04/03/06 IRAQ REFERENDUMS: Maybe voters can prompt sooner action

From Journal Sentinel readers

In an April 2 editorial, the Journal Sentinel declared its support for referendums calling for the gradual withdrawal of troops from Iraq but urged voters to vote "no" on those ballot measures calling for immediate withdrawal ("Yes to gradual withdrawal; no to immediate pullout")

While that seems like reasonable advice, the fact is that any call for gradual withdrawal is essentially an endorsement of current Bush administration policy. President Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney all agree with the need for gradual withdrawal.

What slogan would proponents of gradual withdrawal use, "Bring the troops home eventually"?

The whole point of the referendum is to put pressure on our elected officials to bring an end to what has turned into a quagmire in Iraq and to do so sooner rather than later.

Voting "yes" to a question about bringing troops home immediately will not in itself trigger the withdrawal process. But it might make it happen faster than otherwise would occur.