Podcast: Finding common ground: The state of our democracy

During the news on 9/11, at which time I had been coming up on a year working in the U.S. House of Representatives, I felt the deepest of sadness for the suffering of individual lives and anger at the unmitigated evil witnessed. I took comfort in the voices of friends and family. Being part of the political process, my mind turned to America's response. I listened to our leaders speak in Congress and on the news; I talked to my minister from back home despite my lapsed church attendance at that time; I thought about our troops leaving to take the fight against terrorism overseas. I was unsure of what to expect once those troops were deployed. I began hesitating when a new front in Iraq opened. What became between the two wars were too many patriots’ graves. Too many disabled veterans.

The foreign policy of the Trump administration is noteworthy both for its muscular nature and its opposition to “forever wars.” The need for debate over this approach is clear. Less clear may be the terms of the debate. With a series of military actions now reaching a new height with the attack on Iran, we should take some lessons from the past. Here, I concentrate on lessons related to the impact on U.S. soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen.