Letter to the editor

Democrat shares war opposition

I went to my computer at 12:15 a.m. and loaded my msn.com homepage. The top headline read “House OK’s legislation for troop withdrawal.” I was preparing to go to bed, but now I find myself furious and sitting here typing this letter.

I do not hide the fact that I am whole-heartedly a Democrat, and as many of my party did four years ago, I opposed the war in Iraq. Over the course of the war Iraq has become a disaster. Four years into the war we have now had to send more troops into Iraq to handle the crisis. We largely took part in creating that crisis. Now Congress feels as though we should leave Iraq and let the Iraqis deal with that mess on their own.

Congress feels this way even though Iraq has shown no stability or ability to operate on their own. The date on the legislation passed for full combat troop withdrawal is Sept. 1, 2008. A lot can change by then, but to require the withdrawal of our troops in that time frame is completely absurd and irresponsible. We do not know what is going to happen in that time.

Maybe the insurgency will diminish, the Iraqi government will start functioning, and the economy will start to operate without foreign support. Perhaps such a drastic turn around in the next 18 months is possible, and if it does, great, but if it does not, are we prepared for the consequences of our troop removal? Only the Iraqis can determine whether or not Iraq is ready for its independence.

It is not up to the politicians in Congress. We created the debacle that has become Iraq, and it is our responsibility to see it through. Even though many do not like us, the Iraqi government and people look to the United States as an example of what they want to become. What kind of example are we setting by running?

Again, I did not support the war from the beginning, but I do realize that we have committed ourselves and must be held accountable. Wake up congress, or at least Democrats. No matter how you want to look at it, this is our problem, and we need to fix it, but the answer is not leaving.

Brandon Kesler
Student