Finding Common Ground... Peace Activists & Rep. Dave Camp

April 18, 2007

Take nine peace activists and put them in a room with U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, and you might think there would be no surprises in store.
The viewpoints of both sides—staying the course in Iraq versus setting a goal date to get out—are thrashed out daily in the media.
Yet fresh issues were raised and activists felt heard in a face-to-face meeting that was organized by the Traverse Area Peace and Justice Community.
The impeccably-dressed Camp gathered around a long conference table with the activists in his Traverse City office last week. He listened intently, often smiled, and took a few notes as several activists read their speeches.
The activists knew they had a hard sell. When asked last fall if he would invade Iraq knowing what he knows now, Camp answered with a one-word answer in a Northern Express interview: “Yes.”
But on Tuesday, Rep. Camp was conciliatory and welcoming. He told the activists that he, too, was unhappy with how the war has been executed to date, but he wanted to give General David Petraeus, the new war commander, a “last chance” to succeed in Iraq.
Camp said the clock is “ticking in his mind,” and there is a point when the war will have to show some progress. But when asked when he’ll know “enough is enough,” he said he did not have any specific benchmarks or timelines for what he considered progress. “I’m just not gonna put a time line on it.”

FINE POINTS
Although the activists were disappointed and frustrated with his response, there were finer points in which they hoped Camp might act upon.
Tom Shea, who spent three weeks preparing his five-minute speech, urged Camp to add criminal sanctions and fines in a pending bill that aims to stop contractors from defrauding our government. Up to $20 billion is unaccounted for in this war. The House version of the bill carries no sanctions for offenders, while the Senate bill does, Shea said.
Camp told Shea that he didn’t know why the House version contained no sanctions, but that there is still work to be done as the two different versions come together.
Shea urged that Congress take control over war spending. The war already cost nearly half a trillion dollars, with significant debt floated by China, Japan, and Europe. If those countries were to suddenly cash in the U.S. government bonds, our country would collapse into a Depression, Shea warned.
“When those guys call in the chips, our dollars are funny money,” he said.
All the activists concluded their letters with direct questions they hope Camp will answer. Shea wanted to know what Camp has done or will do to control war spending.
John Lewis, president of the Northern Michigan chapter of Veterans for Peace, urged Camp to act on recent information that 5,600 veterans who served in Iraq were pressured to admit to a “pre-existing personality disorder.” More likely, he said, the veterans are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Once a soldier signs off on the pre-existing mental condition, they lose all eligibility for benefits, saving the government huge amounts of money, he said.
“How were they accepted into the military service originally if they had a pre-existing personality disorder” he asked Camp. “What is Congress going to do to make sure such appalling practices are terminated?”
Peggy Fry, a Traverse City business owner, addressed the issue over whether Congress has the right to withhold funding for the Iraq war. She quoted Alexander Hamilton, who is frequently quoted by conservatives for his views on a strong central government. But, in fact, Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers that Congress holds the power to end war:
“Our constitution states clearly that the power to end wars resides in the Congress most clearly through the power of the purse and the express requirement that no appropriations for a standing Army last for more than two years. In this way, any war would require a reauthorization from Congress every two years by its decision to fund the war.”

PRESIDENT’S CALL
Camp said there is a current debate on whether it’s appropriate for Congress to set timelines for withdrawal, but he believes the decision lies with the president. He voted against the $121 billion supplementary spending bill that gives a specific timeline for troop withdrawal as “micromanaging.” He also said the bill was loaded with $21 billion of spending on projects that have no connection to the war.
He said he doesn’t know whether there will be a compromise on the bill or a presidential veto.
Camp said there has been progress since the surge, citing the fact that the Iraqi government is considering a new oil law that would provide for revenue sharing among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
Marian Kromkowski, an attorney and the lead organizer of the meeting, said that comment was “most distressing.”
“What most people don’t know, including most Iraqis since the plan was first written in English, is that the current nationalized industry would be 80 percent privatized. The National Iraqi Oil Company would only oversee currently producing fields.
“It is estimated that the current fields represent only 19 percent of Iraq’s petroleum reserves. The other 80 percent would be open to investment by American and British oil interests who apparently would be eligible for 70 percent of those profits. That definitely is a coup for the oil industry, but it is not progress for the Iraqis.”
Jim Coats, another activist, told Camp that the majority of the country now opposes the war: “Congress is not listening to the people. They are not close to representing us. You are my representative, and it is very frustrating to exercise our vote, to do everything in our legal power to express ourselves, and still not be heard.”
Camp agreed that he was elected as a representative, but that he also has the responsibility to act in his best judgment. He believes that if we leave now, the country will collapse into chaos.
John Lewis, a World War II veteran, later said that he’s always agreed that elected officials must do what they think is right. “I’ve always gone along with that. It’s courageous. But I think he’s wrong in this case.
“I was happy with the meeting,” he continued. “I had so much prejudice against Rep. Camp, the way he voted against the minimum wage, the way he recently said that global warming needs more study … things that are absolutely ignorant and irresponsible. But he’s a nice guy. He’s very popular in Congress on both sides of the aisle. I understand that. He came across as pleasant and not afraid to disagree. It never hurts to talk to people you disagree with. You just never know when something’s going to click.”

The day after this meeting, several members of the Traverse Area Peace and Justice Community “occupied” the offices of U.S. Representative Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Senator Carl Levin. Their message: stop war funding and bring the troops home now.