Wisconsin Foreign Policy
The Capital Times [1] :: EDITORIAL :: A8
September 22, 2006

Arguably, the biggest lie in politics is the claim that foreign policy issues ought not be the concern of state officials.

When the United States engages in adventures abroad, the blowback always hits states. The $200 million-a-day cost of the Iraq war is paid out of a federal budget that is then “balanced” by cheating the states out of needed funding for education, health care and housing.

Legislators from the Madison area recognize that fact, and seven of them have added their names to the national Declaration of Peace campaign, which calls on Congress to get U.S. troops out of the quagmire in Iraq.

State Sens. Fred Risser and Mark Miller have joined Reps. Spencer Black, Terese Berceau, Joe Parisi, Mark Pocan and Sondy Pope-Roberts in signing the pledge. Black, an organizer of the legislative endorsement of the campaign, explained: “We believe the effort to achieve peace is essential to the well-being of our state and we want to show our support for bringing a quick end to the war in Iraq.”

What are the legislators and hundreds of other area residents signing onto?

The Declaration of Peace calls for:

• The withdrawal of U.S. troops and all coalition forces.
• No permanent U.S. military bases and installations in Iraq.
• Support for an Iraqi-led peace process, including a peace conference to shape a post-occupation transition and an international peacekeeping presence if mandated by this peace process.
• The restoration of Iraqi control over its oil resources and the political and economic life of the nation.
• Reparations and reconstruction funding to address the destruction caused by the U.S. war and 13 years of sanctions.
• Increased support for U.S. veterans of the Iraq war.
• No so-called “preventive” war against Iran or any other nation.
• The establishment of a “peace dividend” for job creation, health care, education, housing, and other vital social needs.

In considering which legislators merit re-election this fall, we’ll certainly consider the fact that these senators and representatives had the wisdom to recognize that the war is a state issue, and that opposition to the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq is the right position for Wisconsin and the nation. We hope that voters will be similarly inclined, just as we hope they will ask legislators who have not signed the Declaration of Peace to do so.