Both tickets share personal stake in fate of Iraq war

Last update: September 5, 2008 - 8:26 PM

WASHINGTON - Iraq is about to become an unusual common ground for the presidential candidates, despite its divisiveness as a campaign issue. Sons of both vice presidential nominees are expected to arrive there soon.

The deployments of Track Palin, son of GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, and Beau Biden, son of Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Biden, make the subject of ending the contentious war an intensely personal one for their families.

"They're going to take a very keen interest in how that war is run," retired Army Brigadier Gen. David Grange said. "It will affect their decisionmaking. No doubt about it."

Also, John McCain's son Jimmy, a Marine, returned earlier this year from Iraq. Another McCain son, Jack, is a senior at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Citing security restrictions, the Army will not say where Palin's or Biden's units are being sent. Both are on 12-month tours.

Track, Palin's oldest at age 19, will perform security duties for top officers in the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which is set to leave for Iraq next week. Palin's unit is believed to be headed to Diyala, among the most dangerous of Iraq's 18 provinces.

Beau Biden, who is Delaware's attorney general, is a captain in the Delaware National Guard and will work as a military lawyer in Iraq. His 261st Signal Brigade is scheduled to head to in early October for Fort Bliss, Texas, before going to Iraq.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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