What are the most important issues we should be discussing, and asking the Presidential candidates about, at this point in the election cycle?
I nominate, in no particular order:
- Ending the occupation of Iraq
- Providing health care to everyone while addressing the rising costs
- Restoring the US educational system to excellence
- Improving social policy and behavior at the confluence of energy, transportation, and environment
These are only the most pressing problems, not necessarily the most important. For example, society continues to suffer from the outsized inertia of the military-industrial complex in a dying empire, and the general dominance of corporations over individuals that serves as a screen for exploitative and feudalistic individual relationships. But first we need to stop killing Iraqis.
I propose, as an exercise, to examine the statements on some candidate websites regarding their positions on the items in the list. Here’s the first installment. This one checks the Clinton, Obama, and Edwards positions on ending the war in Iraq (a phrase all three agree on).
If you’re interested in adding candidates to this list, or surveying their answers on a different question, we’ll post the results. (We reserve the right to match our punctuation standards.)
All quotes are from the official websites.
Senator Clinton, as everyone knows, voted for the original authorization for the war in Iraq. She has been careful not to apologize for that vote, perhaps fearing the flip-flopper label. But she has said she would vote differently knowing what she knows now.
In any case, she was forthrightly against the surge, and has proposed legislation to end the President’s authority for the war and to cap troop levels at Jan. 1, 2007, levels. She believes such legislation, if followed, would end the war before the next inauguration, but pledges to end the war herself if necessary.
Hillary opposes permanent bases in Iraq. She believes we may need a vastly reduced residual force to train Iraqi troops, provide logistical support, and conduct counterterrorism operations. But that is not a permanent force, and she has been clear that she does not plan a permanent occupation.
Under the heading “Ready to Lead”, the site points out that the Senator’s proposed legislation would:
- Require President Bush to begin removing the troops from Iraq within 90 days of passage, or Congress will revoke authorization for the war.
- Put an end to the blank check to the Iraqi government and give them real benchmarks with real consequences if they fail to meet them.
- Require the Secretary of Defense to certify that all troops sent to Iraq have the training and equipment they need.
It’s equally widely known that Senator Obama, then an Illinois State Senator, openly opposed the war in Iraq before it started. He didn’t have the opportunity to vote against the authorization bill, but it’s hard to doubt that he would have voted against it.
The Obama web page “Plan to End the Iraq War” begins with a paragraph on his early opposition. The other two paragraphs are these.
At the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations in November 2005, Senator Obama called for: (1) a reduction in the number of U.S. troops; (2) a time frame for a phased withdrawal; (3) the Iraqi government to make progress on forming a political solution; (4) improved reconstruction efforts to restore basic services in Iraq; and (5) engaging the international community, particularly key neighboring states and Arab nations, to become more involved in Iraq. In January 2006 he traveled to Iraq and met with senior U.S. military commanders, Iraqi officials and U.S. troops in Baghdad and Fallujah.Senator Obama introduced legislation in January 2007 to offer a responsible alternative to President Bush’s failed escalation policy. The legislation commences redeployment of U.S. forces no later than May 1, 2007 with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008 — a date consistent with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group’s expectations. The plan allows for a limited number of U.S. troops to remain in Iraq as basic force protection, to engage in counter-terrorism and to continue the training of Iraqi security forces. If the Iraqis are successful in meeting the 13 benchmarks for progress laid out by the Bush Administration, this plan also allows for the temporary suspension of the redeployment, provided Congress agrees that the benchmarks have been met.
Former Senator Edwards famously voted for the war authorization bill, and has since famously apologized ad nauseam. However, he has some advantages over the two current Senators currently leading the Democratic pack:
- He doesn’t have to back up his rhetoric with a vote.
- He’s already run for national office and lost.
The second one is a mixed blessing; but for some people it can be liberating to lose.
At his website, the former Senator advocates direct discussions with countries like Iran and Syria, a position that fits with Senator Obama’s statements. He proposes to declare that President Bush has exceeded the authority granted him in the original authorization, remove 40,000 to 50,000 US troops from Iraq immediately, and bring the rest home within 12 to 18 months.
Assuming that Congressional declarations will have little effect on the Cheney administration, he calls for funding restrictions, the one indisputed power of Congress:
- Cap Funds: Cap funding for the troops in Iraq at 100,000 troops to stop the surge and implement an immediate drawdown of 40-50,000 combat troops. Any troops beyond that level should be redeployed immediately.
- Support the Troops: Prohibit funding to deploy any new troops to Iraq that do not meet real readiness standards and that have not been properly trained and equipped, so American tax dollars are used to train and equip our troops, instead of escalating the war.
