THE PROVIDENCE JOURNALFour-point plan for IraqBy U.S. Sen. Jack Reed THE AMERICAN PEOPLE have sent Congress and the White House a strong and unequivocal message: We need to change course in Iraq. To date, the Bush administration's strategy has been: "As the Iraqis stand up, we'll stand down." This approach clearly isn't working. Over 300,000 Iraqis have "stood up," but none of our 144,000 U.S. troops have been able to stand down and the violence in Iraq has surged. Our national-security demands that we recapture the initiative in Iraq. President Bush's decision to accept Donald Rumsfeld's resignation is a positive development. Replacing the secretary of defense will not solve Iraq's problems overnight, but it hopefully shows the president has finally seen the writing on the wall and recognizes the need for a drastic change in our Iraq policy. Now the president needs to take the next step and make it clear to the Iraqis that our military presence is not open-ended and we will begin redeploying our forces from Iraq as quickly as possible. To protect our troops and address Iraq's most pressing needs, the president should also insist that the Iraqi government take four important steps: rein in the militias; share more intelligence with our troops; undertake real reconstruction, and encourage reconciliation. Let's look at those in greater detail: Rein in the militias: The militias are a source of great instability and the Iraqi government must make it clear it will dismantle all the militias, and do it soon. Militias and death squads should have no future in the new Iraq. Security should be the province exclusively of the army and police loyal to the national government. The Iraqi government has to step up and take that responsibility. Improve intelligence-sharing: During my trip to Baghdad last month, I was struck by comments from U.S. commanders that Iraqi intelligence isn't sharing all it knows about the violence with our troops. The heart of any counterinsurgency effort is intelligence, trying to stay one step ahead of the insurgents. If the Bush administration wants to keep 144,000 American soldiers on the front lines, it must insist that we get better intelligence cooperation from the Iraqis. Undertake real reconstruction: A recent congressional report shows the Bush administration has shortchanged reconstruction of the Iraqi infrastructure and economy. Our military commanders on the ground also report that the Iraqi government currently has around $13 billion in the bank from oil profits. It is alarming that this money is not being applied immediately to chronic issues of electricity, water, education, health care, and basic services. How can we ask the American taxpayers to continue shelling out billions of dollars when the Iraqi government itself is not willing to spend its own money? Encourage reconciliation: The Iraqi government has to take real, meaningful steps toward reconciliation. They must follow through with the commitment to amend Iraq's constitution and guarantee the Sunnis a share of the oil revenues, a piece of the economic pie, and a meaningful stake in the future of the new Iraq. In the near term, the Iraqi government should also ramp up the provincial-election process and allow more Sunnis to participate in governance. If the Iraqis are truly committed to building a stable, effective government, then they need to lean much more forward in the saddle and take real steps toward progress. We have 144,000 U.S. troops on the ground who are making incredible sacrifices and doing a magnificent job, not only for our country, but also to give the Iraqi government the opportunity to rebuild a stronger, freer Iraq. Americans expect, and rightfully so, that the Iraqi government will cooperate with us in its own self-interest. If President Bush cannot secure these basic commitments from the Iraqis, then the logic of keeping over 144,000 American troops in Iraq is suspect. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D.-R.I.) is a member of the Armed Services Committee.