What I Told the Bozeman Peace Rally and Why

- by Rep. Franke Wilmer, candidate for Congress, Montana

Two hours after the attacks on the World Trade Center on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Great Falls Tribune called and asked me to write a guest editorial about the attacks.

I wrote that the attacks were horrific and we would be collectively traumatized in their aftermath, and warned that war and democracy are in many ways in opposition to one another. I wrote that I hoped Americans would remain vigilant over their democracy in the aftermath of the attacks and that our leaders would both console and unify us without descending into the stark emotional bipolarity that often follows from traumatic experiences.

In November 2002, as the U.S. was heading in to a war with Iraq, 700 Bozemanites took to the streets in protest. We didn't slow down the march to war but we felt less powerless than had we not protested at all. I have never advocated for weakening U.S. national security and I do believe there is a time, place, and purpose when the use of force is warranted. But I didn’t believe that the war in Iraq and against Saddam was one of those times and do not recall ever hearing a clear statement of what our objective was in going to war.

On the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan Veterans for Peace organized a rally on the steps of the Bozeman courthouse to express their support for ending the war that has now outlasted Vietnam. Rev. Denise Rogers gave voice to mothers-- mothers of servicemen and women who have died, mothers whose children play with land mines and unexploded bombs in Afghanistan, mothers who endure sleepless nights while their sons and daughters serve a second and third tour of duty, mothers who are soldiers. Rabbi Ed spoke about anti-war teachings from Isaiah 2:4, noting that they were 2900 years old. The wife of a wounded veteran spoke poignantly while standing next to a photo of her husband, telling the crowd "you all have a soldier in Afghanistan."

I agreed with all of them. But what could I add? My thoughts turned to Jeannette Rankin and Mike Mansfield, who had both been critical of war. My thoughts turned to how we all honored the men and women in uniform willing to put themselves in harm's way but who trusted us to make good and thoughtful decisions about when to do so. My thoughts turned to what Congress should do now and in the future.

"First, end the wars, and bring our troops home, I said. “Along with irresponsible behavior on Wall Street and its financial institutions, these wars have wrecked our economy. It’s time to invest at home. Second, there are142,000 men and women who will be coming home. We must fully commit to funding their mental and physical health care needs, and the educational and occupational opportunities for their transition to good-paying civilian jobs. Third, Congress must investigate and hold responsible those who lost or wasted an estimated $60 billion of war spending, according to bipartisan reports. Finally, we must never support military operations that do not have a clearly defined objective. If you don't define your objective, you cannot say when we can bring our troops home."

World War II ended just 5 years before I was born. Never was an enemy more deserving of defeat than the Nazis. I remember President Eisenhower though did not know until I was an adult that he had prophetically warned us of the influence of the military-industrial complex. My generation's war was Vietnam and I am honored to have worked with Vietnam veterans to pass a bill in 2009 to reconcile their dishonorable treatment by the American people during that war. My experience in former Yugoslavia, just 30 miles away from the massacre at Srebenica when it occurred in the summer of 1995, indelibly taught me that violence is sometimes necessary. But the attacks of September 11 put to a test the dual necessities of protecting our democracy and our national security without weakening either.

I'm running for Congress to be Montana’s one vote in Congress. And my vote will serve my constituents and my country so help me get elected! I will bring all of my gathered experiences, wisdom, and commitments to bear in floor speeches, in committees, in sponsored bills, or over coffee-- and will work to make happen in Congress what ought to happen-- end the wars and bring our troops home, guarantee the mental and physical health care of our veterans, provide the educational and occupational opportunities they and ALL Americans deserve to make the most productive use of their talents, and bring knowledge, common sense and statesmanship to our foreign policy.