If the president's plan won't work, what will? History suggests only four other ways to keep together a country riven by sectarian strife:Republicans constantly moan and groan about how the Democrats don't offer up alternatives to the President's failed Iraq strategy, yet here is Sen. Biden laying out a detailed plan.
We allow or help one side to win, which would require years of horrific bloodletting.
We perpetuate the occupation, which is impossible politically and practically.
We promote the return of a dictator, who is not on the horizon but whose emergence would be the cruelest of ironies.
Or we help Iraq make the transition to a decentralized, federal system, as called for in its constitution, where each major group has local control over the fabric of its daily life, including security, education, religion and marriage.
Making federalism work for all Iraqis is a strategy that can still succeed and allow our troops to leave responsibly. It's a strategy I have been promoting for a year.
I cannot guarantee that my plan for Iraq will work. But I can guarantee that the course we're on - the course that a man I admire, John McCain, urges us to continue - is a road to nowhere.
Today's political climate breaks the presidential contenders into tiers based on the money they've raised and their standing in the polls. I, however, place them in tiers based on their credentials and key strengths. And Joe Biden is, in my opinion, one of the Democrats' top tier candidates. None of the others have proposed a solid post-Bush plan for Iraq. I'm sure they will eventually, but until then Biden's plan proves he is up to task of cleaning up George's horrendous mess.
