thi is a time of tremend challeng for america in the world __PUNCT__
we must contend with the on __PUNCT__ go war in afghanistan __PUNCT__ the genocid in darfur __PUNCT__ nuclear program in iran and north korea __PUNCT__ the rise of china and re __PUNCT__ emerg russia __PUNCT__ the grow insecur of our energi suppli __PUNCT__ the fragil of our climat __PUNCT__ and the threat pose by radic fundament __PUNCT__
but on issu domin our nation debat __PUNCT__ iraq __PUNCT__
if we deal with it successfulli __PUNCT__ we can recov the freedom __PUNCT__ flexibl and credibl to meet these other challeng __PUNCT__
that what i want to talk about todai __PUNCT__
__PUNCT__ listen to the debat about iraq here in washington __PUNCT__
it center on a fals choic that is also a bad choic __PUNCT__ do we continu on presid bush fail cours and hand off iraq to the next presid __PUNCT__ or do we just leav and hope for the best __PUNCT__ i believ there is a better choic __PUNCT__
it is still possibl to bring our troop home without trade a dictat for chao that engulf iraq and spread to the middl east __PUNCT__
that must be our goal __PUNCT__
__PUNCT__ leav iraq is necessari __PUNCT__ but it is not a plan __PUNCT__
we also need a plan for what we leav behind __PUNCT__
nine month ago __PUNCT__ with le gelb of the council on foreign relat __PUNCT__ i propos just such a plan __PUNCT__
go to __URL__ to read it detail __PUNCT__
our plan recogn that there is no pure militari exit strategi from iraq __PUNCT__
instead __PUNCT__ we set out a roadmap to a polit settlement in iraq __PUNCT__ on that give it war faction a wai to share power peacefulli and offer us a chanc to leav with our interest intact __PUNCT__
the plan ha five major piec __PUNCT__
first __PUNCT__ maintain a unifi iraq by decentr it and give kurd __PUNCT__ shiit and sunni breath room in region as the iraqi constitut provid __PUNCT__
the central govern would be respons for common concern __PUNCT__ like guard iraq border and distribut it oil revenu __PUNCT__
second __PUNCT__ secur support from the sunni who have no oil by guarante them a fair share of oil revenu __PUNCT__
allow former baath parti member to go back to work and reintegr sunni with no blood on their hand __PUNCT__
third __PUNCT__ increas econom assist to iraq and it region __PUNCT__
insist that the oil __PUNCT__ rich gulf state put up most of the monei __PUNCT__ tie it to the protect of minor right __PUNCT__ and creat a major job program to deni the militia new recruit __PUNCT__
fourth __PUNCT__ initi a major diplomat offens to enlist the support of iraq neighbor __PUNCT__
creat an oversight group of the u.n __PUNCT__ and the major power to enforc their commit __PUNCT__
these countri have a profound stake in prevent chao in iraq and the credibl we lack to press for compromis by all iraqi __PUNCT__
if a polit settlement fail to take hold __PUNCT__ these same countri ar vital to ani strategi to contain the fall out within iraq __PUNCT__
fifth __PUNCT__ instruct the militari to draw up plan for withdraw u. __PUNCT__ combat forc from iraq by __NUM__ __PUNCT__
leav behind a small forc to take on terrorist and train iraqi __PUNCT__
the best wai to focu iraq leader on the polit compromis thei must make is to make it clear to them that we ar leav __PUNCT__
__PUNCT__ mani of you have heard me talk about thi plan befor __PUNCT__
what new is the grow support it receiv __PUNCT__
that support wa evid dure the four week of hear we just held in the senat foreign relat committe __PUNCT__
it is evid in the new nation intellig estim for iraq a consensu report of all u. __PUNCT__ intellig agenc __PUNCT__
the nie and virtual all of our wit agre that the fundament problem in iraq is self __PUNCT__ sustain sectarian violenc __PUNCT__
ye __PUNCT__ jihadist __PUNCT__ baathist __PUNCT__ crimin gang and intra __PUNCT__ sect violenc all contribut to the grow chao __PUNCT__
but sunni kill shiit and shiit kill sunni is the heart of the matter __PUNCT__
that what we have to stop if we want to leav iraq with our interest intact __PUNCT__
how do we stop thi sectarian cycl of reveng __PUNCT__ if histori is ani guid __PUNCT__ we have to wait until on side win or both side exhaust themselv __PUNCT__
that could take year of bloodlet __PUNCT__
year that we do not have __PUNCT__
histori also suggest it is possibl to short circuit sectarian strife __PUNCT__
a decad ago __PUNCT__ bosnia wa be torn apart by ethnic cleans __PUNCT__ which threaten to engulf the balkan __PUNCT__
the unit state step in with dayton accord __PUNCT__ which kept the countri whole by __PUNCT__ paradox __PUNCT__ divid it into ethnic feder __PUNCT__
muslim __PUNCT__ croat and serb retain separ armi and presid __PUNCT__
sinc then __PUNCT__ bosnian have live a decad in peac __PUNCT__
now __PUNCT__ thei ar slowli come back togeth __PUNCT__
iraq present a similar possibl __PUNCT__
here what the nation intellig estim sai we need __PUNCT__ broader sunni accept of the current polit structur and feder __PUNCT__ and __PUNCT__ signific concess by shia and kurd to creat space for sunni accept of feder __PUNCT__
that is exactli the strategi behind the biden __PUNCT__ gelb plan __PUNCT__
dure our hear __PUNCT__ wit after wit includ former secretari of state __PUNCT__ foreign polici expert __PUNCT__ and elect offici __PUNCT__ came to a similar conclus __PUNCT__
so have a grow number of opinion maker __PUNCT__
what more and more peopl ar begin to recogn is that there ar veri few possibl futur for iraq in the near term and onli on that protect america interest __PUNCT__
__PUNCT__ think for a minut about iraq possibl futur __PUNCT__
the bush administr ha on vision __PUNCT__ that iraqi will ralli behind a strong __PUNCT__ democrat central govern that keep the countri togeth and protect the right of all citizen equal __PUNCT__
but sinc the samarra mosqu bomb a year ago __PUNCT__ that vision ha been engulf by the flame of sectarian hatr __PUNCT__
the hard truth in iraq is that there is no trust within the central govern no trust of the govern by the peopl and no capac by the govern to deliv servic and secur __PUNCT__
and there is no evid none that we can build that trust and capac ani time soon __PUNCT__
there ar two other wai to govern iraq from the center __PUNCT__ a foreign occup that the unit state cannot long sustain __PUNCT__
or the return of a strongman __PUNCT__ who is not on the horizon __PUNCT__
even if he were __PUNCT__ replac on dictat with anoth would requir a savageri to rival saddam worst excess __PUNCT__
so where doe that leav us __PUNCT__ it leav us with an idea a larg major of iraqi have alreadi endors in their constitut and that our plan would help make a realiti __PUNCT__ feder __PUNCT__
feder would keep iraq togeth by vest real power in the region __PUNCT__
it would bring decis and respons down to the local level and give sunni __PUNCT__ shiit and kurd control over the fabric of their daili live __PUNCT__ secur __PUNCT__ educ __PUNCT__ marriag __PUNCT__ job __PUNCT__
veri few have read iraq constitut __PUNCT__
fewer still understand that legisl to implement it articl on feder take effect in __NUM__ month __PUNCT__
feder is iraq best possibl futur __PUNCT__
but unless we help make feder work for all iraqi __PUNCT__ the violenc will not stop __PUNCT__
we have to convinc the major power and iraq neighbor that a feder iraq is the best possibl outcom for them __PUNCT__ too __PUNCT__ and to put their weight and influenc behind it __PUNCT__
then __PUNCT__ togeth __PUNCT__ we have to bring in the sunni and convinc the shiit and kurd to make concess __PUNCT__
that is what the biden __PUNCT__ gelb plan propos __PUNCT__
it demand the kind of sustain __PUNCT__ hard head diplomaci for which thi administr ha shown littl interest or aptitud __PUNCT__
but it offer the possibl not the guarante of produc a soft land in iraq __PUNCT__
if we fail to make feder work __PUNCT__ there will be no polit accommod at the center __PUNCT__
violent resist will increas __PUNCT__
the sectarian cycl of reveng will spiral out of control __PUNCT__
at best __PUNCT__ the result like will be the violent break up of iraq into multipl fail state __PUNCT__
at worst __PUNCT__ the result will be iraq total fragment into war fiefdom __PUNCT__
the neighbor will not sit on the sidelin __PUNCT__
alreadi __PUNCT__ iraq ha aggrav a deep sunni __PUNCT__ shiit divid that run from lebanon through afghanistan __PUNCT__ pakistan and india __PUNCT__
thi fault __PUNCT__ line intersect with other cultur and polit rift between arab and persian __PUNCT__ turk and kurd __PUNCT__ jihadi and the muslim mainstream to creat the condit for a cataclysm explos __PUNCT__
iran and the arab state will back shia and sunni extremist as part of a proxi war __PUNCT__
eventu __PUNCT__ thei will interven directli __PUNCT__
sunni jihadi will flood iraq to confront the persian and shia threat __PUNCT__ creat a new haven for terrorist __PUNCT__
turkei will move into the north to crush kurdish ambit __PUNCT__
sunni __PUNCT__ shia tension will rise from beirut to karachi __PUNCT__
individu __PUNCT__ these would be bad develop __PUNCT__
togeth __PUNCT__ thei would do terribl damag to american interest __PUNCT__
we must lead a determin region and intern effort to end the iraqi civil war __PUNCT__ or contain it if we cant __PUNCT__
__PUNCT__ the bush administr is head in exactli the wrong direct __PUNCT__
instead of a diplomat and polit offens to forg a polit settlement __PUNCT__ it propos a militari offens that would send __NUM__ american into the middl of a sectarian conflict in a citi of __NUM__ million peopl __PUNCT__
thi militari surg in iraq is not a solut it is a tragic mistak __PUNCT__
if we should be surg forc anywher __PUNCT__ it is in afghanistan __PUNCT__
im glad the presid ha recogn what mani of us have been sai for year __PUNCT__ unless we surg troop __PUNCT__ hardwar __PUNCT__ monei __PUNCT__ and high __PUNCT__ level attent into afghanistan __PUNCT__ it will fall back into the hand of the taliban __PUNCT__ terrorist and drug traffick __PUNCT__
i support the step he announc todai but i hope thei ar the first step not the last in a recommit to afghanistan __PUNCT__
__PUNCT__ the hous is about to pronounc itself on the presid surg plan for iraq and the senat will __PUNCT__ too __PUNCT__
some minim the signific of a non __PUNCT__ bind resolut __PUNCT__
if it is so meaningless __PUNCT__ why did the white hous and the presid polit support mobil so much energi against it __PUNCT__ oppos the surg is onli a first step __PUNCT__
we need a radic chang in cours in iraq __PUNCT__
if the presid wont act __PUNCT__ congress will __PUNCT__
but congress must act respons __PUNCT__
we must resist the temptat to push for chang that sound good but produc bad result __PUNCT__
the best next step is to revisit the author congress grant the presid in __NUM__ to us forc in iraq __PUNCT__
that exactli what im do __PUNCT__
we gave the presid that power to destroi iraq weapon of mass destruct and __PUNCT__ if necessari __PUNCT__ to depos saddam hussein __PUNCT__
the wmd were not there __PUNCT__
saddam hussein is no longer there __PUNCT__
the __NUM__ author is no longer relev to the situat in iraq __PUNCT__
i am work on legisl to repeal that author and replac it with a much narrow mission statement for our troop in iraq __PUNCT__
congress should make clear what the mission of our troop is __PUNCT__ to respons draw down __PUNCT__ while continu to combat terrorist __PUNCT__ train iraqi and respond to emerg __PUNCT__
we should make equal clear what their mission is not __PUNCT__ to stai in iraq indefinit and get mire in a savag civil war __PUNCT__
coupl with the biden __PUNCT__ gelb plan __PUNCT__ i believ thi is the most effect wai to start bring our troop home without leav a mess behind __PUNCT__
__PUNCT__ i want to leav you with on thought __PUNCT__
for our sake and for the sake of the iraqi peopl __PUNCT__ we should be focus on how we get out of iraq with our interest intact __PUNCT__
everyon want to bring our troop home as soon and as safe as possibl __PUNCT__
but tempt as it is __PUNCT__ we cant just throw up our hand __PUNCT__ blame the presid for misus the author we gave him __PUNCT__ and walk awai without a plan for what we leav behind __PUNCT__
so ill end where i began __PUNCT__
leav iraq is a necess __PUNCT__ but it is not a plan __PUNCT__
we need a plan for what we leav behind __PUNCT__
that is what i have offer __PUNCT__
to those who disagre with my plan __PUNCT__ i have on simpl question __PUNCT__ what is your altern __PUNCT__
