Congressional Candidates Around the Nation Seek to Repair the Damage Current Policies Created

Major General Paul Eaton, now retired, oversaw training the Iraqi army in 2003-2004. He helped craft A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq and joined with me in writing this piece about the plan.

Last month, a half-dozen Democratic congressional candidates from around the country gathered in Washington to present "The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq" to the American people.

Meanwhile, ABC's Martha Raddatz was telling Vice President Dick Cheney that two-thirds of Americans thought the war is not worth fighting.

"So?" he replied.

"So," she asked, "you don't care what the American people think?"

"No."

Sometimes it's difficult to tell which is in greater supply in the Bush administration -- arrogance or incompetence. Taken together, however, they are the most dangerous combination, as the 4,000th combat death in Iraq has reminded us.

The list of failures that led us into this war is long, and historians will be adding to it for years, but at the top is a failure to lead -- not just by the administration but by both parties in Congress. In the run-up to the war, a herd-like mentality developed, not just in the White House and Pentagon but also on Capitol Hill, where congressional leaders of both parties seemed to lack the political will and courage to stand up to an over-zealous and power-hungry executive branch.

The heavy-handed governing style of the Bush administration left no room for dissent, no room for input from others and no room to build coalitions either inside or outside the United States. It turns out that is no way to run a government and no way to wage a war.

This year we will elect a new president (we hope it will be a Democrat) who will need to take the lead in undoing the damage that has been done by this administration, at home and abroad.

But he or she will not be able to do it alone, and will need a Congress with political courage and a commitment to reform.

The candidates who have committed to supporting the Responsible Plan are not just committing to ending the war, but to making sure we never find ourselves in this situation again. Many of the proposals in the plan follow the lead of the Iraq Study Group -- a non-partisan panel whose roadmap of a new direction for American foreign policy was completely ignored by the Bush administration.

The Responsible Plan seeks to create an American foreign policy for the 21st century -- one that makes military action the last option, not the first.

Creating the capacity for nation-building and economic reconstruction in the State Department, expanding the role of the international community and reaffirming our commitment to human rights are some of the steps we can take toward repairing America's standing in the world.

Here at home, the Responsible Plan includes proposals to:

RESTORE THE individual rights and the balance of power guaranteed in the Constitution;

END DETAINEE torture and extraordinary rendition;

REBUILD our military; and

PROVIDE OUR returning veterans with the care and benefits they deserve.

Since we presented the Responsible Plan, more than 50 Democratic congressional candidates have signed on, showing their willingness to build a coalition and fight for change in Washington. And around the country, nearly 25,000 Americans have endorsed the plan.

Opinion polls often report the public's disappointment in the leadership shown by their elected officials. It's no wonder.

If people assume election to public office automatically makes someone a "leader," they're bound for disappointment. The abilities, skills and quality-of-character that create a leader aren't something conferred on him or her by public office, but something that must be brought to that office -- from the outside.

By standing up and presenting the Responsible Plan to End the War, these Democratic candidates are ready to bring those qualities to Washington.

The entire plan is available online at www.chelliepingree.com.

[Cross-posted at TurnMaineBlue.com, and at the Portland (Me.) Press Herald.]

Comments

[StinkyPete]

Sometimes important changes come about with little fanfare. Happy to see this one.

http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2008/04/17/congress-quietly-repeals-martial-law-provision/

[LizM]

Apparently, you are unaware of Senator Biden"s comprehensive strategy to promote and facilitate a sustainable political settlement in Iraq based on federalism and Iraq"s constitution. Perhaps you are also unaware that his plan has already received the support of an overwhelming and unprecedented majority of Republicans and Democrats in the Senate ( by a vote margin of 75-23!) and in the House. The Biden strategy has also been unofficially endorsed by the permanent members of the UN Security Council and his approach is also supported by a majority of Iraq"s sectarian leaders.

I would suggest that you give serious thought to supporting the Biden strategy as it provides the only hope there is for moving toward a political solution in Iraq that can bring an end to the civil war and bring US troops home without leaving a failed state in their wake. It"s high time for Democrats to unite around the leader among Democrats on foreign policy and national security and demand that the Biden strategy for the promotion and facilitation of a sustainable political settlement in Iraq be implemented by the next administration, if not sooner!

[UnbiasView]

"So?" he replied.

"So," she asked, "you don't care what the American people think?"

"No."

Do you really have a problem with these statements? 70%+ were for the war to start with and now it's at the other end. If we made all of our decisions based on polls this country would have been done long ago.

If you polled Americans: Do you want to give 50% of your paycheck to the Government?

99% of people would say no, does that mean we get rid of taxes?

[mamacat]

This is a war of choice, and was based on lies. There never was any need to go to war with Iraq. Thus, choosing to end the war is just as reasonable as choosing to start it, and probably much more so. This does not address the issue that the Bush/Cheney duo lied to the American people repeatedly about why a war with Iraq was/is needed.

50% of whose paycheck goes in taxes? No one I know.

That the people in the White House don't care about the American people, or any people other than their rich friends, is not surprising. The pictures of Bush playing his guitar for reporters the day after the levees broke in New Orleans, at the same time that people were drowning, is worth a thousand words. Bush and Cheney are the Neros of the 21st Century, ignoring the suffering of those they are supposed to care about, if not actually causing the suffering.

[not one of the sheep]

You are so right UnbiasView. We would be speaking German in the Nazi regime, slavery would never have been abolished and so on if we only went by polls. We are a great nation because leaders took a stand to do what was right and just.

[akaJohnQ]

You are correct that the US is a great nation. However, Bush and Cheney fall woefully short of being called great leaders. Their leadership has not controbuted to the geeatness of this country. Their agendas place little importance on "right and just." Any more of their kind of leadership and our status as a great nation will be greatly imperilled.