On Saturday, the Calhoun County Democrats passed a resolution in support of a “phased redeployment” of United States troops stationed in Iraq. A similar resolution was passed by Kalamazoo County Democrats in June, with organizers of that effort pledging to bring similar resolutions to Democratic Parties across the state. Unlike the Kalamazoo resolution, the Calhoun County resolution does not deal with the thousands of civilians killed as a result of the actions of the United States military, but it does make an argument against the continued occupation of Iraq on the basis of the more than 2,500 US soldiers killed in Iraq, the more than 18,000 wounded, and the costs of the war. The passage of the resolution with a single dissenting vote reflects the position of many in the Democratic Party who have come to oppose the war in Iraq, with recent polls finding that 9 out of 10 Democrats oppose the ongoing war in Iraq. However, even as President George W. Bush stated earlier this week that “we’re not leaving [Iraq], so long as I am President,” it remains to be seen how much of an issue the Iraq War will be in both the 2006 and 2008 elections. Nationally prominent Democrats have suggested that “security” and the prosecution of the “war on terror” will be a major issue in the fall, with Democrats intending to prove that they can more aggressively deal with terrorism. Similarly, Democratic organizations such as MoveOn—who have backed “antiwar” candidate Ned Lamont in Connecticut—but have to failed challenge prominent pro-war Democrats such as Senator Hillary Clinton for their positions on Iraq. In theory resolutions from county and state-level Democratic parties—such as the one passed by Calhoun County and reprinted below—could force the national party to take a position against the war, but if past positions are considered, it seems unlikely.

The resolution supporting phased Redeployment of troops as passed by the Calhoun County Democrats:

WHEREAS Iraq has exploded in violence, with 6,000 Iraqis killed in May and June 2006, sectarian and insurgent violence continues to claim American and Iraqi lives at an alarming rate, strongly suggesting the Baghdad security plan announced by President Bush earlier this year has failed;

WHEREAS no apparent evidence of a coherent strategy to stabilize Iraq and achieve victory has been furnished by the Bush Administration to date, while U.S. troops and taxpayers continue to pay a high price, with over 2,500 American troops killed and over 18,000 wounded; our military is now strained and challenged to deal with other security threats, readiness levels for our armed forces below pre-Vietnam War levels, since virtually no active Army non-deployed combat brigade is prepared to perform its wartime missions; and American taxpayers have already contributed over $300 billion, adding nearly $3 billion more to a record budget deficit;

WHEREAS little to no diplomatic effort to resolve sectarian differences, no regional effort to establish a broader security framework, and no attempt to revive a struggling reconstruction effort have been made to date, yet the Bush Administration announced plans to redeploy an additional 5,000 U.S. troops into an urban war zone in Baghdad in an apparent effort to avoid the appearance of defeat;

WHEREAS in 2005, Congress enacted the “United States Policy in Iraq Act”, declaring 2006 to be a year of "significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with Iraqi security forces taking the lead for the security of a free and sovereign Iraq, thereby creating the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq”, communicating clearly to Iraqi political leaders that American patience, blood and resources are not unlimited, providing incentive to Iraqis to assume leadership for the security of their nation while freeing U.S. forces for greater responsiveness to U.S. security challenges elsewhere in the world;

WHEREAS Democratic leadership of Congress has submitted a letter urging a program of phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq, with said program to begin before the end of 2006; said program includes the transition U.S. forces in Iraq to a more limited mission focused on counter-terrorism, training and logistical support of Iraqi security forces, and force protection of U.S. Personnel, urges the Iraqis to take the steps necessary to achieve a broad-based and sustainable political settlement, including constitutional power-sharing amendments, disarmament of militias, the convening of an international conference to persuade multilateral involvement in financing, reconstruction and economic development of Iraq.

IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Calhoun County Democratic Party supports the Democratic leadership of Congress in its call for phased redeployment;

IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Calhoun County Democratic Party calls upon its members to co-sign Senator Carl Levin's letter to President Bush calling for a conclusion to our open-ended commitment in Iraq, with said letter to be submitted by Senator Levin's offices to President Bush;

IT IS FINALLY RESOLVED that the Calhoun County Democratic Party will furnish a copy of this resolution to Michigan’s Senators Levin and Stabenow, Representatives Conyers, Dingell, Kildee, Kilpatrick, Levin, and Stupak and to the Michigan Democratic Party.