Vito proposes doing nothing

A policy commission, whose work has been endorsed by the President himself, is about to release a proposal on our military forces in Iraq and throughout the Middle East, which should cause some trouble for not just the President, but our very own Rep. Vito Fossella . Analysis of the commission's not yet released suggestions is supplied by the Times Online;

A high-level panel set up to advise the White House on Iraq is to propose radical changes to US policy including the large-scale withdrawal of US troops, it has been reported.

The commission, which is headed by James Baker, the former Secretary of State under the first President Bush, will recommend two options which would effectively represent reversals of US policy.

One of these, called "Redeploy and Contain", would see the phased withdrawal of US troops to bases outside Iraq where they could be deployed against terrorist organisations anywhere in the region.

Now all of a sudden after Republicans like Sen Hagel and Rep. Shays suggested withdawing troops from Iraq, a policy commission led by Republicans will call for 'redeployment', or in other words an exit strategy and troop withdraw. This can't sit well with Fossella, who though lacking in any foreign relations proposals or Iraq policy has maintained the Republican status quo line of 'staying the course.' But you don't have to take my word for it, or Vito's lack of word on it, we can look at transcripts of his public talks, such as this one from CNN's Crossfire;

FOSSELLA: No, I think that clearly we have to stay the course in Iraq. Nobody said this job was going to be easy, including the president of the United States.

FOSSELLA: The president of the United States, as he said a couple of weeks ago in his press conference, believes that the United States must stay the course.

SNIP

And we will stay the course and until the job is done. And, ultimately, not only will the Iraqi people have the same freedoms that we enjoy here in America to pick their own leaders, but we can rest assured that there will be a stable democracy in the Middle East that will help us and others bring peace and stability and security to the American people.

And here is what the President's commission will most likely have to say on the matter;

Crucially, a third option on Iraq, entitled "Stay the Course, Redefine the Mission", appeared to gain less interest from the panel according to the LA Times, with members reportedly agreeing that change had to be made.

"It's not going to be 'stay the course,'" the newspaper quotes one participant as saying. "The bottom line is, (current policy) isn't working. There's got to be another way."

Harrison has supported a plan to withdraw our troops in a manner and on a schedule that would provide for their safety. Last year Rep. Murtha (D-PA), a reknoun military veteran called for a troop withdraw and redeployment, saying;

I believe with a U.S. troop redeployment, the Iraqi security forces will be incentivized to take control. A poll recently conducted -- this is a British poll reported in the Washington Times -- over 80 percent of Iraqis are strongly opposed to the presence of coalition forces and about 45 percent of Iraqi population believe attacks against American troops are justified.

I believe we need to turn Iraq over to the Iraqis. I believe before the Iraqi elections, scheduled for mid-December, the Iraqi people and the emerging government must be put on notice: The United States will immediately redeploy -- immediately redeploy.

Meanwhile our own uncompromising Fossella says a "cut and run" approach would embolden terrorists and "destabilize" a fledgling democracy in Iraq." (SI Advance). Will he back down from this position and change his mind after realizing the Congressionally established commission is going to recommend a plan that completely debunks his 'stay the course' tiresome line? We already have seen him embarrassed on his desire to privatize Social Security and change his stance, so Iraq can't be too far behind. Oh course those of us who know Vito's plan for Iraq won't get our hopes up.