Former POW from Texas gives moving speech against Dem defeat resolution

Houston Chronicle:

Thirty-four years ago this week, Air Force Col. Sam Johnson was freed from the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" after nearly seven years of torture, starvation and other mistreatment as a prisoner of war.

This week, Rep. Sam Johnson, his body bent and marked by the Vietnam War, figures prominently into House Republicans' strategy to counter the Democrats' push to disapprove of President Bush's proposed deployment of 21,500 more troops to Iraq.

Debate on the Democratic resolution, by turns passionate and partisan, began Tuesday and culminates with a vote scheduled for Friday. The resolution, which carries no force of law, is expected to pass easily with a near-united Democratic caucus joined by at least a few dozen Republicans.

Eager to counter the Democrats' resolution with one of their own, Republicans had rallied to a bill by Johnson that would prohibit Congress from cutting off funds for the troops. But they were stymied in their effort to offer the Plano Republican's bill, even though Democrats had previously said they would allow Republicans to bring up an alternative measure.

Left only with the choice of an up-or-down vote on the Democratic measure, which affirms support for the troops but disapproves of Bush's surge strategy, Republicans showcased Johnson on Tuesday — and will do so again Thursday as the debate nears its end point — to make the case against the resolution in powerfully personal terms.

At a news conference Tuesday, tears rolled down the face of House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, as Johnson urged the House to reject the resolution, saying it would demoralize troops in Iraq just as the POWs in Vietnam were demoralized a generation ago when Americans and their policymakers turned against that war.

"Words can't fully describe the unspeakable damage of the anti-American efforts against the war back home to the guys on the ground," the 76-year-old former F-4 Phantom combat pilot said, his voice quavering. "When they pulled the funds for Vietnam, we were still POWs. We thought we were going to be there forever."

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This story adds more context to the story of Boehner having tears in his eyes over the debate. The Democrats are making such a huge mistake with this resolution. The enemy in Iraq cannot defeat our troops on the battlefield. Their best hope is with the Democrats who are giving them hope with this resolution.