Wednesday's vote in the Congress, an amendment regarding troop readiness, failed because the Republicans decided that, no matter what they personally felt about the war, they had to “stick together� to make sure the president's policies continued without changing course. The bill was defeated for the sake of party loyalty and not for the sake of the American public, which all elected public officials are supposed to represent. This, in spite of the fact that my fellow Americans overwhelmingly have clearly stated that they want this war to end.

This has left me confused and angry. Stated simply, the proposal was to make sure a combat soldier did not go back to the battlefield unless he or she had as much time off between deployments as time spent on the battlefield. This “party loyalty" has sickened me beyond belief. When is America going to wake up? Even Alan Greenspan writes in his book that the war is probably all about oil and not bringing democracy to the Middle East as we've been told over and over again.

When are our leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle going to vote their conscience and not party affiliation?

What can the average American do to stop this bloody conflict and save the lives and limbs of our brave soldiers?

Or is it too late already? Help.

— Steve Binder, Oxnard