ISSUE:  War in Iraq

Candidates at Odds Over Iraqi Battlefield

by Krista Tessman '09

“Iraq War”, “Occupation of Iraq”, “Second Gulf War”, “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, “The So Called War on Terror”; however you may perceive the conflict that the United States is in with Iraq, it will not change the fact the issue is one of the main issues facing the 2008 presidential election.

Simply stated, the Iraq War will not go unnoticed in the 2008 elections. Since the conflict first began on March 20, 2003, there has been no definite direction in which the War in Iraq is headed. The direction that is needed for Iraq will rely primarily on the next president.

Military personnel says the country shouldn't have got involved

Lt. Col. John Kabitzke, served in the Iraq War in 2005.  At first he agreed with going into Iraq but, has recently changed his opinion of the war. 

“Now I wish we wouldn’t have got involved with it.  I really think that as long as a country isn’t attacking us we shouldn’t be actively be the aggressor,” Kabitzke said.

Kabtizke said the war has impact on the upcoming presidential election.  He believes people are deciding who they are voting for based upon how candidates feel about the war in Iraq.

2008  presidential candidates take opposing stance in the War in Iraq

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) did not vote to put troops in Iraq. Gov. Bill Richardson has always opposed sending troops to Iraq.

“I was against this War from the start,” Obama said while addressing people in Waaterloo,Iowa. “I thought it was a tragic mistake, but whether you are for the war or against the war, we all have to agree now it does not make sense for us to place our troops in the midst of a civil war.”

According to the Online Journal, it is safe to say that Democratic presidential candidates have said invading Iraq in the first place was a mistake. Contrary to that belief, several of the candidates voted to use military force against Iraq. Some of those candidates include Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Sen. John Edwards (D- N.C.), Sen.Joseph Biden (D- Del.), and Sen. Chris Dodd(D-Conn.).

Clinton wants to end the war as soon as possible.  She hopes the war ends even before she could be elected president.  During a visit to Wartburg College in Waverly Iowa, Clinton said she will end the War in Iraq immediately once she is in office. 

The war has gone too far

Clinton believes the Iraq War already accomplished what the war was meant to accomplish.

“Our young men and women who have served our country have done everything they were asked to do.  They were asked to get rid of Saddam Hussein, and they did,” she said. “They were asked to give the Iraqis free and fair elections, and they did that.  And then they were asked to give the Iraqi government the space and time to make the decisions only the Iraqis could make for themselves.”

Kabitzke believes the war had a purpose to begin with but, now the politicians have allowed the war to go too far. 

“The whole objective initially was to get those who caused the World Trade Towers, who were the ones who were behind it.  If we would have just went after Bin Laden but then we went into Iraq,” Kabtizke said.

“It seems like the World Trade towers was just a lead into Iraq.  I think the politicians all along wanted to go into Iraq.  Then the World Trade Center happens, and gives them a reason to go into Iraq.”

Democrats want to bring troops home soon

The primary issue among the Democratic candidates is when the troops will be taken out of Iraq. Earlier in the campaign, presidential candidates had leaned towards a date beyond their first term in office for all of the troops to be out of Iraq. Over the campaign, there has been a feel of urgency for candidates to come up with a specific return date for the troops. The pervading theme running through the campaign is the sooner the better.

Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) was the first to vow to bring home the troops while serving his first term. Richardson has said he will get the troops out of Iraq within the first six months of his term.

Barack Obama has announced a plan to remove one or two combat brigades in Iraq each month. Right now there are 20 brigades in Iraq. Obama's plan would steadily remove the troops from Iraq.

General Patraeus is working hard to help bring home the troops. General Patreaus has said he plans on reducing the brigades to 15 by next summer.

Edwards plan for the Iraq war is to cap the number of troops. Edwards wants to stop funding for new troops, and also plans to remove all combat troops, leaving no permanent U.S. military bases. Edwards estimates his plan to take about a year after he is in office.

Clinton's plan for Iraq is to remove troops within her first days in office.
Biden's plan for Iraq includes five steps. First, Biden wants to establish "One Iraq." Iraq would then have a limited federal government. This plan would divide Iraq into three regions. Biden wants to remove all troops except 20,000 by then end of this year. His last step would help aid Iraq, and try to involve other countries in aiding Iraq.
 

Chris Dodd initially voted to send troops to Iraq but, later regretted voting in favor of the war. Dodd's plan for Iraq would be to have all troops brought home by April 30, 2008.
 

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) wants to take the troops out of Iraq by moving in peacemakers and security forces that will take place of the troops.

Republican candidates want to finish what was started

On the Republican side, some candidates want to take out the troops and end the war, and some want to finish what the United States started. The Republicans are less certain about the actual dates for bringing home the troops.

In favor of the Iraq war is Sen. Fred Thompson( R-Tenn). Thompson wants to keep the troops in Iraq. Thompson said he truly believes there were nuclear weapons in Iraq. Thompson wants the U.S. to stay in Iraq and finish what was started. Thompson believes it would be a sign of weakness if the United States left Iraq now.

Mitt Romney supports adding more troops to Iraq.  "I believe securing Iraqi civilians requires additional troops. I support adding five brigades in Baghdad and two regiments in Al-Anbar province," Romney said.

While Kabitzke can go over and fight in the War, he doesn’t have control over when it will be ending. 

“The matter of who’s going to be the next President I think is whether it’s going to end soon or not.  If we get out of these countries it will give them no excuse to recruit terrorists,” Kabtizke said.

Republican candidate Ron Paul disagrees with his counterparts who support the War in Iraq. Paul believes the war must end. Paul said, "It was a mistake to go in and it was a mistake to stay."

"I would be bringing our troops home as well as our border guards home," Paul told MSNBC.

As each candidate has similar views on the War in Iraq they also have very different ideas. With candidates on such opposite sides of the spectrum on certain issues dealing with Iraq, it will definitely be a factor for whom the American people will vote in the 2008 election.