If we lived in a representative democracy, the United States invasion and occupation of Iraq would soon come to an end.
A CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll conducted less than two weeks ago found that 59 percent of those surveyed believe that sending troops to Iraq was a mistake; 67 percent disapprove of the way President Bush has handled the situation in Iraq.
In June, a Washington Post/ABC News poll revealed that nearly three-quarters of those polled said the number of casualties in Iraq is unacceptable. Two-thirds said the military there is bogged down.
This weekend, Washington D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey acknowledged that perhaps over 150,000 people marched in the nation's capital to call for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
So what accounts for anti-war sentiment claiming the mainstream in the United States?
Likely the rise of new, crucial voices that can testify to the grizzly realities of war: Iraq veterans and military families.
Peace activists have taken issue with the unleashing of bombs over Iraqi neighborhoods, the torturing and sex abuse of Abu Ghraib and the homeland intolerance that invariably springs from invading another sovereign nation without a consistent justification.
They were always met with a familiar refrain.
Indeed, "Support the Troops" transcended its initial role as a reactionary comeback to revolutionize the way America decorated the back of its car. But now, troops and their families are increasingly on the frontline of the fight against this war.
During Cindy Sheehan's vigil in Crawford, Texas, I observed a dialogue that has come to exemplify this transformative innovation to the anti-war movement. A pro-war individual screamed irately at a man holding a sign, "We should send you to Iraq!" The anti-war individual replied firmly, "I already went. How about you?"
No one knows the horrors of war better than those who have lived it.
Accordingly, organizations such as Iraq Veterans Against War - a year-old group boasting a membership of over 200 - deserve not only the ear of those defending our war-making but also amplification by those organizing to stop it.
In so doing, the anti-war movement not only defuses the pro-war tagline of "Support the Troops," it fulfills a very human obligation: listening to those communities most directly affected by (and knowledgeable of) the gruesome ramifications of war.
The scenes of desperation, panic and death displayed in coverage of Hurricane Katrina are all too real for the 147,000 individuals planted amid the chaos of Iraq. At least 1,911 U.S. military members are dead and 14,641 are wounded. And, of course, that's just the people from between our borders.
The grave consequences of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, rampant sexual assault and exposure to depleted uranium demand urgent and serious attention. Anything less would be an affront to the notion of supporting the troops.
The anti-war movement must continue to put veteran voices at the forefront and incorporate them into a community where difficult admissions, mutual struggle and healing can take place.
Buckley is a sociology and Spanish senior.
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