2008 Woodie Awards
Democrats speechless over blocked debate
Joe Caporoso
Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: Op/Ed
- Page 1 of 1
Debate would always seem to be a good thing in a democracy. Different opinions get expressed in a process that should ultimately result in the best decision for all parties involved. Debate is what this country was built on, and should always be allowed to be an integral part of the American political process.
Yet, this past week our Republican Senators voted "No" to debate. A bipartisan resolution that opposes our President's plan to add almost 22,000 troops in Iraq won't even be allowed discussion. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it is ridiculous that it won't even have the chance to be debated in our Congress. Republicans have stated that debate would hurt the morale of our troops and send them a mixed message.
Try to picture this. One of our soldiers instantly begins not performing up to his capabilities becausehe hears a news report that his country is debating whether or not to send more troops to Iraq. The simple fact that his own country is doing something democratic, debating, bothers him so greatly he can't go on fighting. Doesn't make much sense, right? This is especially true, since he or she is currently fighting to give Iraqis the right to debate, in an openly democratic government.
This is a serious issue for our country to examine. We can't even debate a war that is killing Americans every single day, and costing this country countless amounts of money. Our President's new budget plan continues to increase spending on the war, which is costing Americans upwards of 2.5 billion dollars a week. More importantly, Americans keep dying, while the situation in Iraq is continually getting worse. There is more than enough to debate when this many lives are at stake.
A close examination needs to be given to the country of Iraq, an examination that in reality should have been done long before we invaded it without an exit strategy. Iraq will never develop into the unified, flourishing democracy Republicans like to talk about. You are talking about a nation that has heavy sectarian divisions, which is made up of people who don't identify themselves as Iraqis. They identify themselves with their religious or ethnic sect. You don't just unite groups of people who have been killing and torturing each other for decades under one government. That is why the President and his premature claims of "Mission Accomplished" really make no sense at all. This is a war that is a long haul, and realistically has no end in sight. We have been here before in Vietnam, we need to learn from our past.
More troops are probably needed in Iraq, but when does it stop? How many more years are we going to funnel our troops and our money into a nation that couldn't be further from a peaceful democracy? The American public is eventually going to tire of not seeing results, and when these calls become overwhelming, whoever is in charge at the time,is going to be forced to remove our troops. It may be too late to undue our mistakes of the past, mistakes that could have possibly been avoided by allowing more debate. Yet, it seems we still aren't learning from our past.
Yet, this past week our Republican Senators voted "No" to debate. A bipartisan resolution that opposes our President's plan to add almost 22,000 troops in Iraq won't even be allowed discussion. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it is ridiculous that it won't even have the chance to be debated in our Congress. Republicans have stated that debate would hurt the morale of our troops and send them a mixed message.
Try to picture this. One of our soldiers instantly begins not performing up to his capabilities becausehe hears a news report that his country is debating whether or not to send more troops to Iraq. The simple fact that his own country is doing something democratic, debating, bothers him so greatly he can't go on fighting. Doesn't make much sense, right? This is especially true, since he or she is currently fighting to give Iraqis the right to debate, in an openly democratic government.
This is a serious issue for our country to examine. We can't even debate a war that is killing Americans every single day, and costing this country countless amounts of money. Our President's new budget plan continues to increase spending on the war, which is costing Americans upwards of 2.5 billion dollars a week. More importantly, Americans keep dying, while the situation in Iraq is continually getting worse. There is more than enough to debate when this many lives are at stake.
A close examination needs to be given to the country of Iraq, an examination that in reality should have been done long before we invaded it without an exit strategy. Iraq will never develop into the unified, flourishing democracy Republicans like to talk about. You are talking about a nation that has heavy sectarian divisions, which is made up of people who don't identify themselves as Iraqis. They identify themselves with their religious or ethnic sect. You don't just unite groups of people who have been killing and torturing each other for decades under one government. That is why the President and his premature claims of "Mission Accomplished" really make no sense at all. This is a war that is a long haul, and realistically has no end in sight. We have been here before in Vietnam, we need to learn from our past.
More troops are probably needed in Iraq, but when does it stop? How many more years are we going to funnel our troops and our money into a nation that couldn't be further from a peaceful democracy? The American public is eventually going to tire of not seeing results, and when these calls become overwhelming, whoever is in charge at the time,is going to be forced to remove our troops. It may be too late to undue our mistakes of the past, mistakes that could have possibly been avoided by allowing more debate. Yet, it seems we still aren't learning from our past.