A CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSE TO THE 2006 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS - Part III

“Our work in Iraq is difficult because our enemy is brutal. But that brutality has not stopped the dramatic progress of a new democracy. In less than three years, the nation has gone from dictatorship to liberation, to sovereignty, to a constitution, to national elections. At the same time, our coalition has been relentless in shutting off terrorist infiltration, clearing out insurgent strongholds, and turning over territory to Iraqi security forces. I am confident in our plan for victory; I am confident in the will of the Iraqi people; I am confident in the skill and spirit of our military. Fellow citizens, we are in this fight to win, and we are winning.”

Never was there a higher pile of bovine excrement thrown at the American public than this statement. A careful review of our efforts reveals that we are not that successful in infiltration. The Iraqi security forces are still experiencing attacks from within their own ranks. It is not a question of the skill and spirit of our troops. It is a question of flawed policy and poor planning at the highest levels of civilian command. Our generals and our grunts in the field know how to do their job. But civilian authority has failed in its duties and obligations. Our Commander-in-Chief is blinded by his ideology and cannot effect changes in the plans for fear of losing even more face. It is a question of ego, narcissism and fascism that has a stranglehold on our political leadership, from the executive to the legislative and judicial branches. We are caught in traps and prisons of our own making with fear and incompetence as our jailers.

“The road of victory is the road that will take our troops home. As we make progress on the ground, and Iraqi forces increasingly take the lead, we should be able to further decrease our troop levels -- but those decisions will be made by our military commanders, not by politicians in Washington, D.C.”

Victory in Iraq is not in the hands of our troops. At this point the problem is political and logistic in nature. We are stuck supporting the process because of decisions made by POTUS. He wants us to forget the past and deal with the present. Well, then we need an exit strategy that puts genuine emphasis on the political issues that have us pinned down in Iraq. Our military could fight its way out of the country easily. We could withdraw our troops in a matter of a few months, if not weeks. We could engage the insurgents with complete military annihilation if we so chose. But what we cannot seem to do is empower the Iraqi people with a will of their own to effect democracy… and a large part of that issue is that we ourselves have lost a large portion of our own will to defend that which made us the best example of modern democracy: our own civil liberties that are being eroded and abrogated by the Bush administration and an ultra-conservative agenda in congress.

“Our coalition has learned from our experience in Iraq. We've adjusted our military tactics and changed our approach to reconstruction. Along the way, we have benefited from responsible criticism and counsel offered by members of Congress of both parties. In the coming year, I will continue to reach out and seek your good advice. Yet, there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success, and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure. Hindsight alone is not wisdom, and second-guessing is not a strategy.”

Huh? How has any of the criticism leveled at the current trends in government been defeatism? Bush has resisted advice on matters in Iraq on almost every occasion. He has spun the problems rather than deal with them directly, at least until there was clear evidence that the spin was not working. It is not second-guessing to say, “This isn’t working.” That, my friends, is assessment. I would suggest that we send a copy of books written by Tom Peters and W. Edwards Demming to everyone in the higher echelon of the administration and the congressional leadership. If we had adopted the “learn to fail quickly” strategy touted by Tom Peters in “Thriving on Chaos,” perhaps we would not be entrenched in a failed strategy, would not have wasted millions upon millions of dollars, and would not have thousands of wounded and over 2200 casualties.

“With so much in the balance, those of us in public office have a duty to speak with candor. A sudden withdrawal of our forces from Iraq would abandon our Iraqi allies to death and prison, would put men like bin Laden and Zarqawi in charge of a strategic country, and show that a pledge from America means little. Members of Congress, however we feel about the decisions and debates of the past, our nation has only one option: We must keep our word, defeat our enemies, and stand behind the American military in this vital mission.”

I would love to see some candor coming from the White House and congress. But there seems to be string resistance toward releasing public records under the FOIA, congressional subpoena, or other types of requests. None of these requests are seeking national security secrets. None of these requests are seeking to invade privacy or privilege. These are requests of public events and/or documentation, paid for with public funds. Yet, there is no willingness on the part of the current legislative or executive leadership.

“Our men and women in uniform are making sacrifices -- and showing a sense of duty stronger than all fear. They know what it's like to fight house to house in a maze of streets, to wear heavy gear in the desert heat, to see a comrade killed by a roadside bomb. And those who know the costs also know the stakes.”

President Bush and congress need to demonstrate that they really understand the sacrifice that is inherent in putting on a uniform of one of our military branches. We need full funding of veteran services and health care. We need to put proper armor in the field: armor that would prevent over 80% of the injuries and deaths occurring on the front lines. We need to assure that our troops are not retained “in country” longer than the term of service. We need to stop reducing troop levels and home defense readiness. We need to make sure our reserve forces (including National Guard) are used as reserves, not first responders.

“Our nation is grateful to the fallen, who live in the memory of our country. We're grateful to all who volunteer to wear our nation's uniform -- and as we honor our brave troops, let us never forget the sacrifices of America's military families.”

Stop speaking about being grateful and start showing the gratefulness in genuine and meaningful ways.

“To overcome dangers in our world, we must also take the offensive by encouraging economic progress, and fighting disease, and spreading hope in hopeless lands. Isolationism would not only tie our hands in fighting enemies; it would keep us from helping our friends in desperate need. We show compassion abroad because Americans believe in the God-given dignity and worth of a villager with HIV/AIDS, or an infant with malaria, or a refugee fleeing genocide, or a young girl sold into slavery. We also show compassion abroad because regions overwhelmed by poverty, corruption, and despair are sources of terrorism, and organized crime, and human trafficking, and the drug trade.”

Should we take notice that our public health efforts are at an all time low since the inception of governmental public health services? Should we take notice of the funding cuts that have hit our US Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health and community grants for local, county and state health services? How about the fact that many of our own citizens afflicted with HIV/AIDS, cancer, blood disorders or other diseases cannot afford the medicines we are shipping overseas for free? Or perhaps we should mention the rise in incidents of so-called tropical diseases occurring in US, including dengue fever, malaria and other water-borne, insect-transmitted illnesses.

“In recent years, you and I have taken unprecedented action to fight AIDS and malaria, expand the education of girls, and reward developing nations that are moving forward with economic and political reform. For people everywhere, the United States is a partner for a better life. Short-changing these efforts would increase the suffering and chaos of our world, undercut our long-term security, and dull the conscience of our country. I urge members of Congress to serve the interests of America by showing the compassion of America.”

Have we taken notice of the crisis that faces Medicare due to a poorly implemented Medicare Part D drug program? Or that the Republican-led congress has refused to extend the deadlines on this program so that some time can be spent on improving the communication and implementation of this program? How about the facts that most seniors eligible for the program cannot figure out which of the 12-20 programs—each state having a different approach due to the various health insurance providers within that state—to choose for their particular needs? How about mentioning that this program is proving to be a minefield for seniors and a hey day for insurance and drug company profits?