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March 24, 2003

Support the Troops, Question the War

At least U.S. Rep. Gerald Kleczka, D-Milwaukee, has kept his wits about him in these difficult times. After President Bush ordered U.S. forces to attack Iraq, most members of Congress issued vapid statements that showed they were putting their good sense on hold until the cessation of hostilities. But Kleczka said, "I am deeply troubled that for the first time in history, our country has launched an unprovoked attack on another nation."

Did that mean that Kleczka was showing disrespect for American soldiers serving in the Persian Gulf region? Not at all. "These brave troops have my unconditional support, and I pray for their safe and quick return," said Kleczka. Yet, at the same time, the congressman said, "I will continue to oppose this war," and he added that "to oppose an unjust position of this government is an American right."

Kleczka's beef is with the Bush administration, not the troops. He recognizes, as Gen. William Westmoreland, the former U.S. Army chief of staff, did, that "the military don't start wars. Politicians start wars." And politician George W. Bush deserves the criticism he is getting from Kleczka and other thinking members of Congress and the American public.

One of the most disturbing suggestions floating around political circles in the days since President Bush ordered an attack on Iraq would have Americans believe that questioning the wisdom of this war is an affront to the young men and women who have been sent into combat.

To listen to some Republican members of Congress and conservative talk radio commentators, you would think that it is a basic tenet of American patriotism that the commander-in-chief must not be challenged in a time of war. But there is nothing American or patriotic about the silencing of dissent. In fact, there is a rich and healthy American democratic tradition that says citizens who disagree with their government must speak out loudly in a time of war - and there is long experience that tells us these dissents have served the nation well.

"As a matter of general principle, I believe there can be no doubt that criticism in time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of democratic government," Sen. Robert Taft, R-Ohio, said on Dec. 19, 1941 - almost two weeks after the United States entered World War II.

"Of course that criticism should not give any information to the enemy. But too many people desire to suppress criticism simply because they think that it will give some comfort to the enemy to know that there is such criticism," explained Taft. "If that comfort makes the enemy feel better for a few moments, they are welcome to it as far as I am concerned, because the maintenance of the right of criticism in the long run will do the country maintaining it a great deal more good than it will do the enemy, and will prevent mistakes which might otherwise occur."

The best way to support American troops is to make sure that they are dispatched only on wise and necessary missions. And the best way to determine the wisdom and necessity of this or any other mission is to freely express the sort of thoughtful criticism that, ultimately, serves both our troops and our democracy.

- an editorial
source: The Wisconsin Capital Times