HYPOTHETICALS
If only John Kerry would deliver this...

By Jason Clarke
RAW STORY STAFF WRITER

This speech, written by our author, is offered as a form of suggestion to the Kerry campaign.

"I have three questions for Mr. Bush: What were we doing in Iraq, what are we doing in Iraq, and most importantly, what are we going to do in Iraq?

"I am not here to debate the merits of having gone to war with Iraq. I voted for the war with the understanding that the administration would go the distance to ensure we had the support of the international community. This is not because I believe the United States should be subject to censure by the United Nations. It is because I believe that, in a volatile situation such as the one with Iraq, it is important that America not be alone and isolated in a land generally hostile to Westerners. It is important that we present an international face to the people of Iraq, so that we do not appear to be imperialists. We live in an era of worldwide media saturation. The people of Iraq know the difference between a true international coalition and a lonely American occupying force.

"Despite claims to the contrary, we could have garnered the full support of the international community. It was a matter of diplomacy, and perhaps a bit more waiting — six months at most. But in those six months, my opponent would have you believe, Saddam Hussein could have delivered a horrible terrorist attack on the United States. We were told — and I quote here from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld — that 'no terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.' We were told that he had, or was developing, weapons of mass destruction. We had no choice, we were told, but to attack immediately.

"It is now a year and a half later. No weapons of mass destruction have been found. No significant evidence of nuclear weapons programs has been found. And as we now know, the evidence for such weapons before the war was flimsy at best. Many in the CIA and FBI believed Saddam Hussein had no such weapons or programs.

"But the Bush administration impetuously ordered the attack, and we all know the results: Hundreds of brave American men and women will never return to their families; thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead; and a nation is in turmoil. We have lost credibility and squandered the goodwill the international community offered after the terrible events of Sept. 11.

"We cannot leave Iraq now. But we can go to the international community and ask for help. We can work with the U.N. to develop a feasible plan to replace our wearied forces with international troops. But to do so, we must be willing to compromise. That is what international cooperation is about. Every day, hundreds, even thousands, of businesses work together across national boundaries. For America to prosper in the global community, it is essential that our government do the same.

"But there is more. We must face the truth of this administration's plan to leave Iraq in the near future. It took America years to rebuild Germany and Japan after World War II — countries with economies and societies more stable than that of Iraq. We spent years rebuilding both countries, physically and economically. Some of us might not want to hear that it will be costly to rebuild Iraq, or that it will take time. But it will. Yet, if we go with goodwill to the international community, we can both shorten the time it will take and relieve American taxpayers of some of that burden. But the diplomacy of the Bush administration has failed to unite our allies behind us. Instead, more often than not, it has alienated them.

"But it easy to enumerate the problems created by the current administration. What is more difficult, but more important, is to decide how to begin fixing those problems. If elected president, I will not pull our troops from Iraq in the near future. Nor will I add great numbers of troops to the region, though a certain amount could be necessary. Instead, I will work with the international community to rebuild our alliances and to find a diplomatic, cooperative solution to the greatest problems of Iraq. I will not offer lucrative business contracts to other nations in exchange for troops, nor hire large numbers of questionable mercenaries. I will not 'negotiate' through bribery or bullying. I will negotiate in the same ways nations have negotiated for hundreds of years — through compromise, the keeping of promises and a spirit of cooperation for mutual gain.

"And while I will work militarily to improve the security situation in Iraq, I also will work to fight Iraq's poverty and chaotic social conditions — a far more effective way of fighting unrest than bullets and bombs. When people have secure housing, safe drinking water, and a job that pays them, they no longer will tolerate the rebellious efforts of terrorists. Where will the money to help these conditions come from, you ask? I need not ask for very much more money than the Bush administration has disingenuously requested. With a restored international community, we will have more troops and workers to rebuild the country without the need for more taxpayer money.

"Time and again, the Bush administration has made reckless or unwise moves without considering or perhaps even caring about the consequences. Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, they told us; so far, it does not appear to. The Iraqis will welcome us with open arms, they told us; we have spent the last year fighting insurgencies in several cities. We will train an Iraqi army to replace our troops in no time at all, they said; hundreds of American soldiers still come under fire every day. What is Bush's answer to all this? To distract you with calls for a constitutional amendment against gay marriage, or to try and smear my military record when his own is not exactly his strongest selling point.

"If elected president, I will deal with the Iraq issue head-on. I will work with both our own military leaders in Iraq and the international community at large to find the best solution to this growing crisis. It is our mess; we must clean it up, but the good news is that there are other nations willing to help, so long as we treat them with the respect and goodwill that America has traditionally stood for. We will make Iraq a peaceful and safe place. And America will be safer for it.

“Thank you and good night."