When Josh Mandel got a call from the Marines last year asking him to return voluntarily to Iraq, he had much more to contemplate than when he first enlisted in 2000. He had just been elected to the Ohio state legislature. Family considerations were also important to him. He ultimately decided to serve a second tour in Iraq ?because I didn?t join the Marine Corps to say no when my country called,? Mr. Mandel explains.
Of all the factors he weighed, Mr. Mandel says political concerns were not among them. Now he has been forced to deal with the politics of that decision. The opponent in his tough re-election fight, trial attorney Bob Belovich, is attacking Mr. Mandel?s service, arguing that he abandoned voters. Mr. Belovich?s wife, Barbara, acknowledged in an interview for this column that she has told voters that Mr. Mandel ?went AWOL? (a military term for desertion) by fighting in Iraq.
Even Mr. Mandel?s motives for serving in Iraq are being questioned. Mrs. Belovich claimed in an interview with this columnist that Mandel ?put his personal ambitions ahead of his constituents.? Asked why anyone would enter a war zone out of ?personal ambition,? Barbara Belovich replied curtly, ?Certainly he wasn?t serving our needs.?
