Lawmakers with Children Fighting in Iraq
Congress continues to debate U.S. troop funding and Iraq withdrawal plans. Yet of the 535 members of Congress, only eleven have sons and daughters who have served in Iraq or may soon be deployed.
They are:
- Rep. Todd Aiken (R-MO) - his son Perry, a Marine lieutenant, served in Iraq in 2005, may be headed for a second tour.
- Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-MO) - his son Sam, a Marine lieutenant, served in Iraq last year, scheduled to return in July.
- Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) - her stepdaughter Jessica Gladney was stationed in Iraq in 2004.
- Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) - his son. Lt. Duncan Duane Hunter, has served two tours in Iraq.
- Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) - his son Brooks served in the Army in Iraq in 2003.
- Rep. John Kline (R-Minn) - his son Dan served in Iraq in the Army last year.
- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) - his son Jimmy, a newly enlisted Marine, may soon be deployed to Iraq.
- Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) - has two sons in the military. Declines to disclose their assignments citing security and privacy concerns.
- Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) - his son Jimmy was serving with the Marines in Iraq as of late November.
- Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) - has three sons in the military. His son Alan spent a year in Iraq.
- Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) - his son Beau, serves as a first lieutenant in the Delaware Army National Guard.
Beau's unit is scheduled for deployment to Iraq in early 2008.
Eleven, yes eleven Congressional Members with children fighting for "freedom" in Iraq.
This begs the question whether those who make decisions about war would think differently if their children had to fight in the wars that they sign off on.
Perhaps Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has the right idea. Rangel, a Korean War vet, has called for the reinstatement of the draft, noting it would help the mililtary reach its goals and force politicians to think twice about armed conflicts..
"Decision-makers who support the war would more readily feel the pain of conflict and appreciate the sacrifice of those on the front lines if their children were there too," Rangel wrote in a January 7, 2003 op-ed piece, "Minorities comprise 35 percent of the military and Blacks 20 percent, well above their proportion of the general population. They, along with poor and rural Whites do more than their fair share of service in our ground forces. Yet the value of our foot soldiers is demeaned by those who promote the unproven notion that high-tech warfare will bring a quick and easy victory in Iraq."
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney do not have children serving in the military. And, with the exception of Joe Biden, Duncan Hunter and John McCain, neither do any of the presidential candidates.
Actually Sam Bond is already back in Iraq on his 2nd tour and he has been there for about 5 months now. Not sure about the other brave kids on your list. . .
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Good but not great. No new thoughts. That is what you do best, break new ground.
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Following your logic, why don't we just let the members on that list vote on all future Iraq bills? 7 of the 10 vote with the President every time.
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This is why this site has so much promise to influence debate and challenge the integrity of what passes for news. Clear, concise and well framed reporting. As for the comment about breaking new ground, it’s fair to say that few people knew the count before Ms. Abahams’ report.
Another count that is not widely known, but has been sourced in the past 10 days after earlier revelations surrounding the voting record of Senator Clinton, is this mind blowing statistic: of the 100 members of the US Senate who had an opportunity to examine the Administration’s case for war in Iraq contained in the classified National Intelligence Estimate of 2002 (NIE) between the date of its transmission on October 2 and the Senate vote authorizing use of force on October 11, only 17 – less than 1 out 5 – read the actual report housed in a secure room a quorum call off the Senate chamber.
The initial figure was a disgraceful 22. But certain Senators, once pressed remembered that their dog ate their homework and recanted initial claims – namely Senator John Edwards. All told 8 Republicans and 11 Democrats read the 92 pages brief that ultimately committed over 145,000 servicemen and women to combat in Iraq.
Of the 11 Democrats who read it, 8 (including Sen Bob Graham, then-Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence) voted against the resolution.
In fact so few were aware of its nature, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held closed-door hearings to brief members prior to the vote.
This issue was raised during a recent Presidential debate. Some answered, others did not. For the record here are those Congressional candidates who took time to read the classified brief – less than twice as long as Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat In The Hat” -- and their corresponding vote.
Biden (Read Yes; Voted Yes; Chair SFRC)
Clinton (Read No; Voted Yes; member Armed Services)
Dodd (Read No; Voted Yes; member Armed Services)
Edwards (Read No; Voted Yes; member Intelligence Committee)
McCain (Read No: Voted Yes)
Brownback (Read No; Voted Yes)
Kucinich (Read No; Voted No)
It would be of great interest to see how the key players and others on the House side, as Ms. Abrahams referenced, faired as well.
Jane Harman (Read Yes; Voted; Yes; Chair of Intelligence) by way of example.
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Very good point.
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