Posted by
The Proud Liberal on Monday, November 19, 2007 9:09:38 AM
Now that the deaths in Iraq have diminished the Democrats should moderate their demand for stopping the war and bringing the troops home. In a move that would smack of statesmanship Democrats should begin to address the fate of the one in six Iraqis who have fled their homes in fear of their lives. An estimated two million Iraqis have fled to other countries and another two million are internally displaced; Sunis fleeing Shiite neighborhoods and Shiites fleeing Suni neighborhoods.
Assuming that the United States achieves a military victory in Iraq our concerns must inevitably turn to the state of Iraqi civil society and what that should look like. Chief among these issues is whether Iraqis should have the right to return to their old homes regardless of the neighborhood. And if not should the new inhabitants of their homes be required to pay restitution or fair market value for the homes they acquired through terrorism. Beginning to address these issues now would make Democrats the party of Statesmanship and make Republicans look bad.