Via Blackfive

Major changes needed in Afghanistan

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney writes that if we are to win in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal isn't the only official worthy of firing, and President Obama must abandon his denial that we are at war with "radical Islam." (HT Kenny B.)

First to the State Department: Ambassadors Eikenberry and Holbrooke have long outlived their effectiveness. They are a drag on success in this difficult war. They must go.

Next, to the Department of Defense: This a war is not an "Overseas Contigency Operation (OCO)" as President Obama’s administration calls it. We have lost 89 ISAF soldiers and 53 US soldiers this month with 2 days left to go.

Mr. President, we are in a violent war against radical Islam and your denial of this fact will ensure our defeat.

You and your administration cannot even define the ideology we are fighting against. John Brennan, your National Security adviser for counterterrorism, thinks "jihad" means "holy struggle" not a war against infidels.

Your Secretary of Defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have accepted these ridiculous new definitions of the threat.

This means you, and your national security leadership team are clueless about how to defeat this violent threat against America.

They must all go and you must change your senseless strategy.

It is unfortunate that nearly all of the flag officers that make sense have retired.

I have seen no indications that this administration desires victory in Afghanistan. We can debate who should be sacked and who shouldn't be, but regardless of whether McChrystal, Petraeus, or Sun Tzu is commanding ISAF, the result will look pretty much the same as they must follow the Commander-in-Chief. So rather than simply sacking commanders and ambassadors (treating the symptoms and not the disease), I would like to take things one step further: Let's go back to the drawing board.

The president must answer these questions (truthfully):
1. Who is our enemy in Afghanistan and what are their intentions?
2. What are our intentions in Afghanistan?
3. How do you define victory in Afghanistan?
4. What are you doing to achieve victory in Afghanistan?America deserves clear and concise answers, not lies and distractions. If his answers stink, then "We the People" must remind him that the government ultimately works for us. We must fight in Afghanistan - that's not the debate we should have. It should be who we are fighting and how we should fight them. Worry about firing commanders and diplomats after we have a solid and just foundation

The Wrong Reason For A Memorial

Opinion piece by one of those global elitists in their Ivory Tower:
Yet even as we leave [Iraq], we should not forget. Common decency demands that we honor the service and sacrifice of those who bore the burden of waging that war. No doubt some committee will soon start lobbying for the construction of an Iraq War Memorial to be erected on the Mall in Washington. That effort deserves to succeed.

My own view is that every American war, large or small, ought to be commemorated smack dab in the middle of the nation’s capital. Crowding every inch of the Mall with granite and marble war memorials—the bigger the better—just might help deflate the continuing American illusion that we are a peaceful people desirous of nothing except to be left alone. It might help us see ourselves as we really are.

Blackfive's McQ, who is a really nice guy, has a take on this and the last paragraph is, as always, the best:

In fact, as it turns out, this piece is nothing but another in a long line of contradictory, simplistic, and thinly disguised tirades aimed at the left's favorite boogey men: the Neocons. It is another scream by the left for their desired pound of flesh for waging war in Iraq. This yahoo just tried to disguise that by tarring an entire nation with his hateful rhetoric and at the same time dishonoring those who fought and died in Iraq even while pretending to want to honor them.

Ironically every one of the heroes that died in Iraq would gladly defend his right to throw this nonsense out there without fear (something Iraqis can now do as well).

That damn sure doesn't mean anyone has to agree with it though.

As they say in Brooklyn "Effing A"

Victory for America???

FoxNews is running a poll on healthcare.

Go tell 'em what you think.

Is Health Care Bill a Victory for America?
FOXNews.com
President Obama called the House passage of a health care reform bill a "victory for the American people." Do you agree?

Morning Bell-Heritage Foundation

A Speech Unbecoming of the Cause
During the month of November, while President Barack Obama was dithering on whether or not to embrace General Stanley McChrystal’s strategy for winning in Afghanistan, something unexpected happened in American public opinion on the war. According to Gallup, the American public switched from 42% for and 44% against sending more troops to Afghanistan, to 47% for and only 39% against a troop build up. It is unclear why the American people came to support an increase in troops last month, but it is safe to rule out strong leadership from the White House as the cause. Hopefully the President’s incoherent address to a muted West Point audience will not reverse America’s growing support for victory.

Too Few Troops:
As we noted yesterday, when General McChrystal provided President Obama his assessment of the situation in Afghanistan in August, he identified three troop levels each with a corresponding level of risk that the mission could fail:

1) an additional 20,000 troops that would run a “high risk of failure“;

2) an additional 80,000 troops that would be a “low risk option” that has “best chance to contain the Taliban-led insurgency and stabilize Afghanistan“; or

3) an additional 40,000 to 45,000 troop “medium risk option.”

President Obama’s 30,000 troop increase falls squarely between the “high” and “medium” risk options. Nowhere in his address did Obama explain how a medium or high risk of failure in Afghanistan could possibly be acceptable to the American people.Counterproductive Time Line: In the very next sentence after announcing he would send only 30,000 more troops, President Obama then informed al Qaeda and the Taliban exactly how long they would have to survive before Obama began to withdrawal: July 2011.

It is difficult to comprehend why Obama would have designated such an early date to begin withdrawing U.S. forces, when most observers acknowledge it will take at least 3 - 4 years to fully train and equip the Afghan National Army to a level sufficient to the task of taking on the Taliban. The announcement of a withdrawal date only provides a psychological advantage to the Taliban who will convince their recruits that the American will is lacking and thus they can just “wait us out.”

Promising firm dates for troop pullouts is an entirely political move that has everything to do with placating the leftist base of the Democratic Party and nothing to do with the national security interests of the American people.Confusing Our Allies: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Brussels later this week to meet with NATO Foreign Ministers in the hopes of securing additional troop commitments from our allies.

However, President Obama’s decisions to only partially meet his commander’s request for 80,000 troops and establish an arbitrary deadline for withdrawal will undermine her efforts. Europe’s various commanders-in-chief managed to stave off repeated requests from President Bush for additional troops and equipment; so, why would they not just wait the clock out on President Obama?We hope that the President’s plan will succeed, and Americans should do everything in their power to ensure that it does. But if it does not, then we must remember the choices that were available to the President for this fateful decision. He had the chance to turn this war around; if he does not, the result will be his responsibility alone.

It Is Now Time For America To Find the Resolve To Defeat Islamo-fascism

Anything less will be unacceptable. Anything less will be a victory for the extremists, for they will most-assuredly never stop killing infidels, and they will continue to teach their children that dying for Allah is a most noble death if you kill an infidel or non-believer in the process.

Their goal is nothing less than world-domination. They recognize no other religion. No other religion will be allowed to exist. Non-Muslims who are allowed to live will cease to be human in the eyes of the Caliph. They will be less than cattle.

Fredom of religion does not exist in Islam. There is only one religion and Isalm is it. All others are devil-worship. Free will cannot exist under Islam. Free will implies that a person is free to make a decision. Islam does not allow that, as practiced by extremists. Convert or die, or in some cases, convert and then they will kill you, because they are safe in the knowledge that you might be welcomed into the arms of Allah.

The system of government which allows us the choice to believe or not believe, cannot exist within the framework of Islam. Isalm must prevail over the government and the laws of men.

Isalm is one of those oppressive, reppressive forms of religion our Founding Fathers left England because of.

Sarah Palin on Zero & The Afghani Decision

Palin Supports: "Finally, A Decision for Afghanistan"
Palin posts a statement:

At long last, President Obama decided to give his military commanders much of what they need to accomplish their mission in Afghanistan. In the end, he decided to endorse a “surge” for Afghanistan, applying the counterinsurgency principles of “clear, hold and build” that worked so well in Iraq. Given that he opposed the surge in Iraq, it is even more welcome that he now supports a surge in Afghanistan.
This approach means, as Senator John McCain has noted, that “We now have an opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus in support of a vital national security priority: defeating Al-Qaeda and its violent extremist allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and ensuring that these countries never again serve as bases for terrorist attacks against America and our allies.”
We should be clear, however, that fewer troops mean assuming more risk. Talk of an exit date also risks sending the wrong message. We should be in Afghanistan to win, not to set a timetable for withdrawal that signals a lack of resolve to our friends, and lets our enemies believe they can wait us out. As long as we’re in to win, and as long as troop level decisions are based on conditions on the ground and the advice of our military commanders, I support President Obama’s decision.

Blackfive and Uncle Jimbo

Its like a traffic accident; you know you're gonna look.

The last two sentences are important and I wholeheartedly agree with every word.

Posted By Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive.net

It is imperative that President Obama delay any decision on Afghanistan until after an upcoming runoff between current President Hamid Karzai and his oppponent Abdullah2 because A2 has very diffferent views about US presence in his country and will likely call for a withdrawal of our forces.....Oh wait.

Afghanistan's opposition candidate backed Gen. Stanley McChrystal's recommendations for more troops Sunday, saying "the future of the country is at risk" without a "dramatic increase" in troop levels.......

Abdullah reiterated on CNN that he shared the assessment of McChrystal, who has reportedly recommended a surge of 40,000 troops, that the situation is deteriorating and that more international troops are needed “at this stage.”

Abdullah also said that it is also important to consider a “road map” of drawing down U.S. and other international troops.

President Obama has been aware of just exactly what was and is going on and at stake in Afghanistan for almost a year now. He has seen three separate assessments, Lute, Seidel and now McChrystal that say go big or go home. Now we have 14 troops die in helicopter crashes and 8 more in IEDs in two days.

He has shown no leadership and plenty of weakness to our enemies and our allies. More meetings and more coffee sipping isn't going to change a damn thing on the ground except to watch it deteriorate. If anyone wonders why I hate politics and politicians this is a perfect example. There is no legitimate way to frame this as a decision made on strategic national security concerns.

Get off the dime sir, better men and women than you are dying.

Reinforce them and try to win or bring them home now!

Open Letter To The President From A Soldier

DC Protest Warrior: Open Letter To The President From A Soldier

"We fight to win, or we don't fight at all."

The Troops In Afghanistan Could Use Some Leadership From the White House

Of course, that assumes there is actually a "leader" who understands the concept of victory over those who would destroy Western Civilization.

Editorial Exegesis

"Democrats have found someone worth fighting in Afghanistan. His name is Stan McChrystal. The other night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went after the commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, 'with all due respect,' for supposedly disrespecting the chain of command.

Around the Congressional Democratic Caucus, we're told Members refer to General McChrystal as 'General MacArthur,' after the commander in Korea sacked by Harry Truman. White House aides have fanned these flames with recent leaks to the media that 'officials are challenging' his assessment asking for more troops.

In the last two days, the White House National Security Adviser and the Secretary of Defense have both suggested that the general should keep his mouth shut. President Obama called him in Friday for a talking-to on the tarmac at Copenhagen airport.

Though a decorated Army four-star officer, the General's introduction to Beltway warfare is proving to be brutal.

To be fair, Gen. McChrystal couldn't know that his Commander in Chief would go wobbly so soon on his commitment to him as well as to his own Afghan strategy
when he was tapped for the job in April. ...

Gen. McChrystal's liberal critics also have very short memories. In 2003, Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki clashed with his superiors by saying many more troops were needed to pacify Iraq. He became a Democratic hero and is now Mr. Obama's Veterans Secretary. In this case, Gen. McChrystal has become a political target merely for taking at face value Mr. Obama's order to fight the war properly. ...

In an interview with Newsweek, Gen. McChrystal said he wouldn't resign if the President rejects his request for more troops. If he were really trying to dictate policy, he'd have given a different answer. But we don't think Gen. McChrystal should stay to implement a Biden war plan either. No commander in uniform should ask his soldiers to die for a strategy he doesn't think is winnable -- or for a President who lets his advisers and party blame a general for their own lack of political nerve." --The Wall Street Journal

Gathering of Eagles National Chairman

First, as a contributor to this blog, I want to thank everyone who has stepped up in the last 96 hours and contributed to this event. We haven't passed the thousand dollar mark yet, but we're getting close. Thank you for recognizing how important this event is to thousands of folks.

Now a word from our Chairman:
From the National Chairman of Gathering of Eagles, Captain Larry W. Bailey USN (Ret):

SITUATION REPORT TO ALL SUPPORTERS OF OUR TROOPS!

Folks, this is an emergency. Come what may, on June 13th we will thank our troops for their sacrifices in achieving victory in Iraq.

However, there’s a minor hiccup: the major-donor financing we were hoping to get to underwrite the event has apparently fallen through.

We may have misjudged the current economic climate in expecting someone to be the George Soros of our side, but, whatever the case, we don’t have the money to conduct Victory in Iraq Day.

It is therefore with much embarrassment and humility that we must ask you to do what thousands of Americans did for the very first Gathering of Eagles on March 17, 2007—send as much as you can as soon as you can.

As Mike Connelly of Eagles UP! stated, ”We will have a rally even if only a dozen patriots show up and we have to use a tiny little PA system!”

That’s how we all feel. We have the permits and we know how to put on a rally, so all we need is dollars—and we need them FAST! What we do on VI Day will be in direct proportion to how you respond to this appeal, so be generous.

A lot of work (A LOT OF WORK!) has already gone into this event—too much to call things off—so please enter “generous mode” and send as much as you can as soon as you can.

You can send a check to GOE at PO Box 291; Chocowinity, NC 27817 or make a payment by PayPal. Link is at the top of this page.

And please pass this appeal to your entire address book, requesting that all recipients pass it on to their address books! Folks, this is serious; otherwise we wouldn’t be bothering you.

Help us show our appreciation to the US military for winning the war in Iraq!

Sincerely,

The Coalition Committee for VI Day

Victory is Certain

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars to be treated and appreciated by their nation.”—George Washington.

The armed forces of the United States, with cooperation from Coalition Forces, have achieved victory in Iraq.

The American flag has been raised over our Embassy in Baghdad. We have turned over control of the Green Zone and 13 of 18 provinces, including al-Anbar, to the Iraqi Government. The Baghdad airport is open for commercial air travel. Coalition combat-related casualties are at their lowest levels since 2003.

It is time to heed the advice from our first President. Our future warriors need to see how much we appreciate the sacrifices of our current warriors. It is time to tell our young warriors they won this one. They completed their mission. They did what we asked. They did a good job.

They won.

Someone has to say it; they damn sure deserve to hear it.

A coalition of pro-troop organizations has been formed and together we intend to hold a Victory in Iraq Celebration in Washington DC on April 4, 2009. We will acknowledge and honor the sacrifices made by the members of the US military and their families to achieve this victory. We will publicly acknowledge the veterans in attendance for their efforts in achieving this victory and thank them. The members of our coalition include Move America Forward, EaglesUp, Gathering of Eagles, Band of Mothers and one of the top-rated military weblogs, (milblog), Blackfive.net. We have the support and backing of the milblog community as a whole.

We have arranged for a screening of “Warriors; The Film”, based on the book “Warriors”. The director and several Marines who took part in the film will be guests and will participate in a Q&A after the screening.

Scheduled speakers include Melanie Morgan from Move America Forward, Captain Jerry Coffee, longest held Viet Nam POW and motivational speaker, Jeff Emanuel, a combat journalist with first-hand knowledge and experience with the successes made in Iraq; Nikki Mendicino, George Mason University student, POW/MIA activist, and “every veterans’ kid sister”, and Navy OIF veteran Coby Dillard. Tentatively scheduled speakers include former SSgt David Bellavia, Iraq veteran, Silver Star recipient, MOH nominee, and author of “House to House” a first hand account of the second battle for Fallujah who has returned to Iraq several times as a journalist.

We are seeking endorsements and sponsors to help fund this event. All sponsors will have prominent displays of their logos at the event using their banners and flags. We will provide links to your site from our member websites during the 2 month promotional period. (February to April). Posts to websites used to update event information will mention specific sponsors by name with admonitions to the readers to “go thank each one”.

The event is scheduled to last 10 hours and we anticipate the number of attendees to exceed 75,000. Events of this size and scope are televised live via CSPAN, and we expect significant media coverage during the event. We anticipate web-cast capabilities with live chat and live streaming over the internet to deployed troops.

The event will attract a cross-section of people, primarily blue-collar and military, (veteran and active-duty, and families), and will also attract a large portion of the normal springtime tourist traffic which usually increases in April.

Donations are deductible as charitible contributions. (Note:this link will open a pdf document from the IRS). Click the "Donate" link on the leftside of the page and put "V-I Day" in the message box. Any amount will help.

Sounds Like A Win To Me

From the Fearless 1st Marines in Iraq.

Regimental Combat Team 1 completes third Iraq tour

.....on Sept. 1, the regiment handed over control of security in the region to the Government of Iraq following the notable Provincial Iraqi Control ceremony in Ramadi, Aug. 26, during which local Iraqi leaders signed a Command and Control Memorandum of Understanding.
The success the regiment is having on the battlefield today is the result of five years of Coalition forces’ sacrifices, but a lot of credit should also go to Iraqi security forces and the military training teams who trained them.
Iraq’s army and police units have grown from a “fledgling police and military force to a fully capable and operational counterinsurgency force in an amazingly short amount of time,” according to Maj. Tony Barrett, the RCT-1 intelligence officer.
“Al Anbar has not had this good of an outlook in the millennia-long history of its people,” said Barrett. “There are constantly improving essential services, increasing
political rivalries that are not turning violent, multiple internal and foreign investment firms looking to invest in al Anbar and a sustained reduction in violence that is making this all possible.”

"Improved services", "sustained reduction in violence"

Sounds like a win to me.

Freepers In Iraq

You'll have to click this link to read the whole thing.

5 years of struggle has paid off. Say what you will about "why". There is no doubt that our military has done what the anti-Bush, BDS, VLWM, whining, mewling, dhimmis said could not be done. They freed a country; they provided security; they eliminated the threat whenever and wherever it raised it's ugly, perverse, civilian murdering serpent covered head.

Godspeed INDEED!!!!!!!!!

And now, the peace is evident. I have worked contracting, procurement and expediting functions on the construction of coalition camps, Iraqi Army camps and police stations, I have worked with the Ministry of Interior, mentoring and assisting the transition for their Contracting Directorate and I am now directly involved in the infrastructure reconstruction effort, which is moving along at a good clip now that the terrorists aren’t bombing everything in sight.
In less than two weeks, the Iraqis will vote again.
And that desolate airport I arrived in five years ago is a bright, bustling hive of activity, with shops, cafes and restaurants, clean restrooms and comfortable gate waiting areas.
Another 17 daily flights were recently added and more airlines are signing contracts to fly in and out of Baghdad. In just a few months, there will be direct flights to Europe by major carriers, soon to be followed by direct flights to the US.
Godspeed, Iraq and may you continue to go forward and embrace the bright light of liberty and peace.

In Case You Missed This

America Hands Over The Green Zone

BAGHDAD — The Green Zone, for nearly six years the headquarters of the American occupation of Iraq, passed from American to Iraqi control on Thursday, in a handover that was marked by two ceremonies of speeches, poems and music on a blustery cold day in Baghdad.

But we also have this:

Quietly, as the United States presidential election and its aftermath have dominated the news, America’s three broadcast network news divisions have stopped sending full-time correspondents to Iraq.
“The war has gone on longer than a lot of news organizations’ ability or appetite to cover it,” said Jane Arraf, a former Baghdad bureau chief for CNN who has remained in Iraq as a contract reporter for The Christian Science Monitor.
Joseph Angotti, a former vice president of NBC News, said he could not recall any other time when all three major broadcast networks lacked correspondents in an active war zone that involved United States forces.

The VLWM can't bring itself to declare victory.

Who Gets To Decide?

When we've won, I mean. Who gets to say it? Who needs to say it to make it true, or believable, or justified?
My guess would be the people who actually did the heavy-lifting. The men and women who got their boots muddy, their hands dirty. The ones who sacrificed everything to get where we are today.
This past November, Zombietime came up with an idea that took off like wildfire. A Declaration of Victory in Iraq, and named 22 November as V-I Day.

If you haven't bothered to read the whole post, you should; because at the bottom of that post are excerpts from some people who did the heavy lifting, who got their hands dirty and their boots bloody fighting to free 27 million people from a monster and then spent 3 more years eradicating any and all of the idiots who decided to show up and be targets.

You see, I know some of those people personally. I count them among my friends, and they in turn consider me one. That in itself is an honor I would never have expected but because they consider me a friend, and because friends help each other, I'm going to do whatever it takes to give them what they earned, what they DESERVE.

A Victory Party A Victory Celebration A Victory Parade.
An acknowledgement of their sacrifices, their efforts, their hard work.

I can do it. I've done things like this in the past. They know that and they have offered words of encouragement and support.

We have big plans. We have some great ideas and we need your help and your support.
As zombietime says though, if you don't think we've won; if you're one of those that won't admit victory no matter what, fine. Ignore us.

But if you think we have finally crossed that line; if you think our military has done what the democrats and the VLWM said could not and would not happen, then jump on board.
It's time, people. The time is now, and the place is Washington DC.
Lets thank our military for a job well done and stick it in the faces of the naysayers.

Blogs that have linked to this post:
Army Wife:Rants from Ft Livingroom (I love that title)
A Soldiers Perspective

Time For A Victory Parade

From Zombietime:

By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country, deposed the previous regime, successfully helped to establish a new functioning democratic government, and suppressed any lingering insurgencies. The war has come to an end. And we won.
What more indication do you need? An announcement from the outgoing Bush administration? It's not gonna happen. An announcement from the incoming Obama administration? That's really not gonna happen. A declaration of victory by the media? Please. Don't make me laugh. A concession of surrender by what few remaining insurgents remain in hiding? Forget about it. The moment has come to acknowledge the obvious. To overtly declare a fact that has already been true for quite some time now.

Let me repeat:

WE WON THE WAR IN IRAQ

And since there will never be a ticker-tape parade down Fifth Avenue in New York for our troops, it's up to us, the people, to arrange a virtual ticker-tape parade. An online victory celebration.

Saturday, November 22, 2008 is the day of that celebration: Victory in Iraq Day.

Time To Tell The Truth

“Sen. Barack Obama consistently argues the mission in Afghanistan has suffered as a result of the surge in Iraq. This argument is especially disingenuous considering he is the chairman of the committee designated to oversee the mission in Afghanistan, but he has yet to hold a single hearing,” said Vets for Freedom Chairman Pete Hegseth. “Senator Obama’s dismissive stance towards the surge demonstrates tunnel vision that is concerning to veterans of these conflicts.”
Pete Hegseth Chairman Vets for Freedom

Vets for Freedom (VFF), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating policymakers and the American public about the success and strategic importance of the surge in Iraq, today released “Skipped,” the hardest hitting ad in the organization’s continuing effort surrounding the War on Terror.

Former California Governor Pete Wilson, a former Marine Corp. officer, is traveling with VFF leaders this week to announce the ad. The $2.2 million television ad buy will begin nationally with a heavy emphasis in California on September 30th as part of the organization’s national advocacy program “Tell the Truth About the Surge.”

HE Won't Say Win

The Chosen One is in Iraq on a "fact-finding" election campaign. Lets face it, this is a campagin tour. No one with any sense doubts that for a moment. You have fawning MSM anchors practically kissing the ground and Katie Couric ready to climax over this wet-behind the ears socialist who has ZERO foreign policy and military experience.

He keeps saying we need to end the war. Not WIN the war, END the war. So what is his problem? Is victory such a bad thing? Has some playground incident in his past jaded him against winning? We all know the politically correct crowd on the left has problems with competitive sports. They've succeeded in banning dodge ball, t-ball, and spelling bees, because someone has to win and someone has to lose, and we all know thats bad for self-esteem. Teachers can no longer use red ink to mark wrong answers on tests or grade term papers. God forbid they tell a student to re-write a sentence that doesn't make any sense.

If the messiah is so dead set against giving the Iraqis the same chance for self-determination we have, then why not just say so? That would be a refreshing change.

It's OK to win. It really is. No seriously. The men and women doing the work in Iraq and Afghanistan, taking the rounds, enduring the heat, the seperation from family, would certainly benefit from being told they are winners, because, when it all comes down to where the metal meets the meat, they are winners.
Every one of them.

Vets for Freedom

On July 9, 2008, Vets for Freedom (VFF) kicked off a nationwide campaign entitled “Four Months For Victory.” This grassroots effort, combined with a $1.5 million media buy, will remind Virginians of the importance of success in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror as a whole.

VFF was founded two years ago by combat veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Today, our organization carries membership of 25,000 in all fifty states. The Virginia organization has 350 registered members, as well as countless supporters. We represent the courage, conviction and commitment of the thousands of service members in the Commonwealth, many of whom are still on the front lines working every day to complete their mission-defeating al-Qaeda and Iranian backed militias in Iraq, and helping to stand up a stable, democratic, and allied Iraqi government.

Our country’s strategic victory in Iraq is essential to our national security. A premature withdrawal will have severe consequences and endanger-if not completely end-the progress being made by the Iraqi government and military. Evidence of this progress is seen in the following facts:

§ Civilian casualties in Baghdad have decreased by 90% since June 2007
§ Overall attacks in Iraq have dropped by 70% since June 2007
§ The month of May 2008 marked an 86% decrease in American casualties as compared to May of 2007 - the lowest since 2003

We are not advocates for an indefinite military presence in Iraq. We know our brave servicemen and women will return home with the honor befitting their service. However, any withdrawal must be done carefully, and as conditions on the ground in Iraq permit. Our service members understand the grave consequences of a hasty withdrawal based on arbitrary timelines, and Virginia Vets for Freedom is their voice in the Commonwealth.

It is important to note that we are not an attack organization, nor are we affiliated with any political campaign or party. Supporting our troops is not a political or partisan issue. We are advocates on only one issue: our nation’s victory and success in the War on Terror. While we will-and should-question those elected officials who do not support this goal, Virginia Vets for Freedom will stand with anyone who is an advocate for our military and their mission.

Our first television ad, "Finish the Job," is airing in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, and can be viewed at http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/multimedia/details.aspx?id=305. I also invite you to our Virginia webpage, http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/states/VA/. Over the next four months, we will combine additional advertisements with grassroots recruitment and other events. Together, Virginia Vets for Freedom will stand with the people of Virginia to send a clear message to our national leaders: Let Us Win!

Vets for Freedom on Glenn Beck Tonight

Vets for Freedom winds up it's National Heroes Tour tonight in New York with an appereance on the Glenn Beck TV Show on CNN Headline News.
Should be fun.