Tommy Thompson's Plan: Peace Through Prosperity

Tommy Thompson barely registers on most presidential polls, but he has an underrated plan for Iraq which is refreshing for its moderation and sensibility. The initial step of this plan is the most controversial, as Thompson wants the Iraqi Parliament to vote on whether or not American troops should remain in their country. Iraq's Parliament is no pillar of strength, but nonetheless its approval would provide a slight mandate for future American military efforts in Iraq. Something I think both Americans and Iraqis tend to forget is that at this point in time US forces are not an occupying force -- given the theoretically friendly relationships between the American and Iraqi governments, American forces remain in Iraq at the behest of the Iraqi government. I'm sure Thompson expects the Parliament to overwhelmingly support the continued stay of American troops, but if that does not happen the United States would have an excellent opportunity to withdraw from Iraq and, indeed, we would be morally compelled to do so lest our forces once again become an occupying force. Too many Iraq plans out there seem to ignore the Iraqi people who ultimately will decide the fate of their country; some of these plans seem to treat the Iraqis like schooolchildren who need the protection of the United States against the neighborhood bullies because they are incapable of standing up for themselves while others frankly show a lack of concern for what happens to Iraq once the United States has left the country. Thompson's plan at least makes an effort to take into account the voice of the Iraqi people. Thompson's other unique idea is to split Iraq's oil revenue in three ways, with the federal government, provincial governments, and individual Iraqis each receiving an equal share. According to Thompson, such a system will give each Iraqi a stake in the future of his or her country...but to what extent will it reduce the violence? It's hard to say. I think poverty is an enabling factor, but it is not really the root of the conflict in Iraq. Religious differences and historical rivalries will surely continue to exist even in prosperous times, and there is little a foreign power can do to address those issues. What the United States can do is seek to get the oil flowing again and profits rolling back into Iraq; it won't solve any problems immediately, but perhaps it will improve the quality of life for the average Iraqi and that will have an indirect impact on the stability of Iraq.

The Biden-Gelb plan has a couple of advantages over the Thompson plan: it is both more detailed and more practical. I've yet to hear Thompson speak about troop numbers like Biden has; indeed, I'm quite unclear as to how Thompson actually intends to use the military to achieve his goals. Biden's plan to reduce the violence is essentially the voluntary segregation of the Iraqi people which, while not an appealing idea, at least might get the feuding factions out of each other's faces for a while. Thompson, on the other hand, talks about Iraq in terms of the 18 provinces that already exist in the country, and he tends to lump these provinces as being either Kurd, Sunni, or Shia based on their population, but the province system hasn't discouraged violence thus far. Nonetheless, the Thompson plan is not a bad one, and I would be very curious to see its effect if put into practice.