Talking Points on Iraq

1. The longer the U.S. and the other coalition forces remain in Iraq, the more harm will be done. The torture and abuse of Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib Prison, and the killing of 800 civilians in Fallujah (half of them women and children) highlight the ugly face of occupation. Coalition forces are not seen as liberators, but as occupiers. They are feared, hated and mistrusted and the anger grows with every passing day. Security problems that might ensue after a coalition pullout cannot be used by the U.S. and its allies as an excuse to remain.

2. The U.S. must disavow all designs on Iraq and announce a troop withdrawal before asking the United Nations to take over the transition and to raise peacekeeping forces in the interests of order. Peacekeepers should be drawn from nations not involved in the war. Possibilities include: Troops from NATO member states that were not involved in the coalition; troops from Arab nations (Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia) under the auspices of the Arab League or the Organization of Islamic Conferences; troops from Scandinavian countries and Canada, which were against the war from the outset; or a combination of the above. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, has a successful model for mediating ethnic disputes across east and central Europe and could assist the United Nations in applying this process in Iraq.

3. Congress should withhold all further war funding to make it impossible to keep U.S. troops in Iraq. Existing allocations and expropriations should be cancelled. At the same time, funding for reconstruction should be continued and should be stepped up. We are morally and financially obligated to repair the damage we have caused to the Iraqi infrastructure, including pipelines, roads, bridges, public works installations, power plants, electrical grids, airports, schools, hospitals, museums, and whole neighborhoods.

4. For Iraq to begin to move towards stability and recovery, money must start flowing into Iraqi hands. Reconstruction contracts currently with the Halliburtons and other U.S. corporations profiting at the expense of Iraq must be immediately transferred, through an international agency designated by the U.N. Security Council, to Iraqi companies. Iraq has a highly skilled professional and labor force and welcomes the chance to rebuild what the U.S.-led coalition has so wantonly destroyed.

5. Iraq should decide when or how it should hold elections. The U.S. cannot impose its vision of “democracy” on Iraq, or its notion of a “good” constitution or its concept of “free and fair” elections. Iraqis must decide for themselves on the most appropriate form of government for their society, and how to elect it. Iraqi civil society must be given space and support to determine whether to appoint a provisional government and develop a constitution before holding elections, or to move directly towards electing a government. The U.S. and the world must then abide by the results of those elections. Iraq’s right to self-determination, and U.S. culpability in forcing Iraq to reinvent itself in the midst of the chaos we have inflicted, demands our acquiescence in the result.

6. The President and Congress should acknowledge this nation’s moral, political and financial responsibility, now and for a long time to come, and be resolved to make amends through continued reconstruction funding and compensation of the Iraqi people. How do you put a dollar value on two wars and 13 years of sanctions? How do you quantify the loss of life, health, home, livelihood and dignity in the last 14 months alone? Our government should also acknowledge that Iraq is not an isolated misadventure. It is inextricably linked to U.S. goals to redefine the Middle East, in its own interests and those of Israel. This policy has sullied our reputation, squandered international goodwill, alienated our friends and enraged our enemies. Our government must reconsider the folly of its Middle East policy, in particular its unquestioning endorsement of Israel’s occupation of Palestine and refusal to negotiate a just settlement with Palestinians.

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