OpinionsThe Rambler September 19, 2007 3

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Rambler RatingsThumbs up toWesleyan groundmaintenancecrews for givingour campus a sharp look.

Thumbs down toApplebee’s forremoving theAppleChimichanga from their menu.

-- Jimmy Juelg

Thumbs down toAMB214 whosescreen projectorhas been brokenfor months.

Thumbs up to allwho participatedin rush events.

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?The top American military commander in Iraq, Gen.

David Petraeus, and the American Ambassador toIraq, Ryan Crocker, faced 16 hours of often pointedquestions from Congress about the state of affairs inIraq. Both men pointed to progress in the military andpolitical situation in Iraq but failed — or refused — toanswer key questions about the duration of America’smilitary presence and about the crucial domestic politi-cal situation in Iraq.

All in all, the scene Sept. 10-11 on the Hill wasreminiscent of Gen. William Westmoreland saying in1967 that there was “light at the end of the tunnel” in

respect to the military situ-ation in Vietnam.

What stood out most –as a Sept. 10 story inMcClatchy newspaperspointed out – was what thetwo men testifying did notsay, or their penchant formisconstruing the situation.In just one example,Petraeus remarked and dis-played a chart demonstrat-ing that sectarian violencein Baghdad betweenDecember 2006 andAugust 2007 haddecreased. What neither henor Crocker mentioned was the change in ethnic composition in the cityfrom “majority Sunni Muslim or mixed to majority Shiite Muslim.”

Both men also omitted from their testimony that, according to theInternational Organization for migration, “86 percent of Iraqis who havefled their homes said they’d been targeted because of their sect.” Both ofthese facts belie the contention that ethnic tensions in Iraq are on thedecrease. Petraeus and Crocker’s highlighting of the decrease in ethnictensions echoed arguments of the administration (for which both men aregrade-A water carriers) that the troop surge that began last winter has beena smashing success.

Yet even Petraeus’ own statistics don’t support him. As the McClathystory mentioned, Petraeus failed to explain why the greatest drop in“ethno-sectarian” deaths “occurred between January and February, beforethe surge began.”

Yet in spite of all of these inconsistencies, Petraeus and Crockerclaimed success for the surge, and Petraeus recommended a drawdown oftroop levels to pre-surge levels by the beginning of 2008. President Bushgladly assented.

While the administration is touting the return to pre-surge troop levelsas a troop drawdown, it is in fact nothing more than a return to the status-quo ante that existed in 2006 when voters turned out a RepublicanCongress largely in disgust with the lack of progress in Iraq.

Petraeus refused to discuss troop levels beyond the beginning of nextyear, and, in fact, said he needed another six months to determine whetheranother drawdown is feasible. That means 130,000 American troops willbe in Iraq until at least next March!

The question that Petraeus is refusing to answer –“Tell me how this ends” – is the same question he him-self asked rhetorically in 2003 when he led the 101st air-borne division into Iraq. The failure to answer that ques-tion, and the baffling optimism in spite of almost all ofthe facts, is inexcusable and more than a little puzzling.

The final question then, as one assesses the long-awaited testimony this week and America’s hopelessposition in Iraq, is who is to blame for the mess we arein? While it is easy to blame Petraeus, Crocker or Bushand the pliant members of Congress who went alongwith this misguided war, ultimate blame must lay uponthe ultimate source of power: citizens.

It is easy to forget now how widespread supportfor this Iraq misadventure was in 2002 and 2003 and thetoxicity of the discourse over the war. The minority ofus who believed it was a mistake in the lead up routine-

ly had our patriotism questioned. More pertinently, war supporters inferredand often explicitly claimed that we had not learned the “lessons of 9/11.”

However, remaining bitter about the past will not help the UnitedStates remedy those mistakes in the future. It is vital now that we the citi-zens demand an end to this tragic blunder in Iraq. The most immediateway to bring about an end to the war is to refuse to appropriate funds forany purpose other than bringing troops home as fast as we can in a mannerthat leaves them safe. We owe it to our soldiers to remove them fromharm’s way in a situation on which they can have increasingly less impact.We also owe it to the Iraqis to allow them succeed or fail in the project ofstatecraft. The answer to Iraq’s problems is political, not military.

ZACHDAVIDSON

Zach Davidson is a junior political science and history major and is a staff writer forThe Rambler.

Courtesy of McClatchy Newspapers

Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker avoidedanswering the “big question” of how the war in Iraq will endwhile addressing Congress Sept. 10-11.

We are college students.We shop at Wal-Mart,

Ross, Half-Price Books,Marshalls and, occasionally,even Goodwill. Why? We arepoor. Right?

Perhaps we are more for-tunate than we realize. TheUnited States populationtook notice this month as theCensus Bureau released thenews that U.S. poverty rates

declined for the first time this decade. The fallfrom 12.6 percent in 2005 to 12.3 percent in2006 is three-tenths of a percent, but a decline isstill a decline. This translates into approximately36.5 million people in poverty out of a total U.S.population of 301,139,947.

“Well,” you might say to yourself, “that’sawesome!” and continue to move on to yournext class. But what does that really mean foryou and me?

College students are frequently accused ofliving inside a bubble. We spend most of ourtime on a campus which functions as a mini-city.There is a convenience shop to serve our RamenNoodle needs; we have a bookstore to serve ouracademic, school supply and school spirit needs;the library functions as a study and help center;the cafeteria provides cooking that makes youlove your mother more; and there’s a gym toensure physical fitness. Colleges even have theirown government system in place. Why shouldthree-tenths of a percent matter to us?

In his 1964 State of the Union Address,President Lyndon B. Johnson formally declareda “war on poverty.” He mobilized the legislatureto take immediate action, and this resulted in avariety of programs we see today. Programs suchas Medicare, Head Start and the Job Corps wereall results of the “war on poverty” tactics enact-ed by the Johnson Administration. As Johnsonwisely noted in his address, however, “poverty is

a national problem, requiring improved nationalorganization and support. But this attack, to beeffective, must also be organized at the state andthe local levels and must be supported anddirected by state and local efforts.”

Rates and statistics are simply a way inwhich to measure the success and progress madein this on-going war. And no matter how manyfederal programs exist to alleviate the povertycondition, the frontlinesare ultimately going tobe in our backyard.

The Center forPublic Policy Prioritiesin Austin reported that afamily of four living inArlington or Fort Worthwould need to earnabout $46,000 a year tomake it without publicassistance. TheAmerican CommunitySurvey noted that thisaverage family of fourliving below the povertyline accounted for about102,846 people in FortWorth alone. So whatdoes this mean for TexasWesleyan’s backyard?

Dr. Erika Graham, professor of economics atTexas Wesleyan, noted that because the neigh-borhood surrounding the school is low income“there is absolutely no retail, no place to shopbecause…retail looks at income.”

Graham went on to note that while thingslike coffee shops and bookstores would be ofinterest to the students, it would serve studentsalmost exclusively and would not serve to enrichthe neighborhood as a whole.

“In the long-run, Texas Wesleyan forfeits jobopportunities for its students and cannot enrichthe neighborhood [by attracting retail],” said

Graham. “It ultimately limits growth for both[the school] and the neighborhood.”

In the past, Wesleyan has supported multipleendeavors to improve the standard of living forFort Worth’s low income neighborhoods. A 1999report from the mayor of Fort Worth on the ArtsCouncil of Fort Worth and Tarrant Countydescribed the important role Texas Wesleyanplayed in assisting the Arts Council in renovat-

ing and renting an abandoned build-ing, which later became theEastside Neighborhood Arts Center.

Since its establishment, it hasserved as a daytime rehearsal spacefor dancers in the TWU school offine arts. At all other times, the cen-ter plays host to countless otherclasses, rehearsals and art perform-ances, which benefits the eastsideneighborhood. These classes andperformances expose children andadults to art and culture that wouldotherwise be unaffordable.

Ultimately, the primary issue ismeeting the needs of the communi-ty as a whole within a set income.

Demosthenes, a notableAthenian statesman of the fourthcentury, once said that “smallopportunities are often the begin-

ning of great enterprises.” The students of TexasWesleyan have a small opportunity in their ownbackyard. Three-tenths of a percent, howeverpositive, is undoubtedly a small drop in a fairlylarge bucket. But when we take seriously the“war on poverty” and act within our abilities forthe betterment of the community as a whole,perhaps we may make the difference needed toadd one more family to the list of those livingabove the poverty threshold in Fort Worth.

The effort starts here.

Petraeus and Crocker fail to identify Iraqi problems

War on poverty drafts college students into the fray

Courtesy of Google Images

The poor’s low standard of livingcan be aided by student efforts.

Corrections

Alpha Kappa wasmisidentified in a rushevent photo Sept. 12.

RACHELHORTON

Rachel Horton is a freshman political science majorand is a contributing writer for The Rambler.

Decline in U.S. poverty rates calls for community investment, not a pat on politicians’ backs

Dr. Tim Bruster is nota Wesleyan alumnus.He was identifiedincorrectly in a Sept.12th news story.

Choral Conductor Dr.Jerry Bierschenk’sname appeared incor-rectly in the Sept. 5thissue.

The Ramblerregrets these errors.