October 25, 2007
Article Excerpt
John McCain and I have a personal interest in the success of the war in Iraq. Our sons are fighting in it. When we take positions on the war, it is personal. There are ramifications for our country and our families. We don't assert our opinions with disregard.
John McCain and I have something else in common which has shaped our view of this war. We shared several years together in a prison camp in North Vietnam. This Friday marks the 40th anniversary of the day John McCain was shot down over Hanoi and captured. At the time, we personally felt the impact when our nation's political will for that war eroded. We both chose the duties and risks that accompany the life of an aviator. We accepted our fates as POWs when we were shot down on bombing raids over North Vietnam. We did not like being propaganda pawns for the North Vietnamese, but we also did not expect our nation to give in to our captors' demands or to the growing U.S. public discontent. We expected our government to have conviction and to seek a resolution from a position of strength, not cave to expediency.
John McCain and I believe our enemy today in Iraq and around the world is radical Islamic extremism, a political movement just as anathema to freedom as communism was -- but amorphous, elusive and cowardly. The Global War on Terrorism is just that: global. It is greater than Iraq.
It would be a mistake to think that an unchecked civil war in Iraq would not have a detrimental effect on our war against global terrorism. Iraq is a major battle ground in what will be a long conflict. There will be more battles around the world if we want to protect the safety and freedom of our country and citizens from potential terrorist attacks on our soil.
Most Americans feel our lives will return to normal if we bring our troops home from Iraq, and that our collective sacrifice for the war on terrorism will only involve longer security lines at the airport. That's the biggest concession our society will willingly endure, and a perception that our current Commander-in-Chief tolerates. But that is a huge public delusion. This is going to be a long war -- much like the Cold War. John McCain understands this.
That is why he was so adamant in 2003 that we have more troops on the ground in Iraq -- to stabilize the country after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. John McCain was one of the few voices who sounded the clarion call to the Department of Defense and the rest of Congress when he realized we had inadequate resources and worst of all, no exit strategy.
He and I witnessed the nightmare of Vietnam: Political leadership with no post-invasion strategy, and little understanding of the culture and the people we invaded. This strategic weakness has been magnified many times over in this war, despite the drumbeat of warnings from John McCain. I admire him for his steadfast leadership on this issue.
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