[Paleopsych] proposal re Iraq

[Paul J. Werbos, Dr.]

As I think about the psychological variables driving a lot of people..
driving what happens in Iraq and elsewhere.... and I think about
the recent discussion of Kennedy's proposal...

It would be in the common interest BOTH of the President AND of
the rest of the world if the Administration would introduce a bill
something like...


Iraqi Sovereignty Affirmation Act

Preamble

The President of the United States has announced that the US will
remove its troops from Iraq when and if the legitimate elected government 
of Iraq
asks them to leave. It is hoped that this will happen, and will be 
consistent with
domestic peace within Iraq, at the soonest possible time. This act is not 
intended to change
that policy, but rather to affirm it and give it force of law in concrete 
terms.
The purpose of doing so is to dispel any grounds for doubt or skepticism 
about the sincere
intention of the United States government to adhere to this policy.

(1) After the people of Iraq have ratified a new Constitution, and that 
Constitution comes
into effect, the executive branch of the United States is obligated to 
follow any decisions
made by the government of Iraq under its constitution to limit the levels 
of US troops.
More precisely, if the government of Iraq specifies a schedule of maximum 
permitted
US troops on the sovereign territory of Iraq, then the US executive branch 
is ordered to
obey that schedule, with one caveat. The caveat is that the President may
insist on up to six months prior notice of required troop reductions, if he 
deems that logistic
realities require such notice.

(2) Even before a new Constitution is ratified, the US executive branch is 
required to
give some respect to the
new representatives of the Iraqi people elected in January 2005. If at any time
  a properly constituted meeting of those representatives votes by a 2/3 
majority to impose
a schedule of maximum permissible troop levels, then the executive branch 
of the US is required to
obey that schedule, with two caveats. First, as in clause (1), the 
President may ask for up to
six months prior notice for troop reductions. Second, if a majority of 
those representatives
vote at any time to raise the allowable troop levels for any period of 
time, that modified schedule would
immediately go into effect (subject still to the six months notice 
requirement for actual reductions).

========

Of course, I can imagine folks who would like to add all kinds of extra 
permissions and fuzzy stuff
here -- but I think that such additions would be a VERY BAD idea. Clarity 
and simplicity is very important
for this kind of thing.
---

Whatever...

anyone know anyone who might be interested?

Best of luck to us all...

     Paul