All Things Iraq, Except Nuke ;-)

[Texsox]

Dear VoteVets.org Supporter,

 

Today, we are launching our second of three "Generals" ads. Last week, you made our historic ad featuring retired Major General John Batiste a smashing success. From when it launched on Wednesday, through the weekend, it was the talk of the news and discussion shows, and even featured in a Sunday New York Times story! Today, retired Major General Paul Eaton debuts in an ad, again taking on the false notion that the President listens to his commanders on the ground.

 

See the ad here | Donate here

 

Like General Batiste, General Eaton should know whether the President really listens to his commanders on the ground, or not. General Eaton recently retired from the US Army after more than 33 years service. His most recent operational assignment was Commanding General of the command charged with reestablishing Iraqi Security Forces from 2003-2004, where he built the command and established the structure and infrastructure for the Iraqi Armed Forces.

 

Last week, President Bush kept maintaining that he bases his decisions on the war based on what he hears from commanders. Yet, for the second time in as many weeks, one of those commanders has decided to speak out and say it isn't so. The media is finally beginning to catch on - the President is not telling the truth. As General Eaton says in the ad, the President is being told we need more diplomacy in Iraq, not escalation - and the President is still not listening. We're taking that message into the states and districts of Senators Susan Collins and John Warner and Representatives Mary Bono, Mike Castle, Phil English, Jo Ann Emerson, Tim Johnson (IL), and Heather Wilson,

 

Donate to keep these ads going here

 

Do not doubt for a second that you are making a difference. Right after our ads began airing, four Congressional targets of the ads went to the White House as part of the "Gang of Eleven," who told the President that they are prepared to break with his failed strategy and start supporting the troops. With more pressure, even more Senators and Congressmen will do the same.

 

Tomorrow, we're going to announce something that will rock the political world. I can't tell you what that is, yet, but check your email tomorrow morning to find out the bold move we're going to make with the help of your generous donations. It's going to be big.

 

Thank you for all of your help in the last week. You are changing the very nature of this debate.

 

Keep it going! Help VoteVets.org now!

 

Thank you for supporting the Voice of America's 21st Century Patriots!

 

 

Sincerely,

Jon Soltz

Iraq War Veteran

Chairman and Co-Founder, VoteVets.org

[kapkomet]

^^^^

 

Tex, I'll leave this here, but I question whether it should be in this thread.

[Texsox]

^^^^

 

Tex, I'll leave this here, but I question whether it should be in this thread.

 

I was wondering where to put it. Do we have another Iraq war thread started? I didn't like it here either.

[kapkomet]

I was wondering where to put it. Do we have another Iraq war thread started? I didn't like it here either.

There's only a million of them you dork.

[Texsox]

There's only a million of them you dork.

 

A catch-all, miscellaneous kind of place, it seemed too minor to start a thread.

 

takes one to know one

[kapkomet]

A catch-all, miscellaneous kind of place, it seemed too minor to start a thread.

 

takes one to know one

Ok, so let me see... this is a thread to and for Nuke (and not a catch all thread, like you called it) so we can ask him questions and he can respond - and you're posting a political advertisement in here?

 

C'mon. You can move it.

[Texsox]

Ok, so let me see... this is a thread to and for Nuke (and not a catch all thread, like you called it) so we can ask him questions and he can respond - and you're posting a political advertisement in here?

 

C'mon. You can move it.

 

No problem, I'll start a new thread. What I ment was I was looking for a catch all Iraq thread, this one was the only one going.

[NorthSideSox72]

Has anyone here read Blackwater?

 

The writer has a clear left-leaning bias that adds too much political glare (that part can be ignored), but if you look at the actual facts and quotes... wow. Scary stuff.

[kapkomet]

Thank you, sir, I do appreciate it. I think this is the best way to do it so we don't pollute Nuke's thread.

[Texsox]

Thank you, sir, I do appreciate it. I think this is the best way to do it so we don't pollute Nuke's thread.

 

I do wish he'd stop by and share what guys serving feel when they see their former Generals disagreeing with the Commander in Chief.

 

BTW, from what I've seen votevets has been fairly moderate.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

I do wish he'd stop by and share what guys serving feel when they see their former Generals disagreeing with the Commander in Chief.

 

BTW, from what I've seen votevets has been fairly moderate.

 

 

My interenet's been down the last few days or I would have chimed in on this sooner. If I were to go and ask every member of my unit whether they had heard what these retired generals had to say about Iraq I'd be hard pressed to find 2 ( not including myself ) that even knew about it.

 

If you want info on how we feel about the war in general, I think the general consensus is fairly close to my own. Most of us feel that going to war was the right thing to do but the way things are being run at the higher levels......ahem......leaves something to be desired. A lot of us feel that decisions are made by people who are out of touch with what is really going on on the ground and sometimes run contrary to what we feel is the best course of action.

[kapkomet]

My interenet's been down the last few days or I would have chimed in on this sooner. If I were to go and ask every member of my unit whether they had heard what these retired generals had to say about Iraq I'd be hard pressed to find 2 ( not including myself ) that even knew about it.

 

If you want info on how we feel about the war in general, I think the general consensus is fairly close to my own. Most of us feel that going to war was the right thing to do but the way things are being run at the higher levels......ahem......leaves something to be desired. A lot of us feel that decisions are made by people who are out of touch with what is really going on on the ground and sometimes run contrary to what we feel is the best course of action.

And myself playing MMQB 5,000 miles away from it, that's EXACTLY how I feel about it.

[Texsox]

My old buddy Wes sent me this . . .

Dear VoteVets.org Supporter,

 

It was 2005 in Afghanistan. Marines were ambushed. Men were being hit. Army artillery officer Mike Breen, and his unit, were holding off the enemy, but they were running out of ammunition. Breen kept calling for helicopters to re-supply them, but the helicopters never came.

 

Where were the helicopters?

 

This is the question the third and final ad of the "Generals" series by VoteVets.org asks.

 

View the final ad here | Get your friends to support VoteVets.org here

 

Following the ads from General Batiste and General Eaton, I appear in this ad with Officer Breen to highlight the Bush administration's failed national security and foreign policy. The fact is the Iraq war hinders our ability to fight the war on terror.

 

Where were the helicopters?

 

The helicopters, the equipment, and the troops are stuck fighting George Bush's war in Iraq. As I said before the invasion, military action against Iraq would distract us from the fighting those who attacked us on 9/11: Al Qaeda. George Bush and Dick Cheney constantly trumpet their capture of Saddam Hussein, but where is Osama Bin Laden?

 

Congress has to help get the strategy right, so we can fight the terrorists who are the real threat to America.

 

Tell others to support VoteVets.org here

 

 

The President did not listen when I went before the House Armed Services Committee in 2002, discouraging an invasion of Iraq. The President did not listen to General Batiste and General Eaton, as they called for a new strategy in Iraq. And the President is still not listening.

 

The series of "Generals" ads is making an impact. The voters, the national media, and the local media are putting pressure on the members of Congress who are blindly supporting the President. The days of rubberstamping Bush's failed strategy must end.

 

In this version of the ad, I call on Congress and Virginia's Senator John Warner to "Protect America, Not George Bush." Blindly supporting Bush's failed strategy does not protect America. The voters need to know the truth, and the more people we can sign up, the more voters we can reach.

 

Build the ranks of VoteVets.org here

 

The ads are making a difference. The response has been overwhelming, but we can't rest now. Tell your friends to sign up with VoteVets.org. If everyone gets three friends to sign up, we can triple our reach. And, if you haven't, please consider making a donation, here.

 

 

Thank you for your support.

 

Sincerely,

 

Wes Clark