After the 2004 presidential elections, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire junior Garrett Kochom was in favor of the war in Iraq because he believed in the fight against terrorism as a result of Sept. 11. Now with the upcoming presidential election, Kochom is looking for a presidential candidate who wants to wrap up the war as soon as possible because he said that he is fed up with how long the war has lasted.

According to a recent poll conducted on Oct. 18 by the Gallup News Service, the majority of Americans believe the situation in Iraq is getting worse for the United States rather than better, and 6 out of 10 say U.S. involvement in the war was a mistake.

Kochom said the stability of Iraq is important so that the issues that made us get into the war are addressed. He hopes for a candidate who puts more responsibility on the Iraqi government and helps to foster relationships between Iraq and the surrounding countries to promote internal stability.

Marc Jerue, 22, is one of the soldiers who fought to try to bring about this stability that Kochom desires for Iraq.

Jerue is a junior at UW-Eau Claire who fought in Iraq from August 2005 to August 2006 as a gunner in convoy security. He said that he doesn’t agree with the United States being in Iraq and thinks that those who support the war do not understand the repercussions of the war.  

“I will vote solely on the war in Iraq. That’s what I’m going to do because that’s what I know best out of any of the issues … The democrats have said that they want to get out therefore I’ll probably vote for one of them.”

Katy Phillips, the Chair of the Eau Claire County Democratic Party, said their group just passed a county resolution to bring to the state party calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops.

Phillips said that Sen. Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson are presidential candidates who could help change the situation in Iraq. She said that Clinton could build coalitions and other partners in the world to help reinstate our position in the world. On the other hand, Phillips said that Richardson could be a good choice with his experience with world affairs as an ambassador to the UN. 

“In the end, anyone’s gonna do a better job than what’s been happening so far and I think the rest of the world’s leaders are just waiting for us to have a new leader.” 

According to Clinton's presidential campaign Web site, she wants to disengage from the war in Iraq and to bring our troops home. She wants to "replace military force with a new diplomatic initiative to replace with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future."

Richardson's thoughts are along the same lines. His campaign Web site outlines the main goals of removing troops, withdrawing as quickly as possible and a surge of diplomacy. He suggests de-authorizing the war and to redeploy troops to fight in locations that are a threat to America.

Jerue said that it is important for Americans to understand how dangerous the world is and realize how lucky we are to live in safety here. He said that the only people he could trust were the people he was with and he had to live with the constant threat of roadside bombs.

“There’s always a thought of what if or that could have been us.”
 
As of Nov. 3, there are 3,849 reported American deaths and 28,385 Americans reported wounded as a result of the war in Iraq.

With the war on Iraq as one of the main issues of the upcoming presidential election, Jerue says that it is important for the American people to understand the seriousness of what they are voting for.

“It’s not like we’re cheering for a football team here. You can’t take one side or the other. You have to look at what’s right and what’s wrong … You can sit in the United States and not have to worry.”