Veterans group plans ad campaign touting Iraq war

Sat Jul 5, 2008 4:03 PM EDT
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WASHINGTON — Republican John McCain, who has made support for President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, is getting from help from a veterans group that's launching a national TV ad campaign next week.

Vets for Freedom is spending $1.5 million on ads that will run on national cable television and in five states in July — the first set of ads in a multimillion dollar campaign in coming months touting the troop buildup, Pete Hegseth, the 25,000-member group's chairman, said in a telephone interview Saturday. Aimed at "informing the American people about the truth regarding progress in Iraq and Afghanistan," the issue ads will feature veterans of the war describing the accomplishments they've seen since the buildup began in early 2007.

"We need to finish the job no matter who is president," the ads say, according to Hegseth. The five states being initially targeted are Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Virginia.

Vets for Freedom also said it would send its members to about a dozen swing states as part of a four-month education campaign that will "call for victory in Iraq and Afghanistan." The group planned to formally launch their campaign and unveil the first ads at a news conference on Wednesday.

In late May, Vets for Freedom released ads praising some of the troop buildup's successes and criticizing expected Democratic nominee Barack Obama for not visiting Iraq since 2006. After McCain echoed the criticism, Obama soon after said he would visit Iraq later this summer.

In the last week, Obama has said that "I'll ... continue to refine my policy" on Iraq after his visit there, drawing a flurry of commentary whether he might be softening his position on a troop pullout. Later Thursday, Obama said any refinement of his position on Iraq wouldn't be related to his promise to remove combat forces within 16 months of taking office, but rather to the number of troops needed to train Iraqis and fight al-Qaida.

___

On the Net:

Vets for Freedom:

http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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{"commentId":2125517,"authorDomain":"t-mccluskey"}
tmacallin

wow they've done it , mission accomplished. these soldiers should be ashamed whoopie! the republicans have managed to locate a number of veterans 25,000 ? who support their position on the surge . do they also support the idea that the carnage in bagdag needs to stop ? 25,000 supporters out of how many that have served since the war mongering began ? and i , unknowingly am willing to bet that none of these men or women have had to deal with the government let down or abandonment of a majority of their peers ? like those to who can be found in places like Walter reed ? if this band of republican surrogates is for real and like what happened with john Kerry these men become swift boaters to further McCain's cause than may their future dead country men forgive them and GOD mercy on their souls.

{"commentId":2125517,"threadId":"306986","contentId":"1641325","authorDomain":"t-mccluskey"}
    Reply#1 - Sat Jul 5, 2008 10:54 PM EDT
    {"commentId":2125950,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
    Brian Ford
    Aimed at "informing the American people about the truth regarding progress in Iraq and Afghanistan," the issue ads will feature veterans of the war describing the accomplishments they've seen since the buildup began in early 2007.

    For most Americans, the truth is something like...

    "Wait, there's still a war going on?"

    I honestly don't think people consider the "War on Terror" much these days, and, frankly, I think that's why people are really thinking: "Why are we still there?" Why are we spending the money, etc?

    For me, no amount of ad campaigns will convince me that we should have ever been in Iraq in the first place or that getting it (more) right after years of getting it wrong is somehow something to brag about or celebrate.

    {"commentId":2125950,"threadId":"306986","contentId":"1641325","authorDomain":"brianford"}
    • 2 votes
    Reply#2 - Sun Jul 6, 2008 12:48 AM EDT
    {"commentId":2126193,"authorDomain":"TBK"}
    TBK
    Later Thursday, Obama said any refinement of his position on Iraq wouldn't be related to his promise to remove combat forces within 16 months of taking office, but rather to the number of troops needed to train Iraqis and fight al-Qaida.

    I respect Vet's to the utmost, but would have to disagree with them on the Bush stubborn stay the course strategy in Iraq. It's the wrong war, the wrong strategy, wrong country and they killed the wrong man who was not responsible for the 9-11 attacks on US soil.

    In conclusion, we should get the hell out of there and go into Pakistan and blow the hell out of Bin Laden and destroy the build-up of terrorist training camps in that region.

    These Veterans for Republicans are just flat-out wrong and no amount of ads, vet sponsored or not can change that, the only thing it does is piss people off, how the Bush administration has brainwashed people into believing it's OK to invade a country without cause and declare so sort of victory since we have spent trillions to justify the non-sense and blunders of the war on a country having nothing to do with 9-11.

    Stupid is as Stupid does, I would trust "Forest Gump" more than George W. Bush!

    I don't care if Obama adjust to the situation on the ground, that's what a good leader does, as long as he does not change his position on getting them the them the hell out of there in a reasonable time period!

    {"commentId":2126193,"threadId":"306986","contentId":"1641325","authorDomain":"TBK"}
    • 3 votes
    Reply#3 - Sun Jul 6, 2008 2:25 AM EDT
    {"commentId":2135045,"authorDomain":"lindacozby"}
    Linda-279773

    Afghanistan needs to be addressed soon, it's getting worse by the day

    {"commentId":2135045,"threadId":"306986","contentId":"1641325","authorDomain":"lindacozby"}
    • 1 vote
    #3.1 - Mon Jul 7, 2008 4:15 PM EDT
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    {"commentId":2127608,"authorDomain":"wilder"}
    Vance Wilder

    Unfortunately this group has the word "freedom" in it.

    Freedom is exactly what the Bush Company has been removing from this country.

    {"commentId":2127608,"threadId":"306986","contentId":"1641325","authorDomain":"wilder"}
    • 2 votes
    Reply#4 - Sun Jul 6, 2008 11:40 AM EDT
    {"commentId":2129564,"authorDomain":"garjen1"}
    gar-284741Deleted
    {"commentId":2130311,"authorDomain":"losconco"}
    DumpMcCain

    I think the Iraq war of lies success has been covered by the recent news of the US Oil companies returning to rape the country of oil on a no bid contract. I am sure the mothers of America are going to love the fact all deaths were the result of Republican lies and now we are going to sacrifice our military to protect the oil barons? Wonderful, and as senile John says for the next 100 years....

    {"commentId":2130311,"threadId":"306986","contentId":"1641325","authorDomain":"losconco"}
      Reply#6 - Sun Jul 6, 2008 9:19 PM EDT
      {"commentId":2130595,"authorDomain":"garjen1"}
      gar-284741Deleted
      Reply
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