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Despite the talk among public figures and commentators about the need for unifying ideas in today's political arena, the presidential candidates and their policies regarding Iraq couldn't be less suited to cross the aisle of partisan politics. In the presidential race, Senators Clinton and Obama have both put forward proposals to end the military conflict-- by bringing troops home or redeploying them elsewhere. Senator McCain believes that we need to stick with the status-quo and advocates sending even more troops.
Each of the campaigns has extensive information about the Iraq war on their websites. I would suggest, however, that women voters pay attention to more than just each candidates position on the Iraq war. Whether one supported or disapproved of our nation's decision to invade Iraq, the question for us now is what we're intending to learn from the experience. A good friend of mine working in Iraq to rebuild its army (who opposed the Iraq war, as did I) recently told me "we might leave Iraq, but Iraq's not going to leave us". This thought has both positives and negatives. Iraq has imposed huge costs in terms of blood and treasure. The loss of life is astonishing. To date 4000 American military personal and countless Iraqi civilians have died. Both Americans and Iraqis are going to be paying the price of "regime change" for years to come. But the silver lining of this war is the potential for a dramatic re evaluation of US National Security, some serious introspection into our own democracy and a thorough evaluation of how we involve ourselves with the rest of the world. Here is a flavor of what the candidates have been saying:
Senator Clinton has a three-step plan for Iraq policy: 1. bring our troops home 2. work to bring stability to the region, and 3.replace military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future. A committed and well-traveled internationalist, Clinton recognizes that US power is more than just our ability to dominate and coerce and that we must win back the world's confidence and trust in order to be secure. In a recent speech, she declared "the more the world regards us with suspicion rather than admiration, the more difficult it is to confront these [global] challenges" Clinton's biggest obstacle on her Iraq war policy is overcoming the fact that she voted to go to war back in 2002. This is a considerable sticking point among the Democratic base and Clinton clearly is trying to woo them to her side by consistently recognizing the larger context of today's threats to our security. For example, by saying that in today's world "we are confronted by yet another new face of war and a new reality of global interdependence. It is a moment of peril and of promise. How we proceed is entirely up to us. We can repair the damage that has been done to our security and our standing over these past six years. We can rebuild our alliances and restore our moral authority, and reestablish our leadership in the world." Clinton introduced legislation in 2007 to build a political case against President Bush's "surge" policy. The Iraq Troops Protection and Reduction Act was introduced in February last year and shortly thereafter, she took steps to de-authorize the war entirely.
Senator Obama's position on Iraq entails a phased redeployment of American forces from Iraq in a manner that protects U.S. troops and exerts leverage to achieve the political settlement among the Iraqis. He introduced legislation last year, The Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007 which has provided a template for many other working documents and efforts to bring the war to a close. Obama is the only one among the three candidates who took a stand against going to war in Iraq--a significant risk considering that he was running for his Illinois Senate seat at the time. His current plan would begin withdrawing our troops engaged in combat operations at a pace of one or two brigades every month, to be completed by the end of next year. He would call for a new constitutional convention in Iraq, convened with the United Nations, which would not adjourn until Iraq's leaders reach a new accord on reconciliation. He would use presidential leadership to surge our diplomacy with all of the nations of the region on behalf of a new
