Platform One: Iraq

Greetings.

It’s a bit depressing that when you go to the polls some of the possible buttons allows you to vote either straight republican or straight democratic. The last election I voted in, I took my time to go through each position (though some there were only one candidate) and decide which candidate I preferred. Though I don’t know if I made the best choice in all cases, I still took the time to look at each candidate on the ballot. What was depressing though was to my left and right, I observed a large number of people appear, hit a single button, and then leave in the one or two minutes I took to vote. It is my intent to look into the declared platforms of the primary candidates and see what makes each of these individuals so different from each other. And with that intention, I shall start with what is probably the newest of the platforms: Iraq.

Many of the candidates were in either the House or Senate in 2002 when Bush asked for the authority to use military force to invade Iraq, so that seems to be the ideal place to start. Though the ideas different by large amounts after this moment, most of the remaining candidates actually either voted for or supported giving Bush this authority. Republican candidate Ron Paul was the only remaining candidate that voted against giving Bush this authority, being one of six House members to vote against it and the only Republican candidate to do so.

A second point of Iraq that the candidates have made comments on is Bush’s Troop Increase proposal. Though he has been critical of Bush’s handling of the war, John McCain was one of the strongest supporters for the January 2007 boost of troops and also endorses the later withdrawal and leaving of 130,000 troops in Iraq for peace keeping reasons. Also on the Republican side, Mike Huckabee was non-committal when first faced with the troop increase, but overtime, became more supportive of it and leaving 130,000 troops, claiming that leaving now will show weakness and cause chaos in the region. The remaining GOP candidate, Ron Paul has opposed Bush’s plan for increasing troops. With the Democratic candidates, who each opposed the plan to boost troops and criticized the withdrawal as a failed course.

More likely the most important (and varied) platform for upcoming presidency is each candidate’s thoughts on how to move forwards. Republican John McCain opposes the attempts to set a fixed timetable on withdrawing the troops, wanting to use them to help build the Iraqi army and police forces for the country’s security. He also wants to put pressure on Syria and Iran for helping Iraqi insurgents continues violence in Iraq. Mike Huckabee is also opposed to timetables to withdraw the troops, proposing a regional summit so Iraq’s neighbors can have a military and financial role in helping to stabilize the country. Ron Paul, on the other hand, is the only republican candidate to support an immediate withdrawal of troops. Democrat Hilary Clinton wants to revoke the power Bush currently has to use in Iraq which would require him to go before Congress again before continuing the war. She also opposes having military bases there permanently, though troops would need to be there to train Iraqis. Barack Obama takes the most optimistic view, proposing to remove all troops by the end of 2008 and wanting to achieve reconciliation among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds in Iraq. This would be followed by an attempt to raise diplomatic efforts and getting the U.N. to help stabilize Iraq.