On the War

By Tim Gibbons: Published by High Plains View, September 5, 2008.

Two weeks ago, I compared the success of the First Persian Gulf War with the failings of the current war in Iraq. Last week, we discussed the validity of “preventive warfare”. And now, with the Presidental elections drawing near, let's look at what our two hopefuls, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama have to say on the war in Iraq.

John McCain
“It is obvious that a president's first priority is to take whatever steps necessary to ensure the security of our nation, but hand in hand with that has to be a restoration of trust and confidence in government.”
“I've heard him (Ron Paul) now in many debates talking about bringing our troops home, and about the war in Iraq, and how it's failed. And I want to tell you that that kind of isolationism, sir, is what caused World War II.”
“I think that clearly my fortunes [in the election] have a lot to do with what's happening in Iraq, and I'm proud of that,” he told CNN.
Senator John McCain has been a strong supporter for the conflict in Iraq calling it, “the central front of the war on terror.” He has even stated that he would not be opposed to seeing American forces in Iraq for the next 100 years, provided, “Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed. Then it’s fine with me. I would hope it would be fine with you if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where Al Qaeda is training, recruiting, equipping and motivating people every single day.”
When asked if he, as president, would reject the Bush doctrine of preemptive war, McCain responded, "I don't think you could make a blanket statement about pre-emptive war, because obviously, it depends on the threat that the United States of America faces.”
A question posed to McCain on the Today show asked if he knew when American troops could start to return home, McCain responded: “No, but that's not too important. What's important is the casualties in Iraq.”
At 71-years-old, McCain will be the oldest person to take the office of President if he wins. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958 and became a naval aviator. In 1967 he was shot down, badly injured and held as a prisoner of war by the Vietnamese until 1973. He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives by the State of Arizona, in 1982. He served two terms and was then elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 and has continued to serve in this capacity.

Barack Obama
“We have spent billions of dollars, lost thousands of lives. Thousands more have been maimed and injured as a consequence and are going to have difficulty putting their lives back together again. This has undermined our security. In the meantime, Afghanistan has slid into more chaos than existed before we went into Iraq.”
“Here is the truth: fighting a war without end will not force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And fighting in a war without end will not make the American people safer.”
Senator Barack Obama has been a strong advocate for ending American presence in Iraq, “I will set a new goal on day one: I will end this war. Not because politics compels it. Not because our troops cannot bear the burden – as heavy as it is. But because it is the right thing to do for our national security,”.
Reasons for the withdrawal include the huge burden to the taxpayers and the government which is spending $9- $10 billion a month on the war. Obama also is concerned that the build up in Iraq has compromised America's ability to respond to other crisis', such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and rising concerns in South America.
When asked if the president could disregard a congressional statute limiting the deployment of troops, Obama replied, “No, the President does not have that power. To date, several Congresses have imposed limitations on the number of U.S. troops deployed in a given situation. As President, I will not assert a constitutional authority to deploy troops in a manner contrary to an express limit imposed by Congress and adopted into law.”
During the Chicago Foreign Affairs Council, April 23, 2007, Obama stated that, “Our country's greatest military asset is the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States. When we do send our men and women into harm's way, we must also clearly define the mission, prescribe concrete political and military objectives, seek out advice of our military commanders, evaluate the intelligence, plan accordingly, and ensure that our troops have the resources, support and equipment they need to protect themselves and fulfill their mission.”
Obama was born on August 4, 1961 and is the junior United States Senator from Illinois. He graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School where he served as the president of the Harvard Law Review.
He has practiced as a civil rights attorney from 1997 to 2004 and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He is the first African American to receive a major party's presumptive nominee for President of the United States.
The War
To date the current Iraqi War has cost the American people the lives of 4,143 brave soldiers and thousands more wounded. The bill for the war totals $845 billion in taxpayer dollars and an additional loss of approximately $3 trillion to our American economy.
Of the two major goals the Bush Administration had in going to war with Iraq, (Destroy Weapons of Mass Destruction and Establish a Democratic Government in Iraq), both have been answered.
As of May 2006, Iraq had a constitution and a democratic government in place. On April 9, 2008, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told President Bush that Iraqi security forces were capable of maintaining and protecting Iraqi infrastructure and American troops should be pulled out as the situation allows.
Despite claims to the contrary, no evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) have been discovered, neither was there any evidence before the war that they existed. Most of the reports on the presence of WMD's, were later proven to be falsified by the Bush administration.
The question before Americans this election is simple: Keep the war going or end it? What's the right decision? You be the judge.