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War protesters hijack Collins speech

A righteous fury was aimed at the wrong politician

By Matthew Kinsman

Posted on Monday, March 27th, 2006, 12:00 am

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Last Thursday, nearly 100 anti-war activists utilized yet another public platform to express their relentless call for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by zeroing in on U.S. Sen. Susan Collins during her lecture in Hauck Auditorium.

The indignant response from anti-war demonstrators stems from Sen. Collins’ refusal to host a public town-hall-style meeting to discuss the war in Iraq with Maine citizens. Collins’ skepticism arises from her belief that a town-hall meeting would not serve as an honest forum of debate, but instead a counterproductive forum for invectiveness. And she’s absolutely right.

As Collins sees it, it would be difficult to hold a debate with protesters brandishing signs that depict her as a warmonger who is directly responsible for the torture of detainees, theft of oil, and the murder of children. “We.cannot understand how you can make claim to either ethics or conscience unless you repudiate this administration,” said a protester who abruptly stood during the question and answer segment to read a statement aloud to Sen. Collins. “Otherwise you are complicit in their crimes against humanity.”

Perhaps reflective of the current anti-war movement’s rigid perspectives, the protesters in attendance failed to recognize one of the key points of Sen. Collins’ speech: compromise.

Earlier this month, Sen. Collins joined forces with two democratic senators and vocal White House critics by sending a blunt letter to President Bush. It called on him to pressure Iraqis into forming a unified national government, in order to prevent civil war and jumpstart the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Sen. Collins acknowledged that a large number of Mainers are opposed to the war, but she also understands that declaring unequivocal censure of the Bush administration and calling for immediate troop withdrawal would only help to further incense, divide and ultimately hurt the country. And most Americans are in agreement.

In a recent Los Angeles Times story, the top U.S. envoy to Iraq said that the U.S. invasion in 2003 created a “Pandora’s box” of ethnic and sectarian tensions that could engulf the region in all-out war if America pulled out of the country too soon, which only strengthens the belief that an immediate troop pullout would also cause irreparable harm to the broader Middle East.

Let’s not be mistaken; the anti-war movement is a praiseworthy cause that has helped define our nation’s history, but it must also be understood that politics is a different creature. Instead of adamantly pursuing unrealistic goals and declaring additional idealism, lawmakers in Washington must work towards viable objectives such as preventing a permanent military establishment, demanding the training of Iraqi security forces, and encouraging a free political process; Sen. Collins is doing just that. And despite critics’ disagreement with the rationale for going to Iraq or vehement opposition to the Bush Administration and its handling of the war, it is vitally important for American citizens to remain unified and pray for success, rather than failure, in Iraq.

However, the anti-war movement has refused to strongly embrace the utilitarian voices of Gen. Wesley Clark and Congressman John Murtha, and instead has used the brazen tactics of Cindy Sheehan to provoke media attention that has further undermined their credibility in the eyes of the American people.

There are many architects of the Iraq War who may deserve stalwart opposition, but Sen. Collins is surely not one of them. For those who witnessed last Thursday’s display, it’s imperative to recognize that the characterization of Sen. Collins as one who is “complicit in their crimes against humanity is a false and uncompromising.” Moreover, it’s critical to refuse to be complicit with the denigration of a woman who has spent a decade serving the people of Maine honestly and admirably, and who quite frankly didn’t deserve a slap in the face when she visited the University of Maine.

Matthew Kinsman is a junior journalism major.