It seems that the Democratic numbers in Washington are not sufficient to push through major directional change in policy. A Republican filibuster yesterday blocked a measure to expand the rights of terrorism detainees while simultaneously dashing the hopes of liberal lawmakers who wanted to give more time at home for the troops.
It is important for us, especially before an election year, to resist any fatigue that might be settling in concerning the War in Iraq. For Tufts students, the likelihood is high that we are simply getting tired of the domestic policy wrangling which has been an almost constant accompaniment to the four-and-a-half-year war. Thanks to America's all-volunteer military, we are largely removed from combat on the ground.
This fact of life doesn't excuse any apathy on our part. True, it might be difficult to listen to story after story coming from the streets of Baghdad (or the halls of Congress) but it is sure as hell more difficult to live in that city of anarchy where electricity is as rare as security.
The debacle in the Middle East is as much about human life as it is about politics. We hear so often about regional stability, sectarian violence and counter-terrorism that the IR-tinted language of our discussion can obscure the very harsh and shocking stories of those living in Iraq.
Back at home, the service of veterans like Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon, who was profiled in last week's Washington Post, is patently undervalued. As Shannon deals with a traumatic brain injury from an AK-47 round that shattered half his skull in addition to chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, he is waiting in seemingly perpetual limbo for his disability paperwork to be approved so that he can finally leave the Walter Reed Medical Center and return to this family.
Although we can easily avoid being taken up in the war, it is morally unacceptable to take that route. Rather than simply repeating the same worn-out phrases about the conflict - "we got involved for the wrong reason," "it is their civil war to fight," "we should just get out" - we have a duty as citizens, and particularly as educated citizens, to be informed of the nuances and details of the situation.
Make no mistake about it: Although "withdrawal" is a word thrown around in many discussions of Iraq, the problem is far, far from being resolved. Either we will pull out and leave a country on the verge of collapse to implode on itself in even more bloody chaos or we will stay and wear out even more our nation's most valuable defenses: the men and women in uniform.
There is an election just up the road, and as we saw in yesterday's events on the Hill, our current leaders are unable to make significant progress on this front. This country needs its most intelligent and driven citizens working on the war.
Wake up, Tufts University.
