4000 Reasons to Take Responsibility
The situation we're in right now in Iraq is tragic, but we can solve it. Brandon Friedman at VoteVets reports that the last two weeks have been the most violent period in Iraq since September 2007. He wrote of an email from one of his friends in the Green Zone, who is now sleeping in his body armor because it is so dangerous.
It has been obvious for a long time that our presence in Iraq is making things worse, and that it is not a false choice between supporting the troops and ending the war. I grew up as the daughter of a career servicemember -- I know that I honor my father's service by safeguarding our servicemembers and their families and making a real commitment to national security. The American people understand this, even if the Republicans do not. When I chose to run for Congress, I did so knowing that what was missing in the debate over Iraq was the role of political will. I defeated my opponent in the Democratic primary, incumbent Al Wynn, because Democrats in my district wanted someone who would bring the political will to Washington to end this war.
And because of the choice that voters in my district made, and because of the choice that all voters will make in November, I am confident that we can and will end this war. The sad fact that the 4000th American troop was killed in Iraq this week only makes our task as citizens more clear. But it is not simply the election in the fall that will determine what kind of path we take in Iraq. It is our choices now, as citizens and voters, in presenting to the public candidates who will offer real alternatives to the current policies of our government.
I know this first-hand, because I helped offer voters in Maryland's fourth district a choice in who they would nominate for Congress. And then, last week, as the Democratic nominee from the fourth Congressional district in Maryland, I presented something called the Responsible Plan to End the War, along with 10 Democratic challengers and several retired military officers, a plan that points us towards a new path forward in Iraq, a path where we engage diplomatically with the rest of the world and remove all our troops from Iraq as a first step in bringing some stability to the region.
Ending the war and doing so responsibly takes sound policy, clear direction, and political will, but we can do it. In fact, we begin by offering up a responsible plan to end the war. I encourage all of you to help me and Democrats running for Congress to change the conversation around national security so that we ensure that this war does end.
Read the plan at responsibleplan.com, and if it makes sense to you, add your name as an endorser -- a citizen endorser. A few years ago, I was just your average citizen willing to bet that the political will existed among the public for a different direction in our policy-making. Now I know that it does. So let's make sure that 4000 American troops deaths, and the tens of thousands of additional American casualties and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties are the last casualties of a lack of political will in this country.
And together, let's build a new world and restore America's promise.
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About the only plan that will ever bring peace to this planet is in Isaiah 23:17-18 and 24 24:21-24: where the kings are thrown in jail and the profits of this world are used for those who need them. Then we will have that big party of Isaiah 25.
If you do not think these are the days, Daniel, the Lamb and other prophets said would come, add it all up.
It is the same old story, the same old crime...They all are here today too...
With getting the troops out, there has to be an effort
to help the Iraqi's rebuild houses, water, electricity,
and schools. The surge has secured only a small
area. And somehow all the millions that were to be
spent have been used sparingly. Without the basic
needs being met, people all over the world tend
to use violence at some point.
We are using our troops all over the world to intimidate and interfere with other governments for the benefit of the corporations that pull the strings of the puppets we elect (?) ! Should we express ourselves by not agreeing with these illegal maneuvers by our government, we are accused of being unpatriotic or treasonous!
These same corporations show their appreciation by outsourcing as many jobs as possible to cheaper labor. Thus they avoid a lot of taxes! If these companies were using American labor, how much more money would flow into our government in the form of taxes (Direct [ income and fica] and indirect [sales, entertainment etc.]) Some of these companies open "off shore" offices to avoid taxes all together! The most brazen of these (like Haliburton) not only enjoy 'no-bid' government contracts, they even move to places like Dubai where it is very easy to 'launder' money!
John Q. Public is not getting a fair shake!!
Ms Edwards,
As others have said - CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are on the right path - please read and consider signing onto the global marshall plan ( http://globalmarshallplan.org/ ) which focusses on engaging in the world in a completely new way - with compassion and kindness, generosity and love. These values have been the drivers for each generation's contribution to the evolution of human consciousness. The best evidence is Germany (where the GMP originated) - after WW1 it was treated from the perspective of punnishment, and this led directly to the rise of the Nazi mentality ( I mourn the loss of 26 members of my family to the extermination camps ). On the other hand, after WW2 they were treated with generosity and forgiveness that led to prosperity and a truly peace-oriented society wanting to do good in the world. Can you sign on to the Global Marshall Plan as the base details of your plan?
Peace, out from San Francisco! Irene
We should speak of ending the "war crime" because there is no war, only a war crime, the crime of war of aggression. We have no right to have an embassy there or to install a puppet government, regardless of sham elections. And certainly it is not possible to sign legal treaties with a puppet government. Every act of an American there that is not intended to get our forces out permanently is yet another war crime.
The soldiers themselves should object to participating in war crimes as a matter of conscience. It changed my life, but I dropped out of college and went underground rather than participate in the war crimes in Viet Nam and I have never been sorry that I did, in fact, it is one of the decisions in my life of which I am most proud.
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, Wolfowitz et. al. belong in solitary confinement for life in a maximum security prison, and I only say that because I oppose capital punishment.
Great!! "Stop the War crimes"!!!! Congress controls the purse strings and yet we are building the largest American Embassy in the world there.
Those running this administration are war criminals and if the American people are not aware of it, the rest of the world is!
The refusal of our ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES to take steps to investigate, indite, impeach and imprison those responsible for these breaches of our Constitution and international law are just as guilty!
We should vote every incumbent out of office and take back this country! There is a movement to bring about voters unitive, where referendums are on the ballot for the American people to vote for directly. If a majority of ,we, the people vote for that law , Congress cannot override it! That would be government by 'the people'! Just imagine banning 'lobbyists' and making our ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES DEPENDENT ON THEIR CONSTITUENTS FOR THE MONEY TO BE RE-ELECTED!! iNDEPENDENT CHALLENGERS WOULD THEN BE HEARD AND THOSE IN POWER WOULD NO LONGER HAVE A MONOPOLY!
you all have read the plan, right? it's in lines along what you are thinking about, sans impeachment, by the time donna edwards gets in office bush will be out. but, she did knock off the incumbent, and he was a democrat too.
I'm puzzled. How is it that so many people seem to know the history of how we got into this war and the serial and ever changing reasons that we must remain, but a goodly chunk of the electorate is still willing to continue by backing George Bush et.al. in the form of John McCain, at least acording to the polls. All of us anti-war types can't afford to cut off our noses to spite our faces because our would-be nominees are having a cat fight. Staying home from the polls or voting for McCain for sheer spite because your favorite didn't win would be, not only disastrous, but just plain Un-American.
Yes we lost 4,000 of Cheney's "volunteer soldiers". It is a shame that along with sending troops to die, Bush and Cheney sent our brave soldiers to murder in their name.
Why does the media and the bloggers in here keep skirting around the fact that since we "liberated" Iraqis from the horrors of Sadam, nearly 1.2million more Iraqis are now dead. Most as a direct or indirect result of having been "liberated" by the US.
I don't blame the soldiers. They are unwitting tools being manipulated by a greedy and corrupt administration bent on stealing oil.
If you want to grab attention stop talking about the 4,000 lost lives and headline with "Over a Million Dead in Iraq"
A half-truth is not truth. Tell the whole story please.
It is good to see a former Military Dependent posting as she has but it is also pathetic to see comments about "US soldiers being unwitting tools" and referencing professional soldiers as such. Soliders are not unwitting tools. It is clear that individuals who think and speak of this have no relationship, understanding, or background with the military. Go find a VA hospitol and tell wounded vets they are "unwitting tools."
It are such unwitting fools who comment about soldiers such as they do who fail to recognize that without there work, sitting at a computer and making such comments would be impossible and fail to recognize that fact that if not for the role of the military, such things as commerce and trade and living in a country free of roving militias would be impossible. The reason you do not have to carry a weapon is because others do it for you along with the heavy lifting.
Perhaps this is an acceptable post for the editors at the post.
My son is not an unwitting tool.
He is a Hero
Soldiers are not unwitting tools
HuffPost's Pick
When we (The USA) "kill" it is in defense of, "human rights."
When "they" kill, it is "terrorism."
Simple.
Two Books to read:
"The Tragedy of American Diplomacy" by, William Appleman Williams
and
"When Presidents Lie" by, Eric Alterman
Of course, these are two of many hundreds to read to try understand our "Two-Headed" foreign policies led by "two headed" political parties....two sides of the "same" coin.
No. The real question about Iraq is not what will happen when we leave. There is little doubt that when our soldiers depart, the faux country of Iraq will fall into chaos.
The true question is: how long will we put off the inevitable, and how many brave Americans will give their all in the first Oil War.
Of course, we might also wonder whether or when Bushcheney will order an invasion of Iran. At that point, the question will expand to encompass: "Will the Demowimps in Congress finally impeach Bushcheney when the evidence is uncontravertable?"
I DON'T THINK BUSH AND CHENEY WILL ORDER AN INVASION OF IRAN!! I DO BELIEVE THEY KNOW THAT THERE WOULD BE A REVOLUTION AGAIN WITH MANY "CITIZENS" GOING AFTER THEIR HIDES. NO MORE WAR, NO MORE WAR............THE AFGHANISTAN WAR IS BECOMING WORSE AND THE SO CALLED INSURGENTS/TERRORISTS ARE GETTING STRONGER IN IRAQ ALSO..........IT'S TIME TO PULL AND LET THE B&^$S KILL EACH OTHER OFF.........BUT THEN, HOW COULD WE LIVE WITH OURSELVES WHEN THEIR ARE SO MANY INNOCENT IRAQI'S... WOMEN AND CHILDREN.............WHAT A MESS THIS ARROGANT HYPOCRITICAL BUSH FOOL AND HIS CRONIES MADE OF OUR WORLD
We've "lived with ourselves" for more than 5 years while murdering those, "innocent Iraqi women and children" and we've hardly batted an eye.
FOXYLADY, I don't think you fully appreciate the depth of the Cheney neo-con pathology They don't care what "citizens" think or believe. Bush has already put Executive Order provisions in place to deal with any opposition.
Ms. Edwards,
Congratulations on your victory as the Democratic Nominee for MD's 4th Congressional District.
You are working within a party that has not adequately defended workers rights, presided over massive outsourcing, failed to stop Bush's criminal war while simultaneously blaming Ralph Nader for "stealing votes",failed to seek out (with the exception of a very few courageous Democrats) Articles of Impeachment against Bush and Cheney for their violations of the UN Charter.
I hope that you can work with other courageous Democrats and help set our nation right again, as if people mattered. There are not that many, albeit. But taking back our nation must start somewhere, and if it doesn't start soon, the voting public will soon lose patience with the Democratic Party, and will seek Third Party candidates who, in future elections, may render the Democratic Party obsolete!
Maybe you are the first of a trend of restoring the Democratic Party as a true opposition party. If you win in November, I pray that you heed the Progressive voices of your district, so that we may know that we can count on an opposition to put in check uncontrolled and arrogant Executive power, and heal the damage inflicted by our illegal war/occupation (Dennis Kucinich's 12 point plan would be a good example on how to approach Iraq--I respectfully submit).
Given the above situation, you certainly have your work cut out for you. If you win in November, I wish you well on your efforts.
Well stated! We are repeating the absurd Vietnam adventure, where politician after politician warned that withdrawal would be a catastrophe for the Vietnamese and for the US. Total rubbish, intended in part to cover up the supreme stupidity and arrogance of the civilian advisers who took the US into the war in the first place.
I took a look at The Plan. There's not much there there -- a draw-down is not the same as a withdrawal AND there is no timetable. It's a plan for more endless months and months of blathering. The "repair and prevent" part of The Plan is interesting.
"So," was what he said.
Makes no difference
Four thousand dead.
Cognitive dissonance.
What goes through that arrogant mind?
This victory you're convinced we'll find
How Pyrrhic will it be?
And for one selfish moment I must ask
What this war is costing me
Our money, our future, this futile task
Repercussions un-foretold
Their discussions brash and bold
We continue to pay, our opinions hold no sway
irrelevant polls and death rolls
4,001, another mother's son.
Do you care about 4,002?
Who are we to tell you what to do.
Will we be free after 4,003?
No. More. More. 4,004.
He'll strive and strive
Healthy? Alive? Not 4,005.
Political tricks kill 4,006
Off to heaven goes 4,007
Hate is great, berate your fate
No matter, still gone, 4,008.
How will it be for 4,009?
Sniper, car bomb, or land mine?
4,010, we're at it again
4,011, a meaningless digit
The military machine's replaceable widget
To what depths will they delve with 4,012
Poll numbers, reason, they've decided to shelve
4,013? They've got spleen and stomach for more.
Our bile, though, is starting to bore.
This list will continue with their stupid war
4,014
4,015
4,016
4,017
4,018
Just numbers ticking up and up
Two thirds of Americans don't compare to me
With kings I sup, they slurp noodles from a cup.
Though 4,019 might disagree
You say there are plenty, look now there's 4,020.
And that's just our side
We don't count Iraqis who've died.
bravo.
What can I say, this sonnet tells it all.
AAAAHHHHH JEFFERY............YOU'VE SAID IT ALL SO BEAUTIFULLY....IF ANYTHING CONNECTED WITH "WAR" CAN BE BEAUTIFUL..........YOU SHOULD "PUBLISH!!!!"
I commend you for your efforts and wish you luck. However, I believe that the worst is yet to come and you should be prepared to launch an effort to stop the next war with Iran. Both parties will support bombing Iran after the election, if not before. The investor class of Wall Street is for this, even if you aren't. They're the ones who own this country and both political parties as well as control national policy.
If you thought occupying Iraq was bad, just wait. Iran hasn't been successfully invaded since the Islamic conquest of the 7th century and even then Arabization failed. To further complicate matters, Iran has allies in China and Russia. If the US or Israel uses nuclear bunker buster bombs, there is a good chance of the winds carrying the fallout over their territory. This could create an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. Even if this doesn't spark a World War, China might decide to divest of the US loans it is holding. Such an action is capable of causing a complete collapse of the US economy and possibly the beginning of a worldwide depression. Prepare yourself now to be effective opposition when Joe Lieberman, or someone like him, declares "another Pearl Harbor" has taken place in Iraq or the Persian Gulf.
MS Edwards:
Thank you for your article. The fact is that you cannot 'win' a war that was started with lies.
Iraq had no links to al-Quida, and to think that it was a direct threat to the US is a joke.
But unfortunately, we cannot count on the Democratic Party to do what justice demands and impeach the criminals Bush and Cheney.
THIS IS NOT A WAR! WHO IS THE ENEMY? WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF VICTORY. IT IS A OCCUPATION AND A CIVIL WAR BETWEEN RADICAL SHIA AND SUNNIS. BUSH BROKE IT AND WE ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO FIX IT AS HE AND MC CAIN AND CHENEY AND LIEBERMAN AND ALL THE REST OF THE COVER OUR ASSES REPUBLICANS KEEP SAYING AND THE MEDIA AND THE DEMOCRATS KEEP BUYING.
WE ELECTED THESE BUMS TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THIS COUNTRY, NOT iRAQ. IT IS NOT IN THE BEST SELF INTEREST OF THIS COUNTRY AND IT'S TAX PAYERS TO WASTE ONE MORE AMERICAN LIFE (OR iRAQI LIFE) OR TO SPEND ONE MORE PENNY OR TO CREATE ONE MORE ANTI-AMERICAN MUSLIM BY STAYING IN THIS FAILED DISASTER. WE NEED TO REMOVE FROM POWER, THE BUMS THAT GOT US INTO THIS MESS AND ANYONE THAT CONTINUES TO MAKE EXCUSES FOR THEM OR SUPPORT THEM.
WE NEED ONE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE OR LEADER TO SHOUT THIS OUT, OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
WHAT WE NEED IS A DEMOCRAT TO STAND UP AND SHOUT THIS OUT!
we should pull 'em all out! how perfect-iran and saudis would immediately begin a bloody struggle for iraq. muslims killing muslims, just as it should be.... the best of results with the shortest-sighted of intentions. gotta love the leftist pathology-let everyone else do the fighting; give peace a chance maaaan! LMAO
pedrothemigrant :
It is none of America's business what goes on in the M.E. - but if you want to go over and fight, be my guest.
It's terrific to see you posting here! Being one of your long distance donors, I feel a special pride in your success. Congratulations!
Now I'll go read your blog!
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