Most Iraqis agree on one thing: Regardless of a political shift in the White House, U.S. policy in Iraq is on a set course, determined by special interests. So if we're going to rebuild Iraq, we need to rebuild our credibility among Iraqis-a constituency largely lost in the yawning gap between the rhetoric in Washington and the reality in Baghdad. There is one real and radical way to make sure this happens: We should offer the Iraqi people the opportunity to vote in the 2008 American presidential election.Letting Iraqis vote in our election would tether us to the fate of the Iraqi people and force us to own this war in a way that-despite the ultimate sacrifice of more than four thousand American soldiers-we haven't as a country. It would change the dynamic between Iraqis and Americans working on the ground in Iraq for a better, more stable, lasting democracy. And it would have a tremendous impact on our credibility in the region, perhaps even persuading some of the estimated 2 million Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries to return home to rebuild their country.I don't mean to suggest that Iraq should become America's 51st state. This would be a one-off, temporary measure. But its impact could be enormous. Iraq has a population of about 28 million-that's more than Texas but less than California, the most populous state in the union. Perhaps McCain and Obama would go to Iraq to campaign in Fallujah and Samarra, Basra and Erbil. This would allow them to hear from Iraqis directly, and it would bring news coverage of Iraq back to the front page.
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McCain and Obama would come to Iraq to campaign in Fallujah and Samarra, Basra and Erbil. |