Voted into office 16 months ago in a special election to replace Congressman Joe Moakley, US Representative Stephen Lynch of South Boston has entered the contentious debate surrounding the most serious issue the nation currently faces: whether to go to war with Iraq. Lynch, who voted in favor of the October congressional resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, is now the lead signatory of a letter to President Bush urging him to " exhaust all diplomatic means " prior to going to war with Iraq.

In an interview, Lynch said he was moved to action after watching Bush compare Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s reluctance to cooperate with UN weapon’s inspectors to a " bad movie. " " This business about more time — how much more time do we need to see that he’s not disarming? " said Bush on January 21. " This looks like a rerun of a bad movie, and I’m not interested in watching it. " For Lynch, who was one of the three Massachusetts congressmen to vote in favor of the resolution, Bush’s apparent callousness was too much. " I thought he was taking it very lightly, " said Lynch, speaking to the Phoenix from Washington, where he was preparing to hear Bush’s State of the Union address. " The intent of the letter was to remind him that he exhaust all diplomatic means to produce a peaceful resolution to the crisis itself. "

Lynch cobbled together a small group of other Democratic moderates who had put themselves on the line to vote for the resolution, including Representatives Marty Meehan and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Robert Wexler of Florida, and Joseph Crowley of New York, among several others. " If he felt he had something to lose here, the support of moderate Democrats who gave him support the first time, he might give it some thought, " Lynch pointed out.

When he campaigned in the Democratic primary against State Senators Cheryl Jacques of Needham, Brian Joyce of Milton, and Marc Pacheco of Taunton, few could have envisioned Lynch, a former iron worker, taking a prominent role in an important foreign-policy debate. Foreign policy rarely came up during the primary campaign, and Lynch’s supporters largely expected him to fill Moakley’s shoes as a local political force. But then came Lynch’s primary victory, which just so happened to take place on September 11. " Obviously, I’m new here, this is one of those issues where there could be grave circumstances, " says Lynch. " I would not want to be in a position later on where I regretted not raising my concerns in a firm way. "