a better kaua‘i

Focused course needed in Iraq

by Walter Lewis

Over the last couple of years my articles have been limited to my thoughts as to happenings on Kaua‘i. In this piece I will digress and discuss a concern arising from our presidential election campaign this year.

I am struck by the increasing politicization by candidates and parties of our nation’s foreign affairs. In the past the prevailing attitude has been that our two main political parties may have differences as to the economic and social issues in our country, but there was a recognition that bickering about our courses of conduct in foreign affairs was a source of comfort for our enemies and it should be restrained.

It is understood that our elected representatives may and do have important differences in view about our national security and the deployment of our military resources. But in years of the Cold War we were largely united in a common purpose and disparate concepts were mostly resolved in a spirit of overall goodwill.

However, the Vietnam and present Iraq wars have dispelled many of the boundaries that existed. It is instructive to consider them.

The American involvement in Vietnam was essentially initiated and expanded by administrations of one party and then was brought to a conclusion by an administration of the other party. America entered the conflict to support a weak but partly democratic government in South Vietnam but after a failed military effort we withdrew and left the country in the hands of a despotic ruling regime. Our country suffered over 50,000 fatalities in this ill-fated endeavor.

Today we are engaged in Iraq. Our fatalities in Iraq have been far smaller than in Vietnam (less than 4,000), and our troop commitment has been much lower, but the furor about our continued presence there is a major topic in the current election year.

The rhetoric from the leading candidates in one party seem to be of the view that the war is lost and the desire to bring our armed personnel home at an early date without adequate regard to what is likely to happen thereafter. The rhetoric from the leading candidate of the other party believes that the war has been won and that we should maintain our presence until a peaceful stability occurs. These differences are not those of individuals, they have been made part of the fabric of partisan politics.

The reality in Iraq is that the war to end the threat to world peace of the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein was quickly over, but we are still embroiled in trying to oversee the establishment of a viable government for the country. The threat to that effort is not a military action but rather acts of violence fomented and armed by international terrorists.

It is eminently proper that we should be giving thoughtful consideration to the best course of action regarding Iraq. But it does not seem to me that Iraq should be the centerpiece. Iraq is only a subset of a bigger picture. We need to consider and attempt to resolve what America’s role as the world’s only superpower should be in trying to protect our national security and making the world a better and safer place.

Some important considerations for our foreign policy include: Should we have a template for the circumstances which will determine the deployment and continuance of American forces abroad? What steps should we take to engage and destroy the forces of international terrorism? Should we have a first strike policy? Is the United Nations a lost cause in trying to control armed conflicts? How much cost are we prepared to incur for military power, when money might better be used to aid our people and our domestic economy? Do we need better guideposts within which specific actions are taken in our international affairs?

We must be aware that pressure especially by the media is given to the immediate and the active although matters that are dormant may be greater threats. We have armed forces in many foreign countries. Almost 60 years ago hostilities ended in Korea. But America still has a military presence in South Korea (about 35,000) larger than the number of its personnel in Afghanistan.

There are no easy answers to the questions I have raised. But I believe that there are broader and more vital issues facing our country than the politically divisive discussions about our proper course in Iraq which appears to cater unduly to current partisan political purposes and distract our attention from broader and more important matters. We need to have a policy for our international role that resonates across the spectrum of our citizens which will unite us in our purposes rather than leaving us angry and frustrated. The building blocks for the formation of such a policy will not occur in a climate of acrid partisan politics.

• Walter Lewis is a resident of Princeville and writes a bi-weekly column for The Garden Island.