With just nine days to go before his District Assembly, U.S. House of Representatives candidate Jared Polis took time to commemorate – not celebrate – an anniversary.

May 1, 2008 was the fifth anniversary of a speech that President George W. Bush gave on the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, with a giant banner saying “Mission Accomplished” draped behind him.

Bush, according to a transcript from www.cbsnews.com, didn’t use the phrase “mission accomplished” in the speech, but he did say “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended,” and that “Our nation is more secure...the tyrant has fallen and Iraq is free.” He also said the U.S.-led coalition was “engaged in securing and reconstructing the country,” and that the “war on terror is not over, yet it is not endless.”

On Friday, Polis said that the U.S. military has now spent more time in Iraq than it spent in World War II, and said a huge percentage of U.S. casualties in Iraq happened after May 1, 2003. A May 1, 2008 column at www.washingtonpost.com said 139 U.S. soldiers were dead and 542 had been wounded as of May 1, 2003, while 2008 totals stood at 4,064 dead and 29,395 wounded.

“We’re seeking to use this anniversary to highlight the ongoing occupation of Iraq, and our need to end it,” said Polis. “It’s been a centerpiece of my campaign to end this war and move forward with a diplomatic solution rather than a military solution.”

On May Day 2008, Polis held an event at the State Capitol in Denver that included a moment of silence at the Colorado Veterans Monument for the men and women who lost their lives in Iraq. Polis said two veterans of the war in Iraq accompanied him and spoke about their experiences.

“One was injured over there, while the other fortunately wasn’t,” said Polis. “Both are advocates for ending the occupation.”

Polis’ May 1 activities also included a stop at the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Hospital in Denver. He said he met with patients, veterans who were receiving VA services, and several service providers.

“It was a real eye-opening experience in terms of the realities of the cost of war,” said Polis. “There are hidden costs, in terms of the mental and physical health services that it’s our responsibility to provide to those who wear our country’s uniform.”

But Polis was active in calling attention to veteran’s issues and calling for a change of course in Iraq before May 1. For example, in March 2008, he and other congressional candidates traveled to Washington, D.C. to unveil “A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq.”

The full document is available at www.responsibleplan.com, but in short it calls for a shift in direction away from military solutions and towards diplomatic/political solutions. The plan also calls for the U.S. to address what it calls the “humanitarian crisis” in Iraq and the surrounding region, restoring (U.S.) Constitutional checks and balances on its executive branch, and restoring independence to the corporate-dominated news media.

Polis said he was part of a group of seven candidates that initially wrote the plan, and said about 50 candidates are now on a list of supporters.

“It’s a plan that originated outside the Beltway, rather than inside the Beltway,” said Polis. “We feel that the Democratic Party in Washington has not advanced a solution on the Iraq war. So, we as candidates are taking it upon ourselves to commit to a specific course of action when we’re elected, and to work as a unit as a freshman class to bring this war to an end, and to deal with a lot of the collateral issues that have emerged from this war.”

On the diplomatic front, Polis said it is necessary to bring regional stakeholders together to discuss a security plan for Iraq. He said part of the discussion would be multi-national and could include the United Nations, but he also said some of the stakeholders are not actual nation-states, such as the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leadership within the nation-state of Iraq.

“The main goal is to help assemble all of the stakeholders and work on a regional political and diplomatic solution, which we’re unable to do as an occupying power because we lack the moral authority to be an honest broker,” said Polis. “As we end the military phase of our activity and bring our troops home, we will have renewed diplomatic legitimacy.”

He also said the regional discussions would need to include nations that have been “at times both stabilizing and destabilizing influences within Iraq,” such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Polis went to Iraq and Jordan in late 2007, and said he met with Iraqi refugees while he was in Jordan. He said the current humanitarian problems include the millions of Iraqi refugees, and Polis said the U.S. will need to take some of them in.

“We also have a long-term moral commitment to help with the rebuilding of Iraq, in terms of working with local and national authorities there to provide economic aid, help repair some of the damage, get some of the water and electrical systems back on line, and promote regional stability,” said Polis.

Polis said ending the military phase could allow the U.S. to “redeploy” some of the nation’s spending towards better health care and education for veterans. He also said that he favors a major domestic plan of action – to reduce the nation’s reliance on oil and gas – as a way to “de-charge” the oil and gas-rich Middle East as a geopolitical hot spot.

“Not only is our reliance on oil and gas a national security issue, it’s even more critically an environmental issue that will affect our future,” said Polis. “Global warming is the biggest global threat to our security and way of life, and we need bold action to invest in renewable energy sources and wean ourselves from fossil fuels.”

But several political contests remain before Polis or any other candidate will replace current U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, in Congress.

Democrats Polis, Joan Fitz-Gerald, Will Shafroth and Larry Johnson are in the race, along with Bill Hammons of the Unity Party of America and Republican Scott Starin. Polis and Fitz-Gerald are attempting to qualify for the August 12 primary through the caucus-assembly process, while Shafroth and Johnson are petitioning.

On Saturday, May 10, Polis and Fitz-Gerald will face off at the 2nd Congressional District Assembly. Candidates who earn at least 30 percent of the delegate vote will automatically qualify for the primary, and if both Fitz-Gerald and Polis qualify, the candidate with the most delegates will be listed on the top line of the primary ballot.

FYI For more information about 2nd CD candidates, visit the Web sites for: Jared Polis at www.polisforcongress.com. Joan Fitz-Gerald at www.joanfitz-gerald.com, Will Shafroth at www.shafrothforcongress.com, Larry Johnson at http://larryjohnsonforcongress.com, Bill Hammons at www.bill-for-congress.us, and Scott Starin at www.starinforcongress.com.

Contact Richard Valenty about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 126, or at valenty@coloradodaily.com.