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I tend not to blog about politics. Like sex and religion, political discussions quickly veer from calm and reasonable to heated and illogical. This is especially true on the Internet, where "anonymity" allows those with trollish tendencies full expression. Having said that, let me tell you why I'm voting for Democrat Tammy Duckworth.
I spent five years in the US Navy (1989-1994). My service was peaceful, and I did not see combat. Based on my observations and study of history, I felt we simply had to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, and missed an opportunity in 1991. Saddam was an evil dictator, somebody who had invaded two neighboring countries, killed hundreds of thousands of his own people, and used chemical weapons on whomever he thought wouldn't effectively fight back. It made no sense for him to expel the inspectors in 1998, and given his obstructionism before that, I felt certain that he had chemical weapons at least.
After 9/11, I felt reforming the Middle East was a clear national priority. I remain of that view. We simply must win in Afghanistan, and frankly I believe we will probably end up fighting a war in Saudi Arabia and / or Pakistan. I am concerned that the Democratic Party does not have a plan to deal with the threat of Islamic fundamentalism.
So why am I voting for a Democrat? Competence. Navy Times, an independent publication, is calling for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. This is the first time they have ever done so, and they are hardly a bunch of flaming liberals. The Navy Times is calling for Rumsfeld to go because he mismanaged the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq.
There were a number of warnings that the current "everybody shoot at everybody" mess we have in Iraq could happen. General Anthony Zinni, USMC, General Tommy Frank's predecessor, predicted as such. Army Chief of Staff General Shinseki said we'd need 250,000 troops to occupy Iraq. Since the Army only has 400,000 troops, and Secretary Rumsfeld didn't want to expand this number, we didn't have enough troops. The latest "news," a wargame done in 1999, is yet more confirmation of this problem.
In short, we decided to fight a war with inadequate resources. We decided to fund this war with tax cuts. What was a surplus in the 2000 budget is a growing 300 billion dollar deficit. Who's fault is this? Republicans. And the Republicans asking for my vote in Illinois are adamant that we "stay the course."
So, faced with a choice of voting for Peter Roskam, political hack and personal-injury lawyer, or a decorated veteran with a master's degree in foreign relations and relevant experience, my decision was easy. I'm voting for Tammy Duckworth.
I spent five years in the US Navy (1989-1994). My service was peaceful, and I did not see combat. Based on my observations and study of history, I felt we simply had to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, and missed an opportunity in 1991. Saddam was an evil dictator, somebody who had invaded two neighboring countries, killed hundreds of thousands of his own people, and used chemical weapons on whomever he thought wouldn't effectively fight back. It made no sense for him to expel the inspectors in 1998, and given his obstructionism before that, I felt certain that he had chemical weapons at least.
After 9/11, I felt reforming the Middle East was a clear national priority. I remain of that view. We simply must win in Afghanistan, and frankly I believe we will probably end up fighting a war in Saudi Arabia and / or Pakistan. I am concerned that the Democratic Party does not have a plan to deal with the threat of Islamic fundamentalism.
So why am I voting for a Democrat? Competence. Navy Times, an independent publication, is calling for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. This is the first time they have ever done so, and they are hardly a bunch of flaming liberals. The Navy Times is calling for Rumsfeld to go because he mismanaged the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq.
There were a number of warnings that the current "everybody shoot at everybody" mess we have in Iraq could happen. General Anthony Zinni, USMC, General Tommy Frank's predecessor, predicted as such. Army Chief of Staff General Shinseki said we'd need 250,000 troops to occupy Iraq. Since the Army only has 400,000 troops, and Secretary Rumsfeld didn't want to expand this number, we didn't have enough troops. The latest "news," a wargame done in 1999, is yet more confirmation of this problem.
In short, we decided to fight a war with inadequate resources. We decided to fund this war with tax cuts. What was a surplus in the 2000 budget is a growing 300 billion dollar deficit. Who's fault is this? Republicans. And the Republicans asking for my vote in Illinois are adamant that we "stay the course."
So, faced with a choice of voting for Peter Roskam, political hack and personal-injury lawyer, or a decorated veteran with a master's degree in foreign relations and relevant experience, my decision was easy. I'm voting for Tammy Duckworth.
