Skip to main content
Image
Photo of the U.S. Capitol dome

THE STATE: "Wilson remains optimistic about war"

September 11, 2005
Article
Wilson remains optimistic about war; S.C.congressman confident even as backing for conflict dwindles in U.S. By LAUREN MARKOE Washington Bureau 11 September 2005The State (Columbia, SC)EYE ON WASHINGTON WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson recently returned from his fifth trip to Iraq, as optimistic as ever — even as doubts about the war rise across the nation and, to a lesser extent, in South Carolina. The Springdale Republican has traveled to Iraq more than nearly any other member of Congress. He spent this latest visit learning about how Iraqi and U.S. soldiers counter the insurgents. "They are very effective in uncovering who the terrorists are, where they're coming from and the technology they're using so we can confront them," Wilson said. The congressman, whose son Alan was deployed to Iraq for a year, remains confident about nearly every other aspect of the conflict — from the morale of American troops to efforts to draft a constitution. "A key thing has been the election of Jan 30," he said. "That really confirmed that the Iraqi people are involved in the process." Despite Wilson's hopefulness, polls show support for the war dwindling. Most Americans no longer believe the war is going well, several recent surveys show. Even in South Carolina, a state that boasts a strong military tradition and widespread admiration for the president, Wilson hears from frustrated constituents. "People are truly supportive of the effort, but they want it concluded. They want some type of massive attack. They want to obliterate communities," said Wilson, first elected to Congress in 2001. "I try to explain to them that is not how it should be fought." In Wilson's district, which runs from Lexington and Richland counties south to Beaufort, it is easy to find strong views on both sides of the war question. "My constituents are really upset about the war and disillusioned and many of them are wondering why we're there," said state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, D-Jasper, whose state Senate district overlaps with Wilson's congressional district. Many people in Allendale, Beaufort, Charleston and Colleton counties have concluded Iraq never was the threat to the United States that the Bush administration said it was, said Pinckney, whose cousin was killed in Iraq and who has several other relatives serving in the Middle East. Pinckney, who is also the pastor of Mount Horr AME Church at Yonges Island, said the disaffection is widespread in his congregation, which is mostly black. South Carolina's only black congressman, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Democrat whose district parallels Wilson's from the Midlands to the Lowcountry, was the only member of the congressional delegation to vote against the war. However, Pinckney said support or opposition to the war does not break down along racial lines. "There are a lot of whites in the area who would admit that this war is starting to look like Vietnam," he said. Tom Liszewski, the Columbia-based director of the Carolina Peace Resource Center, said an indication of the growing disillusionment with the war is the increasing number of people who are honking their car horns in support of the group's weekly vigil outside the State House. "It was 40 or 50" honks when the vigil started in the late spring, Liszewski said. "I counted 140 three weeks ago." And the four charter buses now scheduled to take South Carolinians to a Sept. 24 anti-war march in Washington might not be enough to take all of those who want to go, he said. "We may have six buses." Among the crowd that gathers in the evenings at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8738 on Cedarcrest Drive in Lexington, support for the war runs as strongly as ever. "We're very supportive of our troops," said Thomas Wallace, a civilian employee at Fort Jackson who, as an active duty soldier, spent two tours in Vietnam. Lydia Stoner, who runs the canteen at the post, said her support for the war remains as strong as it was the day the invasion began. "We started something and I think it needs to be completed," she said. "Otherwise, we have wasted so many people." Reach Markoe at (202) 383-6023 or lmarkoe@krwashington.com