Candidates will say anything to get elected.  They are for choice, but against it sometimes.  They are against gay marriage, but for civil unions sometimes.  They are against the Iraq war and will get the United States out of Iraq, but not anytime soon.  I wish there were a national party that stood for basic core values, such as respect for the human dignity of all people and the right to live in a clean, safe, war-free zone, with sanitary drinking water, adequate food, a living wage, safe shelter, and basic health care.  Most of the world's population lacks many of these essential conditions for life.  And there seems to be little reason for hope of significant change in our world no matter who is elected president of the United States in 2008.  World leaders are terrible at admitting mistakes and changing direction.  Instead, they often dig in and create intractable quagmires. 

Consider Iraq.  Over the past few months, it has become increasingly clear that the leaders of the national Democratic Party and the Democratic candidates for President, perhaps with the exception of Bill Richardson, will not lead the U.S. out of Iraq.  Indeed, recent campaign rhetoric suggests that like the Republicans, most Democrats will not get out of Iraq for many years, probably decades.  We are told we cannot leave because of possible civil war, genocide, or regional instability.  We cannot leave because we have made the situation there worse.  We are told that if we exit, it will be an admission of defeat. 

I think this is a monumental mistake and will harm the United States' role in international relations for decades.  I would get out immediately, ending the war now and paying the consequences after the exit.  And no matter how much it costs us to leave now, I am not persuaded there is any reason to continue the Iraq war for even one more day.  I think the costs of staying the present course are far greater. 

When you make a mistake, one of the most important steps in correcting it is to admit the mistake.  Many American political candidates still refuse to admit all of the mistakes leading us into another Iraq war, not to mention all the ones regarding poor planning after it began.  It should not be difficult to admit that the Iraq war has been a mistake from the start.  Even if you think that President Bush didn't lie to the American people about the reasons for the war, there is plenty of evidence that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and our national intelligence apparatus failed completely.   Our mistakes have been compounded by newer ones including torture and murder.  We have lost count of American casualties and the thousands whose lives have been altered forever.  Also, no one seems to know exactly how many tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed or wounded during this war.  And each additional death or maiming, American or non-American, only worsens the long-term costs of starting a war for bad reasons.   

Rather than pay billions each week to continue the war, I would end the war today and use less money to develop an international diplomatic coalition to promote peace and stability in Iraq and the region.  No diplomatic solution is possible as long as the U.S. is leading a war coalition. 

I have often asked myself over the past five years if I would be willing to die for American national interests in Iraq.  My answer was no when President Bush announced his Axis of Evil and it is no today.  Since my answer has always been no, I grieve every death there.  I feel American men and women, many too young and too inexperienced for any battlefield, are dying in vain.  I also think the threats of terrorism against the U.S. are greater because of the war in Iraq. 

It is unclear to me why any Americans need to die in Iraq.  Is it for weapons of mass destruction or terrorism?  Is it for oil?  Is it for regional stability?  Is it for 9/11?  I am not satisfied with any of those justifications.  None of them is worth my life, so none is worth the life of any other American.  Moreover, I am convinced the President would not sacrifice one of his children either.  If politicians had to go to war or send their own children, I suspect there would be fewer wars and we would never have gone to Iraq. 

By all accounts, Iraq is a terrible, dangerous place today.  Hundreds die weekly.  Many commentators would say Americans have made it worse by its unprovoked war.  Since I think the war was misguided from the beginning, I would not waste time debating whether conditions are worse now.  Instead, I would end the war and begin the long, arduous work of paying for the devastation the war has caused.  But I would not pay with American or Iraqi lives.  I would make all Americans share the burden for our leaders' mistakes.  Our current course it too easy for most Americans because they are not in Iraq, they have not lost a family member yet, and they do not have to sacrifice very much.  The burden of President Bush's many mistakes in leading us to war has fallen disproportionately on a few military or national guard families.  They have been forced to give too much for Bush's mistakes.  They should not pay the consequences.