# Posted 8:45 PM by Ariel David Adesnik  

LIEBERMAN AHEAD IN OXBLOG POLL: In a recent survey of OxBlog contributors, Joe Lieberman commands a solid 33.3% support rating. This has put him far ahead of all other Democratic primary candidates except for Al Sharpton, who also stands at 33.3%. There is considerable reason to suspect, however, that Sharpton's support reflects a calculated effort by conservative OxBloggers to embarrass the Democratic Party, thus hurting it chances in the November election.

The remaining 33.3% of OxBloggers are undecided.

The critical factor accounting for Lieberman's impressive level of support is his principled dedication to promoting democracy in Iraq. On February 26 -- the same day that President Bush gave his first major address on postwar Iraq -- Lieberman delivered a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in which he described how the United States might go about achieving the objectives that the President would go on to elaborate later that evening.

Highlights of the speech included Lieberman's statement that our commitment to postwar Iraq

need[s] depth because our allies, the Iraqi people and the region need to know that our interest in Iraq and the region is not a fleeting fancy but part of a broad strategic and moral commitment to bring progress and security to the Muslim world.

Lieberman also stands out because of his commitment to rebuilding Afghanistan

where we fought and won a war but have not yet won the peace. As a result, what began as a lesson in the power and precision of the American military has devolved into a cautionary tale of the problems that result from engaging the world too haphazardly, too arrogantly, and too belatedly...

The transitional government's control over the country is now so weak, in fact, that some refer to President Hamid Karzai as the Mayor of Kabul. And non-governmental organizations working in Kabul report that coordination among their donors, the military, U.S.A.I.D., and the U.N. remains badly disorganized.

There does seem to be some concern however that Lieberman has excessive faith in a multilateral approach to the rebuilding of Iraq. As he remarked,

the Administration should begin working with our international allies to name an international civilian administrator—perhaps an experienced government official from an Arab nation—who will guide Iraq in the critical transition period between war's immediate aftermath and Iraqi self-rule.

An Arab official? I guess that would be OK as long as said official had extensive experience working for a democratic government. So does anyone know the name of those eight or so Arabs in the Israeli Knesset?

Speaking of Israel, Lieberman made some insightful remarks about achieving peace in that troubled nation. As he rightly observed,

It's no longer enough for the President to say he supports a democratic Palestine living in peace alongside a secure and sovereign Israel while doing nothing to help produce that outcome on the ground. America must re-engage without delay, expend political capital, and help Israel and responsible Palestinians move beyond the violent and debilitating stalemate that is devastating lives on both sides.

That must start with a 100 percent effort by the Palestinian Authority to stop terrorism against Israelis, and an Israeli commitment to react positively and concretely to such an effort. I believe there are ripening conditions for a very high-level American engagement to help both sides move toward the positive goals each has spoken of.

It's also nice to see that Lieberman has continued to be an outspoken advocate of promoting democracy in Iraq. On CBS' "Face The Nation", Lieberman argued that

one of the things we learned during the '90s in the Balkans, when we set a deadline, is that deadlines are arbitrary and don't make much sense, that the deadline has to be when the mission is completed.

And the mission is completed when real security is achieved and there's an Iraqi government that is stable, that represents the Iraqi people, that is in charge.

Damn right. Now it's time for the rest of the Democratic candidates to step up to the plate. (0) opinions -- Add your opinion