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Big Issue: Iraq still on voters' minds
2008-10-30
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. - For all the talk about the economy, voters have the war in Iraq on their minds, too, in the leadup to Election Day. They're worried about supporting the troops and caring for war veterans, debating who can best lead the military, and wondering how and when the U.S. should get out. Muzi.com News 10082208-1 (muzi.com)Democrat Barack Obama rose above his primary opponents in part because his opposition to the war gave him an argument for judgment that he would use throughout the remainder of his campaign. Muzi.com News 10082208-2 (muzi.com) Republican John McCain was largely written off as a candidate until the security situation in Iraq improved under the surge strategy that he had long advocated. Muzi.com News 10082208-3 (muzi.com) An Associated Press-Yahoo News survey taken this month shows that 74 percent of voters say the war in Iraq remains a very important or extremely important issue for them. Muzi.com News 10082208-4 (muzi.com) Come Nov. 5, the president-elect will face protracted conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan that so far have cost the lives of more than 4,000 coalition troops and left more than 65,000 wounded. Muzi.com News 10082208-5 (muzi.com) "The insurgencies we face today are really, I'd say, the most complex in history," said Dr. Conrad Crane, director of the U.S Army Military History Institute in Carlisle, Pa. Muzi.com News 10082208-6 (muzi.com) "What we are running into in places like Iraq are nested insurgencies. A bunch of different combatants and different problems. Often they each take a different approach, which makes for a very complex campaign plan." Muzi.com News 10082208-7 (muzi.com) As the new president takes office, he will be striving to draw down American forces without compromising still-fragile gains in Iraq. Muzi.com News 10082208-8 (muzi.com) "It won't be a walk in the park; there will still be some violence there. It will be a situation that may not seem to us like a perfect security environment. But as long as it's acceptable to Iraqis, and the region remains stable, that should be acceptable to us," Crane said. Muzi.com News 10082208-9 (muzi.com) A look at how four Americans view the war in Iraq: Muzi.com News 10082208-10 (muzi.com) ___ Muzi.com News 10082208-11 (muzi.com) ANDREW BROWN, 36, Mechanicsburg, Pa. Muzi.com News 10082208-12 (muzi.com) When Brown, an Army reservist, returned from Iraq in 2005, he sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. What he got was a seemingly endless cycle of paperwork and delays. Muzi.com News 10082208-13 (muzi.com) Brown eventually met with a psychiatrist who gave him medication for his anxiety. The side effect -- a downward spiral into a suicidal depression. Muzi.com News 10082208-14 (muzi.com) "Very shortly after taking the prescribed dose, I found myself on the floor in my apartment, in tears, with my pistol in my mouth," Brown said. Muzi.com News 10082208-15 (muzi.com) The experience led him to look elsewhere for help: He relies almost entirely on the support of his fellow soldiers and prayer to cope with his PTSD. Muzi.com News 10082208-16 (muzi.com) Brown is now a representative for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a nonpartisan advocacy group, and pushes for better medical care at veteran's hospitals, which are often underfunded and understaffed. Muzi.com News 10082208-17 (muzi.com) "They are unable to provide the level of care, in a lot of instances, that the soldiers need," he said. Muzi.com News 10082208-18 (muzi.com) In 2005, Brown watched millions of Iraqis head to the polls for their first free election in more than 50 years. Though he declined to say who he's supporting for president, he hopes more Americans take an example from the Iraqis and turn out to vote. Muzi.com News 10082208-19 (muzi.com) ___ Muzi.com News 10082208-20 (muzi.com) NATHAN WEBSTER, 40, Portsmouth, N.H. Muzi.com News 10082208-21 (muzi.com) Webster strongly opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, but found himself doing little more than complaining about a war in which he felt he had no personal stake. Muzi.com News 10082208-22 (muzi.com) "That's not a particularly American way of living one's life," he said. Muzi.com News 10082208-23 (muzi.com) In 2007, Webster decided to go to Iraq as a freelance photographer. His goal was to document the stories of individual soldiers for their hometown newspapers. Muzi.com News 10082208-24 (muzi.com) Having served in Iraq with the Army in 1991, Webster thought he knew what he was getting into. But the country he returned to was far different from what he remembered. Muzi.com News 10082208-25 (muzi.com) "Compared to the Iraq of today, that was a camping trip," Webster said. Muzi.com News 10082208-26 (muzi.com) Seeing the situation on the ground firsthand didn't change Webster's opposition to the original invasion. But he worries about what would happen if the U.S. left. Muzi.com News 10082208-27 (muzi.com) "We can't leave because to do that betrays what we've done to the Iraqis who are trying to rebuild their country," he said. "But we can't stay because they don't want us to." Muzi.com News 10082208-28 (muzi.com) Webster is voting for Barack Obama, not just because of his positions on the war, but because of what an Obama victory could mean for the country. Muzi.com News 10082208-29 (muzi.com) "America wins if Barack Obama becomes president because it validates America," he said. "It says we've turned our back on the past." Muzi.com News 10082208-30 (muzi.com) ___ Muzi.com News 10082208-31 (muzi.com) AMELIA PHILLIPS, 48, Dinuba, Calif. Muzi.com News 10082208-32 (muzi.com) Phillips' 23-year-old son has served two tours in Iraq with the Army. He'll likely serve a third. Muzi.com News 10082208-33 (muzi.com) No mother wants to send her child into harm's way, Phillips said. But she believes strongly that her son's mission in Iraq is keeping Americans safe at home. Muzi.com News 10082208-34 (muzi.com) "It's difficult to say I support the war," Phillips said. "I know my son will probably have to go back but it's a necessary evil because freedom truly isn't free." Muzi.com News 10082208-35 (muzi.com) Phillips believes more Americans felt the same way after the Sept. 11 attacks. But as time passes, she worries that fewer people understand the sacrifice soldiers and their families have made. Muzi.com News 10082208-36 (muzi.com) "We need to remember that day did happen and if we are not careful, that day can come again," she said. Muzi.com News 10082208-37 (muzi.com) Phillips plans to cast her vote for Republican John McCain because she values the experience he would bring to the office of the presidency and to the Iraq war. Muzi.com News 10082208-38 (muzi.com) "I believe he has a better grasp of what needs to transpire in order to secure our life as we know it," she said. Muzi.com News 10082208-39 (muzi.com)
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