Much is written and spoken about the role of Bush and the Republican's in thrusting us into the morass of war in Iraq. It is easy to "Bash Bush" and rightfully so, I suppose.
However, I think Democrats around our nation need to also look into the mirror and ask each other: Where were you some 3 plus years ago when the rhetoric of war was being cranked up?
Why did not more Democrats "stand up and be counted" against the pre-emptive unilateral action against Iraq that was at that time being proposed? Why have Democrats all around our great country been so silent, seemingly willing to stand on the sidelines and watch as the current administration leads us to war and then proceeds to bankrupt the national treasury at the same time?
Where were the Democrats and where are they now?
This is the question people ask me when they discover I presently serve in the Hawaii State Senate and am running for election to Congress for the 2nd CD. Where are the Democrats, they ask and why are they not fighting with a vengeance to regain control of our country?
This is why I am running for election to Congress.
And for the record, I did take took a public, formal and written position against the war in Iraq, before the war started. In early 2003, a handful of my State Senate colleagues and myself introduced a State Senate Resolution opposing unilateral, pre-emptive strikes against Iraq.
My Senate colleagues in leadership positions killed the resolution, but I am proud of at least trying and of taking that small step in those early days to declare my values and feelings in opposition to the direction our country was headed.
If more Americans, more Democrats and more public officials would have done so at the time, perhaps the world would not be in the disarray that it is in today. For greater insight into my views on the war and other public policy matters you might be interested in reading my diary entry A candidates view of Bush and America's fondness for firmness
Here is what we must do now.
We must immediately declare a cease-fire and begin negotiations with the various factions now fighting us in Iraq.
We must show our good faith by bringing our troops home now. It is time for them to come home to their families.
We must call now for an international peace summit that will seek to develop a global strategy for peace, starting in Iraq.
Our choices as a nation should not be frozen between "stay the course" and "cut and run". We need a strategy for peace and it must start with the U.S. being big and bold enough to declare a cease-fire, seek negotiations and ask the international community for help and leadership.
If Nelson Mandela could sit down at a table of peace and negotiate with his former sworn enemies, the same people who murdered his friends and kept him into prison for most of his adult life, our country certainly should be able to do the same in Iraq.
Unfortunately, the record of the Bush Administration does not point to any capacity or will to do what our greatness demands of us.
This is why I want to lend my voice and my energies to likeminded colleagues who are committed to radically changing the course of our country.
There is no question that the decision to invade Iraq has left the US weaker, not stronger. Our armies are stretched thin and our country is divided.
The only beneficiaries of this madness are the international terror networks. They grow stronger with each day of U.S. occupation--and the coffers of the Halliburton's and defense contractors of the world keep filling up and overflowing with every bomb that is dropped and each bullet that is shot.
After all, we pay them handsomely once to manufacture the armaments of war, and then we pay them premium rates again to rebuild after the destruction that those same armaments inflict on the infrastructure and people of Iraq.
We are in need of real transition, a real strategy for peace, not the Republican catch phrases that are trotted out intermittently, tricked out to pass for public policy.
It is well past the time for America to show that we can be leaders, that we can work with the international community and that we are willing to ask for help. The President and his administration must demonstrate a greater willingness to talk with foreign leaders and they must be willing to listen and form partnerships to build a multinational strategy for peace in Iraq.
Where to start? It is clearly painful to admit that our current predicament in Iraq has been brought about by our own follies and our hubris. However, not admitting our failures is bound to prove even more painful for America and Iraq in the long run.
This is the test that confronts us. Are we big enough to show that the strength of an open society, of a democracy lies in its ability to recognize and correct its mistakes?
We need leadership in Washington D.C. that is willing to face this test.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am a second-term State Senator (Kaua'i-Ni'ihau) from Hawaii who is running for the seat vacated by Congressman Ed Case. Case is running against incumbent Senator Daniel Akaka. For additional information about the values, positions and policies that are especially important to myself and the residents of Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District visit http://www.garyhooser.com
I welcome input, comments and help from all who share my concern and commitment to reversing the direction our country is now headed.