From USA Today
Twice as many veterans of the Iraq war are running for Congress than in 2006, and this year Republican candidates outnumber Democrats.
Although many of the veteran candidates still face primaries and some are long shots, the outcome in November could well increase the number of combat veterans serving in Congress, a group that has been dwindling since 2000.
The Iraq veterans are running at a time when public opinion favors U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to expand their 37-seat majority in the House, at least partly on the strength of that issue.
These veteran-candidates also will share the ticket with a presidential race that offers a sharp contrast: Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain supports a continued U.S. presence in Iraq, while Democratic front-runner Barack Obama and rival Hillary Rodham Clinton want U.S. troops withdrawn.
My hope is that intelligent combat veterans, those who have executed the orders and buried the results, may bring a reasoned perspective to our foreign policy. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that former military experience will provide this as we have seen from the Pentagon shills that sold out their fellow soldiers to the Bush fiasco.
