Links locked?

Three knotty questions:

U.S. & Iraq - are the two nations inextricably linked? The U.S. attacked Iraq because of Saddam Hussein, who has now been sentenced to death by the courts of his own land. Iraqis are understandably split about the verdict. Our U.S. ambassador hails it as a "very important milestone." Will the United States withdraw when Saddam is dead? The election Tuesday will decide the answer to that question.

Will the Iraq war be linked to voter decisions the day after tomorrow? Political theorists have asserted that we vote from the gut, rather than with an intellectual choice. If a significant number of Democrats prevail over Republicans, it will be with such feelings as frustration, anger, fear, resignation or sadness over the war in Iraq. Polls show that more than half of us may vote for change. A New York Times story asserts, "G.O.P. Glum as It Struggles to Hold Congress." To quote from yesterday's story by Adam Nagourney and Robin Tower,

The battle for Congress rolled into a climactic final weekend with Republican Party leaders saying the best outcome they could foresee was losing 12 seats in the House. But they were increasingly steeling themselves for the loss of at least 15 seats and therefore control of the House for the first time in 12 years.
Democrats and Republicans said the battle over the Senate had grown fluid going into the final hours before the elections on Tuesday. Democrats said they thought they were almost certain to gain four or five seats and still had a shot at the six they need to take control.

Are the Vietnam and Iraq wars now linked in Americans' minds? We were raising little kids during the Vietman war. None of our family members were in the fighting. But we joined the spirit of protest as we saw our native son, Lyndon Johnson, lose his way as the nation's powerful leader. Our current president has divided the nation and lost the support of the majority of his citizens with his current war. We support our rank and file soldiers and Marines, but not their civilian leaders and passive generals. Lyndon Johnson decided not to run for reelection partially as a result of widespread citizen protest. Few march now. Votes, however, could become today's old fashioned form of protest. To see the link more clearly, read this opinion piece in the Washington Post titled "Two Tales of War: Read 'Em and Weep," By Colbert I. King, Saturday, November 4, 2006. I quote King,

Maybe it was the memory of the turbulent time I spent in the State Department as the Vietnam War escalated. Perhaps it was the names of Howard University classmates on the wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Or maybe it was just the recollection of the arrogance, prevarication and outright lies by the government during the Vietnam era that caused a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I read "State of Denial," Bob Woodward's inside look at the Bush administration and the Iraq debacle.
How in the world could we be reliving a nightmare like Vietnam?

The Middle East country of Iraq is tied into the future of the United States. But we have a choice about what comes our of that reality. And the reason is not, as our current president asserts, the so-called long war, a "war on terror."
It is not necessary for the U.S. to remain inextricably linked to Iraq. A change in direction through new legislative leadership can come. If we can depend upon election results, and I remain unconvinced, Congress need not be linked to scandal, passivity and ineptitude forever.
We must remain tied to our history if the constitution is to be preserved. Vietnam is the near history; the Constitution and the Revolutionary War is the far history. The question is every bit as knotty as that.

Tags: bush congress democrats election elections iraq republicans vote war news politics


My "creative post" today at Southwest Blogger is about magical thinking.