I'm surprised that a magazine published by the AFSC, which is generally so thoughtful, chose to print the article "Democratic Party Leaders Attempted to Rig a Pro-War Democratic Congress [5]" (by John Walsh, December 2006) since it adopts the unhelpful point of view of characterizing Democrats as "pro-war" because they do not agree with the writer's call for ending the war in Iraq by "immediate withdrawal."

I think most Democrats sincerely want this war to end as soon as possible and most of those who voted for it regret doing so and feel they were deceived into doing so. The question is how soon is "as soon as possible." Most politicians still see immediate withdrawal as not a politically viable position and unlikely to be a practical reality.

The best we can hope for is an expeditious end or transition. Getting there will require much discussion, compromise, and creativity. Divisiveness such as this article does little to advance the cause of ending this war and probably makes it more difficult to build the political momentum to do so.

I find it curious to be defending Democrats who indeed have plenty to be criticized about. I was also surprised to be so easily able to gather 50 neighborhood folks to oppose this war before the invasion. That's when this war should have been ended -- before it started.

Fred H. Olson, Minneapolis, MN