I dedicate THE CANDU MEMORANDUM - IRAQ to every member of our armed forces - the troops. Every single soldier's life should be treasured as it represents our nation's treasure.
BY FAX,Email, and WEB MAIL
A letter to a President (and a President to be), Congress and the media
that every Presidential candidate both Democratic and Republican should read
For the Presidential Candidates - If you Read this Blog - use its ideas, then you will get the keys to the White House and a 4 year renewable lease.
I will try to steer the ship to you Mr. President
This BLOG has been expanded and up dated from previous faxes to the President, Congress and the media.
Updated May 14, 2008
A Timely solution (a real working bi-partisan plan) for a President and for Congress on how to decisively win the War in Iraq and Leave with honor and
I want to stop the tears in my eyes and those of the families of our beloved troops who have been lost or wounded. I want to find a way to stop the coffins draped in American flags from coming home, but I want to honor the memory of those that did, so that their deaths will not be in vein. I want the troops to be able to leave Iraq with honor and a new mission accomplished. A difficult task, but not impossible.
I see the importance of not leaving IRAQ until the mission is accomplished.
WE SHOULD NOT CUT AND RUN AND WE MUST DECISIVELY BEAT THE TERRORISTS AND INSURGENTS, OR WE WILL SOME DAY AGAIN HAVE TO FACE THEM ON OUR OWN SOIL. WE HAVE AN OPTION THAT HAS BEEN TOTALLY UNDERUTILIZED. IT IS THE “WE THE PEOPLE” OPTION. NO MORE MEDIA POLLS. WE NEED SOMETHING REAL.
We should also expect the Iraqi people to stand up with their troops as part of this plan. They must be Iraqis first and then define themselves as Sunni, Shiite or Kurd (just as they
expressed pride in their recent international sports victory).
You have stated clearly we are not in Iraq as occupiers but we are liberators of a people who we want to give the freedom of choice.
Freedom of choice should include the right of the Iraqi people to vote us out.
They have to fight for their freedom and speak with their vote. We have seen the use of the most powerful weapon in Iraq - that is the VOTE WEAPON - the vote by the IRAQI people.
You have said you would listen to a good idea, so here is one that I hope you will listen and discuss its possibility. This would be real “sachel” on your part. An honorable Exit Plan for IRAQ with a new mission accomplished A true BI-Partisan solution, which will get international support and approval.
This plan lets the Iraqi people (not the Iraqi Government or the US Government) set term limits for our forces to be in Iraq and for the Iraqi people and their armed forces to stand up. This plan can be utilized even if we want to reduce or increase our forces in Iraq (the surge approach) during its
implementation.
THE POLITICAL SOLUTION - MISSING IN OUR PRESENT IRAQI DIRECTION USE THE VOTE WEAPON
A national referendum to be held every two months in Iraq with only three questions - YES or NO on each question as follows:
QUESTION 1:
Do you want the Iraqi troops and security forces to take over fully Iraqi security and for US troops to leave Iraq at the end of one year from the date of this first vote?
QUESTION 2:
QUESTION 3:
Do you want an Iraqi National Government to govern the Iraqi people instead of Al Qaeda or an Iranian sponsored government?
If the results of this referendum for the FIRST QUESTION are yes, you, the Iraqi citizen, will have an opportunity every two months to vote again and confirm your vote by two more consecutive national referendums. or if you have changed your mind because you feel that Iraq needs the US troops to remain in Iraq for adequate security on the same question then you can vote no.
When the RESULTS FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE NATIONAL REFERENDUMS for the FIRST QUESTION are yes, the US Troops will leave (redeploy outside of Iraq) within 6 months of the results of the 3rd consecutive positive referendum. The referendums will continue to be run every two months or monthy after 6 months until there are THREE POSITIVE RESULTS on QUESTION 1
The idea is simple. (So simple that it is scary)
When the IRAQI PEOPLE- NOT the Iraqi or US governments
have voted by three consecutive referendums for our troops to leave, then the IRAQI people - not the Iraqi government nor the US government - will have spoken and we should abide.
In one of your speeches you even said so.
Then we can leave with honor and our new mission will be accomplished. WE WILL NOT BE “CUTTING AND RUNNING”.
- Our troops will now be true heroes, because they will now be seen in Iraq not as occupiers but as liberators - the way we wanted them to be seen. The Iraqi people will now know that anytime they feel secure enough with their own troops and security forces, and have voted accordingly three consecutive times, that we will redeploy within six months or sooner outside Iraq. The Iraqi people will know that we stay in Iraq at their invitation (not their Government's) , and they have the power at anytime by three consecutive positive referendum votes tor revoke our invitation.
Either way we win, because even if the "bad guys" want us out - they have to democratically vote to get us out, and they have to do it three times in a row!!
Every vote is a bullet in the eye of a terrorist or insurgent.
- Are we afraid or do we fear to let the Iraqi people (not the Iraqi Government or our Government) speak and be heard, and for the Iraqi people to decide how long our troops will stay in Iraq?
- This idea could be modified to hold the vote more or less frequently every month or quarterly instead of every two months.
However, the total votes should be spread over a least the first 6 months for it truly to be effective and decisive.
Now look at the results of this idea when applied.
1. Iraqis will no longer feel that we are occupiers because they can vote us out. We will be winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. Our military presence has been the rallying cry of the insurgents.and Al Qaeda.
By the SECOND QUESTION - PART A OF THE NEW MISSION -the Iraqis will have to decide whether they are FIRST IRAQIS or FIRST SUNNI, SHIITE, OR KURD. If they say they are Iraqis first, this does not mean that they give up their ethnic origin, only that they are one people with different ethnic origins. By this question they decide if they want to be one nation of Iraqis, with seperate ethnic areas or states.
By the THIRD QUESTION - PART B OF THE NEW MISSION - the IRAQI PEOPLE will have to decide if they want their own Iraqi National Government to govern Iraq, or a non- Iraqi government run by Al Qaeda or an Iranian
sponsored government? This does not mean that local governments can not be ethnically or local origin oriented.
QUESTIONS 2 & 3 are PARTS A & B of the NEW MISSION.
No plan can truly be successful in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East unless we have won the hearts and minds of the people we are fighting for and they define who they are.
2. The Iraqi Army and Police (Internal security forces) will have ample time to prepare themselves to fully assume the responsibility and stand up, so our forces can stand down. The Iraqi Army and Police will know that they have term limits to stand up and be counted. If the Iraqi people can vote us out, then they will have to be able to assume the responsibility.
3. The VOTE WEAPON is the Achilles heel of the terrorist. He can not defeat it because he has no government. It has been the most successful weapon used in Iraq against terrorists and insurgents. It has defeated the terrorists and insurgents every time it has been used in Iraq. The only way the terrorists and insurgents can get us out is by encouraging the Iraqi people to vote yes, and/or by their not committing acts of violence against Iraqi people that would discourage a yes vote.
4. The VOTE WEAPON can be expanded to accomplish more. Give the Iraqi people something to vote on and they will respond. Democracy wins and terror loses every time. Examples such as three separate entities with a common federal government, with the sharing of national assets (the oil revenues). The Iraqi people could vote on proposals by national referendum to list the priorities and their order of importance to the Iraqi people - Security, Electric Power, Full employment, education, religious freedom. The Iraqi government, if it follows the vote will now have the power to implement these items with the support of the Iraqi people. The Iraqi government will receive its own term limits by their responses to the National Referendums.
5. Use of the VOTE WEAPON in Iraq properly and creatively allows the Iraqi people to practice democracy in its purest form.
6. Use of the VOTE WEAPON will have both bi-partisan and international support. It is time now to win the war on terror decisively - we can do so decisively with the VOTE WEAPON. With success of the VOTE WEAPON in Iraq, peoples of other nations will demand to be able to use this weapon instead of the terrorist weapons now be used to express dissatisfaction with existing governments. It is definitely more powerful than any military weapon we possess for accomplishing the MISSION in IRAQ and the WAR ON TERROR. It is
THE DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION - MISSING IN OUR PRESENT IRAQI DIRECTION
Now if we add to this idea the World’s Second most powerful Weapon to deal directly with Iran, Syria and North Korea - a proven diplomatic team with a true Bi-partisan and international approval.
You guessed it Presidents Bush and Clinton, and we could even have the Russians throw in Michael Gorbachev to round out the team. The British could add Tony Blair.
All of the above are now statesman and former politicians. Where could you find a more powerful proven and experienced diplomatic statesmen team, who if given the full power to negotiate as a unanimous team will be very difficult to oppose. Now the principals in the opposing countries that they negotiate with will be facing a powerful, but proven weapon. More powerful than a B 2 Stealth bomber!
If the team needs a good advisor the President should draft Donald Trump whose credentials include his book "The Art of a Deal". After all everything that is negotiated has really to do with real estate world wide!! Who better to negotiate real estate?? Other advisers who could be instrumental in the success of this diplomatic team would be Tony Robbins (probably the best analyst in people motivation) and possibly Catherine Bell (her expert knowledge of Farsi- Grandmother was Iranian born- in addition to her fame throughout the world as a star of JAG might be extremely useful in dealing with Iran). These additional advisers to the “Statesmen Team of Bush Sr. Clinton.Gorbachev and Blair” would have international and bi-partisan support.
This now would truly be the world’s second most powerful weapon system. One of the real advantages of this team would be that its leaders are recognized now as experienced statesmen and not as politicians seeking reelection.
This team could even meet with the leaders of other Middle East countries to influence them to have national referendums - even if they want their people to express by referendum their disapproval of the United States.
The key here is every time their people vote - regardless of the topic voted on - they practice democracy.
THE MILITARY SOLUTION - MISSING IN OUR PRESENT IRAQI DIRECTION
The US armed forces have many troops deployed throughout the world outside of Iraq and Afghanistan. Now with the increase in technology and air power, our international need to station troops in other countries is not equal to that of the past. In Iraq we have had very few other countries (other than Great Britain) with any significant troop support and now the Brits are almost gone. In Afghanistan, at least we have NATO troops with a significant presence. Here is a military partial solution to give relief to our troops in the field.
We will “borrow our troops” in other countries and have the local country's troops fill the gap until our troops can leave IRAQ.
Examples are as follows:
SOUTH KOREA - 38TH PARALLEL:
We have about 35,000 troops there. We should reduce this to 10,000 or less troops and borrow South Korean Troops to fill the void. Our diplomatic team will let North Korea know what we are doing in not meant to threaten them or establish weakness on our part in any way. With South Korea our Air Power at sea can certainly fill this void together with the replacement by South Korean Troops. The cost of maintaining the South Korean troops in place of our troops would be borne by the South Koreans. Our troops, may come back some time in the future to replace the “borrowed” South Korean troops. I believe Our “DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION TEAM”, with its team of suggested advisers could make North Korea understand this.
JAPAN:
Our troops there cost our government and taxpayers a pretty penny and provide an unfavorable balance of trade in part because the money to support these troops there does little benefit for the US economy. We can still leave a smaller contingent there and “borrow Japanese troops” (to be paid for by the Japanese government not our government) to fill the void.
GERMANY:
With the exception of military medical and hospitals units located
in Germany, including related air bases that support these facilities, we should look to reduce US Government armed forces to a minimal force. We can still leave a smaller contingent there and “borrow German troops” (to be paid for by the German government, not our government) to fill the void.
It is true that all of these troops “redeployed” from the other countries may not be an exact match for those used and needed in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, many of them could be utilized to increase in AFGHANISTAN the hunt for Osama Bin-Laden.
If the above POLITICAL and DIPLOMATIC solutions are employed, we may even be able to get NATO replacements in IRAQ.
THE ECONOMIC SOLUTION - MISSING IN OUR PRESENT IRAQI DIRECTION
The economic problems in these countries are breeding place for our security difficulties in these countries. By use of the VOTE WEAPON, we can let the people prioritize what they want and in what order. Jobs , education , medical facilities, safe markets, water, power utilities etc. could be on the national referendums to give the Iraqi government a priority list for order of importance to the Iraqi people. It is true all of these problem areas are of significant importance to all of the Iraqi people. Not withstanding, it will allow the Iraq government to have the guidance from the Iraqi people as to what they consider to be of importance and the order they want for solving these Iraqi problems.
With international support and additional security provided by NATO troops, the ECONOMIC SOLUTION would be an integral part of the total solution.
THE TROOPS SUPPORT SOLUTION - MISSING IN OUR PRESENT IRAQI DIRECTION
Another suggestion so the American People can support the troops, the vets, and their families, which we really need to do after recent events such as the problems from Walter Reed. We need a check off box on the form 1040 just like the $1.00 box for the Presidential fund. This one could be labeled the
"WE THE PEOPLE SUPPORT THE TROOPS FUND".
THE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTION - MISSING IN OUR PRESENT IRAQI AND MID-EAST POLICY DIRECTION
- This part of this blog has been moved to its own seperate blog
As JFK said "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
Well Mr. President I am trying to do a "Mitzvah". I only hope you will listen. Then you can do a "Mitzvah".
I leave you with one other thought from“WE THE PEOPLE”.
Politicians, Governments, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Secretaries of State and Defense, Foreign Ministers, Defense Ministers, Parliaments, Congress and Generals make and declare War.
However, it is always WE THE PEOPLE (and rarely, but not never, any of the above) who with our national treasure - the volunteer youths of our country who have to fight and die in the wars.
True statesmen after considering all the consequences from the loss of our national treasure who will only use war as a last method of dealing with radical, totalitarian governments and their dictators that support terrorism.
Just as the pen is mightier than the sword, the "VOTE WEAPON" is more powerful than our mightiest military weapon. It is the missing political and military solution needed today. It is time to unleash its power to win decisively THE WAR ON TERROR worldwide.
The White House comment line liked my ideas and asked that I fax and
or Email it to the White House comment fax line. Even if you do not agree with my ideas, I hope I will not get the usual boilerplate intern written response from the director of White House communications ( I have too many of those already). If you disagree tell me why they will not work. I do not believe you can.
Thank you for your timely attention to this matter. A personal response would be appreciated, even if you disagree with the ideas.
Respectfully yours,
MRCANDU10 (Cousin of MR GET-IT DONE)
Lloyd Michael Abrahams CPA
2 comments:
The President, Congress, Presidential Candidates, and the media should all read this blog.
After speaking with you on the phone, I came to your blog. You have excellent, well-thought-out ideas here, many of which Barack Obama espouses! I hope that you will vote for Barack Obama on February 5th in the New York Primary and give him the opportunity to be our next President of the United States so he can enact your ideas!
Sincerely,
Barbara Bellin, Volunteer with the Barack Obama for President Campaign
Post a Comment