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"that the Voice of Peace be heard"

WHAT AMERICA NEEDS - AND CAN'T AFFORD

We are morally bound to fix the damage we have wrought on Iraq. The 87 Billion Dollars recently approved by Congress for rebuilding Iraq is but a small part of the money needed to conclude our business there. Trouble is, we're spending much more than a billion dollars a day on that ill-conceived war, and rich as we may think we are, we can’t afford it.

The war appears to be unendable - no workable exit strategy. We wanted a "regime change" but not a puppet government. We have no empire building goals, but (if necesasary) we will stay until Iraq reinvents itself as a democracy - and that’s not likely to happen as long as we're there. This situation is even more confusing because we feel it necessary to maintain our military presence to keep terrorists from taking over - and (incidentally) to keep the oil flowing.

Something is needed to get us out from under our own shadow in Iraq. Inevitably some conservative will raise the specter of a domino theory collapse of the entire middle east - if we don’t stay engaged. Moderates like Bill Clinton and Bob Dole have suggested that NATO should become the occupying power force in Iraq - that the situation be stabilized by others before we bankrupt ourselves trying to do it all by ourselves.

The whole world wants the security forces remaining in Iraq to be "internationalized" - and for that to happen the US must step aside - gracefully. From our standpoint the internationalization of the peacekeepers must be established before we get ourselves further into debt. Something has to give, and that something has to be us.

The most important part of internationalizing Iraq's security forces and bringing our troops home is our opportunity to mend some international polical fences - for America (with its U.N. Security Council Membership restored) to become once more the world’s strongest advocate for civil rights, human rights and freedom - and a strong advocate for this world’s most valued natural resource - the hearts and minds of its people - a global resource far more compelling than all the oil in Iraq. America needs a diplomatic make-over - and a new set of civies.