Campaign ‘08: Iraq War poses major challenges for next president

WASHINGTON (CNS)—The legacy of President George W. Bush will be framed primarily by one event: the ongoing war in Iraq. At five and a half years and running, the Iraq War—portrayed by Bush as a vital front in what he has characterized as the war on terror—has left Americans divided and much of the world community looking beyond the United States for diplomatic leadership. The war stands out for being the first whereby the U.S. took pre-emptive action to head off what it considered a potential threat to its national security. However, surveys show Americans are growing increasingly impatient with the war as the cost of remaining in Iraq soars to nearly $560 billion and casualties mount. Even with the planned withdrawal of 8,000 troops within the next several weeks, more than 130,000 U.S. military personnel will remain in the country when either Republican Sen. John McCain or Democratic Sen. Barack Obama takes the oath of office as America’s 44th president Jan. 20. How the two major candidates address the war is indicative of the personal histories of each man. Obama, who publicly opposed the war even before his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, has pledged to seek a “diplomatic surge” to bring peace to the region. McCain, the military hero who was physically abused as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, adheres to a stay-the-course strategy, promising to eradicate Iraqi-based terrorism before he will consider reducing U.S. forces in the country.