Reflecting on a Resolution to Pull Troops Out of Iraq
I fear that President Bush doesn’t have a realistic vision for what he hopes to gain in Iraq. My heart sinks every time another American loses his or her life in this war. It also troubles me that the blood of so many innocent Iraqis continues to flow in the streets of Iraq. Then I think about my sons. At 21 years old, they are of prime draft age if the draft is reenacted. The idea of them marching off to a war, which at the rate we’re going, doesn’t have an end, troubles me tremendously.
With that said and done, most people would assume that I would have voted on February 13 in favor of sending a resolution to Washington demanding an “immediate” pull out from Iraq. Well, I didn’t vote for it for a number of reasons.
First: I was seriously troubled by the wording of this resolution. In reading it, it seemed obvious to me that the purpose of the resolution in reality was a political statement against the Bush administration than against the war, not to find a true way to end the war. I have absolutely no problem with people questioning the president’s decision to go to war, or how he has handled it, or even saying it’s time to look for an exit strategy, but I resent the idea that our troops are being used as ammunition to fight a battle against the president.
Second: I, as a Vermonter, am offended by the way this resolution was handled, not offended for myself, but for the Vermonters whose voices were stolen from them. Why didn’t this resolution, like other important resolutions, go to a committee where members of the community, both for and against, could have testified? Few people, especially the public, even knew this resolution was coming up for discussion. My constituents, and the rest of Vermonters, were cheated out of their right to voice their thoughts on this very important issue. Whether they supported the resoultion or were against it, citizens should have been given an opportunity to voice their concerns before we sent such an important resolution on behalf of Vermonters to Washington D.C? Why were the voices of my constituents and the voice of all Vermonters taken away? Sadly this resolution will do nothing to end the bloodshed, but the way it was handled has taught many Vermonters that their voices are not wanted, that they don’t have the knowledge to provide input on a topic that many of us agonize about every day. I hope the way this bill was handled doesn’t become a trend for the rest of the session.
Third: Although I am not totally against the idea of sending a message to Washington saying that we, as Vermonters, are looking for an attainable goal to end this war, I am against trying to micro manage a war that I have no idea how to manage. Who am I to insist that we “commence immediately the orderly withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq” as stated in the bill? Is this the right thing for our troops? For the country? I don’t know. I am not knowledgeable of military strategy. Besides that, I admittedly don’t know what to believe when it comes to the current state of affairs in Iraq. When I watch the news I see chaos in the streets of Baghdad, but many returning troops tell me a totally different story when it comes to much of the rest of Iraq. They insist that life has gotten back to normal for the people, better than normal. Veterans tell me there are many of those stories to be told in Iraq.
Fourth: I believe that because of our decision, right or wrong, to go into Iraq, we owe it to the people of that country, and region, to at least try our hardest not to leave the country more of a mess than we found it. I fear that an “immediate” pull out will lead to a slaughter of Iraqi people, the very people that we helped to save from the horrors of Saddam Hussein. Would such a pull out also embolden the terrorists to possibly attack again on U.S. soil? But if we truly have no plan, and the Iraqi government don’t want to stand on their own two feet, and the Iraqi people want us out, so be it, it’s time for our men and women to pack their backs and come home – with honor that they served their country. Whether we “win” this war or “lose” it, we must always respect our veterans and the sacrifices that they made while serving their country. In my work with veterans who fought in Vietnam, they talk about being haunted, not by the horrors of war, or by memories of their former foes, but by the memories of the way they were treated by war protestors, and much of the rest of the country, when they returned home.
Positive News:
Attempts were made by some legislators to vote the resolution into committee where it belonged so the community could provide their voice. However, in a roll call vote the legislators rebuffed the move. Fortunately an attempt to soften the language of the bill so it wasn’t insult to the troops was passed, but sadly, the resolution says nothing about thanking our men and women who have served in Iraq. This revised resolution eventually passed by a wide margin, without my support, as I said, not because I approve of the way the war is being handled, but because I think the resolution is political game playing with our troops’ lives, and because the residents of the state were cheated out of their right to voice their opinions.
The way this resolution was handled makes me more skeptical than ever of the political process, however, I appreciate many of the people who voted and spoke for and against the resolution. Most of them stated their thoughts and beliefs without running down others who had differencing opinions.
My closing comments are that I hope we can find a “real” solution to bring an end to this horrible war before any more blood – American and Iraqi – is spilled in the streets of Iraq.