| Author | Message | | Guest | | Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2002 11:16 pm Post subject: Lawmakers Hear Pleas Against War |
| Subj: Maybe we are being heard
Date: 9/23/02 3:57:16 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: Halfwog
To: Jdtmorris
From the Washinton Post:
Lawmakers Hear Pleas Against War
By Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 23, 2002; Page A01
REHOBOTH, Del. -- Rep. Michael N. Castle (R-Del.) had just begun to greet participants in the Governor's Day beach walk here Friday when he ran into Viola Babiarz -- and into the midst of the often-anguished debate among his constituents over the prospects of war with Iraq.
"I wish you could stop it. I hate to see another war," said the Wilmington visitor, 78, who wore a "Castle for Congress" button. "I think we have to do something. We have to stand up to him [Iraqi President Saddam Hussein]. But we need the support of other countries. I feel badly other countries aren't supporting us, but maybe they will."
It was a familiar story to Castle, whose own views -- along with those of many of his other constituents -- mirror those of Babiarz, who wants to see Hussein deposed but is reluctant to see the United States take unilateral military action to make it happen.
Castle, a moderate Republican and strong favorite for reelection this fall, is a cautious, thoughtful and deliberate legislator, whose district encompasses the entire state of Delaware, which is often described as a bellwether for the nation.
He will not say how he will vote on President Bush's request for unlimited congressional authority to take action against Iraq, including military force.
A member of the House intelligence committee and the House-Senate panel that is investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Castle says he needs more information on such issues as Iraq's arsenal of weapons, risks that the United States would face in an invasion and prospects for United Nations and allied involvement. But he tells constituents he believes that Congress is almost certain to give Bush what he wants.
"Most people I speak to would be more comfortable going through the United Nations, and I believe I would as well," Castle said in an interview as he drove from Rehoboth to Wilmington, munching on crackers in what passed for lunch on a busy day of official and campaign activities. "But I wouldn't want to say that's an absolute condition," he added.
At a swearing-in ceremony later in the day for U.S. Marshal David Thomas, Castle crossed paths with Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), who said he was hearing much the same thing. "People don't want to go it alone," Biden said.
Judging by tallies offered by aides to a dozen other House and Senate members -- including Republicans and Democrats from areas that are normally hawkish as well as dovish -- a reluctance to embark on unilateral military action is also the dominant theme of phone calls, letters and e-mail messages that have been pouring in to Capitol Hill in recent weeks.
Most said constituents' communications were running overwhelmingly against war, especially if the United States has to fight without strong allied support.
Aides to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) counted 5,614 phone calls over the past six weeks, only 136 of which indicated support for unilateral military action, with letters reflecting about the same division. Phone calls to the office of Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) were running 8 to 1 against war, a Frist aide said. Rep. Charles W. Stenholm (D-Tex.), who represents a hawkish district, said calls and letters were running overwhelmingly against a unilateral strike until Bush's speech to the U.N. earlier this month. Now, he said, they are about 50-50. Only a couple of the offices reported a majority in favor of military action, although some questioned whether the communications accurately reflect their constituents' views.
A recent national poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 64 percent of respondents favored military action against Iraq. But the number dropped substantially when people were asked how they would respond in the absence of allied support or if large numbers of casualties were likely.
During several stops in this beach resort, Castle heard an array of views on the Bush administration's war plans. Most of the dozen-plus people who volunteered opinions or responded readily to questions from Castle were opposed to a military confrontation or had grave reservations about it. Some believed war was necessary and justified. Nearly all the people he talked to were senior citizens, but he said he found the same breakdown of opinion among all ages.
Nowhere did Castle find the debate defined as starkly as he did at a gathering of retirees for lunch and card games at the Lamp Post Restaurant here. After exchanging pleasantries (and commiserations over summertime traffic problems) with most of the crowd, he was stopped at the door by Dan DiMarra, 77, and Edward Roberts, 79, retired engineers, friends and World War II veterans.
"You're doing a good job but don't vote for war," DiMarra told Castle without any prodding from the congressman.
"No, vote for war. We've got to eliminate him [Hussein], no question about it," said Roberts.
"You can't go in by yourself. You need the U.N.," said DiMarra.
"As far as I'm gingered, to hell with the U.N.," responded Roberts.
But even this black-and-white argument had some shades of gray. Acknowledging he was playing "devil's advocate," Castle pressed DiMarra about Hussein's treatment of his own people. "What about China?" DiMarra responded. But Hussein directly threatens the Middle East and the United States while China does not, Castle said. "Well, that's true," said DiMarra.
Earlier, at the city's convention center, where the beach walk was beginning, Castle asked about 10 prospective walkers what they thought, and he got the full range of viewpoints.
"It's a tough decision to make, and he [Bush] is trying to get all the support he can," said Ken Rieck, a retired government official who lives in Bethany.
"What's the hurry? Why now?" asked Frank Desroisier, who used to work as an engineer at the University of Maryland.
"I don't like the idea of the United States being the world bully, but I don't like Saddam Hussein, either," said Leon Calabrese, a retired educator who lives in Ocean View.
Then Dorothy Gerjovich, who lives in Newark, Del., joined the fray, offering yet another point of view. In her condo, she said, everyone is against war. "We had kids killed in the last wars," she said. The president, she added, "is only pushing for war to get us to forget the economy."
Nearby, Lucien Ferguson also recalled previous wars, including World War II and the world's slow appreciation of the threat posed by Hitler before it began.
"They have the weapons, and they are such fanatics they would not mind using them on any country," said Ferguson, who added that she trusts the administration to make the right decision. | |  | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
