For much of the new millennium, the United States has waged war in foreign lands, much of which spawned from the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001. War, in essence, provokes debate of principle. In 2002, when the President asked for authorization to use military force against Iraq, who they believed to be behind the attacks, party lines were drawn. While it was rather normal to see a Republican supporting the intervention in Afghanistan and eventually Iraq, it was exceedingly rare to find a Republican against it. North Carolina Representative Walter Jones took the courageous stand as one of the first Republicans to recant his position; to defy his own party and his constituents in his opposition of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, in an effort to stop the brutal killing of people, which now stands at over 9,000 Americans for both war, plus nearly 210,000 civilians (Lutz); and unsustainable …show more content…
in Raimondo). While he has repeatedly won re-election, he has received a lot of heat for his position change – back home and in the House. Immediately following his change, local Republicans leaders shouted about his “disloyalty” (qtd. in “Walter Jones’s War”) and the restaurant that gave him the inspiration for “Freedom Fries” took down all of the pictures of Jones (“Walter Jones’s War”). In the House, he received a message from the GOP leadership about the Armed Service Committee, “I have a lot of respect for you, but I don’t agree with you on Iraq and I feel that I must not recommend you for ranking member” (Kucinich). In his most recent election, two PACs launches 6-figure attacks against Jones, claiming him had lost touch with his own constituents’ position on the wars. (“The War on Anti-War