Frustrated By U.S. Policy, Foreign Service Veteran Challenges Virginia GOP Incumbent

CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS

By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff

The war in Iraq and security risks facing the U.S. around the world have prompted running policy debates in Congress, but it has also prompted one Democratic political novice with foreign policy experience to run for Congress out of frustration with what he has witnessed in these global hot spots.

Virginia Democrat Glenn Nye, a former Foreign Service officer who has worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is touting a background in international affairs in his contest against Republican Rep. Thelma Drake , who is in her second term representing the state's 2nd District, which takes in Virginia Beach and surrounding territory, including Virginia's Eastern Shore. Drake was narrowly re-elected in 2006, and Nye could give her a competitive race this year.

Nye, a first-time candidate for office, recently returned from a nine-month stint in Iraq, working with USAID on a program to employ Iraqis. He's served in other world trouble spots, including Afghanistan, the West Bank and Kosovo.

In an interview with CQ Politics in Washington, Nye said he's been very proud of his foreign service career - but that he's also reached a point in his life at which he determined "there is only so much one can do on the executing end of foreign policy in terms of advancing American interests, and there's only so much you can do to influence the policy from the outside."

"I was frustrated with the course of the country, and I was prepared to offer my service to try to bring some expertise into the Congress that I think the Congress is lacking," Nye said.

He also said he would use his seat in Congress to ask "tough questions" that he said haven't been asked of the current administration. Asked for an example, Nye said the administration hasn't been pressed enough on its strategy for leaving Iraq.

Nye supports a timeline to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq. He said he understands the arguments against a troop withdrawal and the concerns that attach to it - namely, that a withdrawal might embolden U.S. enemies - but that "setting a timetable now is actually the right way to go" because it would force the Iraqi government to take the necessary steps to quell sectarian conflicts and fashion a political solution in that country.

"Setting a timetable now shows the Iraqis that we're serious," Nye said. "If we never set a timetable, they will never take the action that they need to take."

In backing a troop withdrawal provision, Nye disagrees with Drake, who has voted against timelines on the grounds that decisions about military strategy should be made by military commanders, not Congress. She's a supporter of the U.S. troop "surge" in Iraq, pointing to reductions in violence.

Nye's views on Iraq are shaped by his firsthand experiences in that nation, where he was an adviser on a USAID program that sought to place Iraqis in jobs. The program was essentially "the economic part of the counterinsurgency effort," he said. Nye found the work difficult and frustrating - but sometimes uplifting, as when he saw average Iraqis who wanted to make better lives for themselves.

Iraq was by far the most dangerous place Nye has ever served. In the summer of 2007, Nye said, "we received incoming mortars into the Green Zone every day, usually day and night. ... I slept with a set of body armor next to my bed, and a helmet."

He was safer than U.S. soldiers, of course, and Nye credits them for "doing heroic work." But Nye said he is concerned that the troops will indefinitely stay in Iraq, absent a "leadership decision" to bring them home.

More broadly, Nye is concerned about how the ongoing Iraq War has affected the ability of the U.S. military to respond to the next conflagration abroad.

"The question is, what happens to America when our military readiness is low and we have another crisis emerge? Are we ready for the next crisis?" Nye said.

Nye links foreign policy to domestic policy in holding that the Iraq war has drained the federal treasury of funds that should be spent on domestic priorities. He identified investing money to improve port security and infrastructure and ensuring a high quality of health care for veterans as among some major issues he would pursue as a member of Congress.

Veterans' issues are also a top priority for Drake, who sits on the Armed Services Committee. She's also been an advocate of cutting taxes and for allowing intelligence agencies to conduct electronic surveillance to defend against terror attacks.

On the political front, Nye described the response to his candidacy as "overwhelming" and "very enthusiastic" and attributed the good feedback to his background. He said he had raised more than $100,000 in three weeks.

Drake reported raising $741,000 in 2007 and began this year with $426,000 left to spend.

Nye is the only Democrat thus far who has formalized plans to challenge Drake. Phil Kellam, the Virginia Beach revenue commissioner, declined to seek a rematch with Drake, who defeated Kellam by 3 percentage points in 2006. Norfolk sheriff Bob McCabe also took himself out of the running.

The Democratic organization in Virginia's 2nd District can choose whether to nominate their November candidate in a convention or in a primary election on June 10.

Virginia's 2nd has traditionally had a Republican orientation, in part because of the district's strong military presence. President Bush took 58 percent of the district vote in 2004, when he carried Virginia handily over Democratic Sen. John Kerry . Democrats, though, have been buoyed by the party's recent advances in the state, including victories in state legislative races last November and also by the robust participation of nearly 1 million voters in the Feb. 12 Democratic presidential primary, which Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won over New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS

Feb. 21, 2008 - 12:47 a.m.