You get the impression listening to the Democratic presidential candidates (especially Obama) that they would never go to war anywhere, at any time, for any reason. You get the impression listening to McCain that he would make war first and ask questions later. I doubt this is quite true, but that's how the candidates sound, so that's where the debate tends to be steered.
We tend to focus on the current war:
We will rally, walk and dialogue on Wednesday, as concerned citizens are doing all over the country, to express our sorrow, frustration and anger at a war policy that shows no end in sight.
We want to make our voices heard: "Out of Iraq Now."
In addition, during this critical campaign season, we want to make it clear that a diverse array of citizens of our community believe that this war must end as soon as possible.
When we get out or Iraq is just one narrow question. Iran is a threat, and the whole Mideast is volatile. Russia is resurgent, and North Korea is dangerous. When and how do we use force or the threat of force to defend our interests? How do we even define our interests these days? We need to have a broader debate with the starting point of acknowledging that neither extreme -- isolationism nor nation-building -- is the right answer.
