The Resolution

While congress is debating the best language to send a mild, polite rebuke to the President — don’t use the word ‘escalation’ because that’s micromanaging the war, don’t tell the enemy we think we can’t win, don’t isolate the President and make him any more impotent than he already is — I have a simpler take on the matter.

Here’s the resolution I would write if I could:

WHEREAS, the War and Occupation of Iraq, requested by the President and authorized by the US Congress, has proven itself to be a tragic mistake in judgment, planning and execution;

WHEREAS, the primary rationale for this War, as provided by the President–an imminent threat to the United States by Saddam Hussein’s perceived Weapons of Mass Destruction–has turned out to be wholly inadequate to the truth;

WHEREAS, neither the United States, nor any nation, is capable of, nor do we have the mandate for, occupying another nation by force of arms to establish a peaceful Democracy;

WHEREAS, US forces, through a failure of US strategic policy and decisions, have not achieved a meaningful peace and the goal of Democracy in Iraq, and have, in the eyes of the very people we seek to help, become stained with the anger and insecurities of this ill-conceived war, becoming more targets than protectors;

WHEREAS, Executive orders, memos, and communicated attitudes have lead to the torture, abuse, and death of innocent civilians as well as possible violations of the Geneva convention;

WHEREAS, Iraq is currently in the midst of a civil war;

WHEREAS, over three thousand brave American soldiers have already given their lives; and

WHEREAS, The American People have now spoken, through the ballot box and directly, to seek an end to this unfortunate War;

now, be it

RESOLVED: The US Congress admonishes the President against any increase in troop levels in Iraq; and furthermore, be it

RESOLVED: The US Congress urges the President to begin redeployment of US forces to the greater region and to gradually return home, following serious and binding negotiations with the Iraqi government, with the neighbors of Iraq, friend and foe, and with the international community, for an international peacekeeping force to augment Iraqi forces and restore peace under an internationally-brokered political solution; and furthermore, be it

RESOLVED: The US Congress offers its deep and sincere apologies to the Iraqi people and to the world, for our part, which, combined with the hateful and inhumane actions of terrorists, criminals, and insurgents, has lead us all to this unfortunate outcome;

and finally,

WHEREAS, President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and key members of the executive branch have repeatedly failed the American people in Leadership, Integrity, and Wisdom and have, as a result, caused unnecessary Death, Suffering, and a squandering of the Status, Resources, and Good Will of this great nation, now, and for many years to come; be it

RESOLVED: We, the Congress and the American People, demand that the most senior officials of this administration, including the President and Vice President, Attorney General and Secretary of State, immediately take full responsibility for their fundamental role in creating these events, that they nominate suitable, qualified successors and thereafter resign.