The shrill debate over Iraq policy needs a national solution. The fundamental principle of our Constitution is that no one man can commit the country to any action. The President may send any number of troops to Iraq, but that does not commit this country or its people to that course of action. Only a formal declaration of war can.

I propose that the Democratic majority in the House and Senate submit formal declarations of war against Afghanistan and Iraq. Theses declarations must define the mission in concrete, measurable terms. A third Declaration of war against al Qaeda and all its supporters and allies should follow.

Then let the country debate, not with propaganda slogans like a “war on terrorism,” but with facts and the national interest in mind what to do. Adoption would state, not imply, the commitment of the nation as a whole lending moral authority to the self-restraint of dissent. Rejection should carry with it the moral authority that the president can not continue to do whatever he wants without regard for the wishes of the country.

Jonathan Albrecht, Dixfield

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