathists.
The Sunnis think they have experience, as the former army
of Saddam, boasting half a million people insurgents. The
Sunnis have so much more experience and motivation that as
soon as the Americans leave they believe they can defeat the
Shia government. Any Sunni revenge impulses can be held in
check by international peacekeepers. The only sure path toward
reconciliation is through the political process. All factions and
all insurgents not with al Qaeda must be brought together in a
relentless process which involves Saudis, Turks and Iranians.
7 Reconstruction and Jobs. Restart the failed reconstruction
program in Iraq. Rebuild roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and
other public facilities, houses, and factories with jobs and job
training going to local Iraqis.
8 Reparations. The US and Great Britain have a high moral
obligation to enable a peace process by beginning a program of
significant reparations to the people of Iraq for the loss of lives,
physical and emotional injuries, and damage to property. There
should be special programs to rescue the tens of thousands of
Iraqi orphans from lives of destitution. This is essential to
enable reconciliation.
9 Political Sovereignty. Put an end to suspicions that the US
invasion and occupation was influenced by a desire to gain
control of Iraq's oil assets by A) setting aside initiatives to
privatize Iraqi oil interests or other national assets, and B) by
abandoning efforts to change Iraqi national law to facilitate
privatization.
Any attempt to sell Iraqi oil assets during the US
occupation will be a significant stumbling block to peaceful
resolution. The current Iraqi constitution gives oil proceeds to
the regions and the central government gets nothing. There must
be fairness in the distribution of oil resources in Iraq. An Iraqi
National Oil Trust should be established to guarantee the oil
assets will be used to create a fully functioning infrastructure
with financial mechanisms established protect the oil wealth for
the use of the people of Iraq.
10 Iraq Economy. Set forth a plan to stabilize Iraq's cost for
food and energy, on par to what the prices were before the US
invasion and occupation. This would block efforts underway to
raise the price of food and energy at a time when most Iraqis do
not have the means to meet their own needs.
11 Economic Sovereignty. Work with the world community to
restore Iraq's fiscal integrity without structural readjustment
measures of the IMF or the World Bank.
12 International Truth and Reconciliation. Establish a policy of
truth and reconciliation between the people of the United States
and the people of Iraq. In 2002, I led the effort in the House of
Representatives challenging the Bush Administration's plans to
go to war in Iraq. I organized 125 Democrats to vote against the
Iraq war resolution. The analysis I offered at that time stands out
in bold relief for its foresight when compared to the assessments
of many who today aspire to national leadership. Just as the
caution I urged four years ago was well placed, so the plan I am
presenting today is workable, and it responds to the will of the
American people, expressed this past November. This is a
moment for clarity and foresight. This is a moment to take a
new direction in Iraq. One with honor and dignity. One which
protects our troops and rescues Iraqi civilians. One which
repairs our relationship with Iraqis and with the world.

Kucinich for President 2008



I hope either Kucinich or Biden is the Dems choice for Presidental Candidate.
Atleast they're not afraid of the truth.