1. Senator Obama, when will you finally decide to go back to Iraq, to see the progress first hand?
2. And when will you finally decide to meet one-on-one, unconditionally, with General Petraeus?
Sergeant Anderson was one of the 12 veterans denied a meeting with Senator Obama. And like his fellow veterans, Sergeant Anderson would like to ask Senator Obama a few questions: Why hasn’t he met with General Petraeus? And why won’t he visit Iraq? And why would Senator Obama rather talk about meeting–unconditionally–with Iran, instead of meeting with veterans and commanders? America deserves to know.
OK. You are fed up with McCain and the Republican Party and don’t want them to have a dime of your money. They are not the only game in town. If you think Civilization Is Worth Saving why not donate to help get these ads on the air? You can visit the Vets For Freedom home page to learn more. Or go directly to make a donation.
Via Instapundit – HILLARY GETS A DIG IN: “I have the highest respect and regard for Sen. McCain, he and I have actually gone to Iraq and Afghanistan together.”
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Comments
8 responses to “Vets For Freedom Has Some Questions”
I repeat endlessly. Voting against someone rather than for his opponent is entirely honorable, and may be one of the great sources of stability for the republic.
I hate seeing servicemembers allowing themselves to be exploited for political purposes, whether the cause is good or bad. The military should be apolitical and this should extend to the use of one’s credentials even after leaving the service. The bedrock of our profession is selfless service, which means that we do not serve for personal gain (aside from adequate compensation that allows us to focus upon our duties without undo hardship/distraction). When current or former servicemembers are offered notoriety due to the use of their image and credentials, this creates an ulterior incentive that runs counter to selfless service. In particular, this is most disturbing among Congressional candidates who realize that they served at an opportune time and now exploit their “Iraq war veteran” status to cynically bolster their (often Democratic) candidacies.
Furthermore, overtly stumping for this or that candidate based not upon one’s status as a concerned citizen, but as a veteran or currently serving servicemember undermines public confidence in a very important expectation of our profession: our dedication to serving the nation regardless of what political party the Commander-in-Chief hails from and what his views are. We serve the nation, not a party or certain types of ideologues. The public needs to understand that and be confident in our dedication to that.
It is also inappropriate to drag a serving General into the debate. General Petraeus is a tad bit busy for politics, but his name is being used in vain and his time and attention are now being offered up as a political football. I don’t want Obama, Hillary, or any other slimy politician spending one moment longer with the General than is absolutely necessary. He is busy commanding our forces in what is the most important military operation occurring at the moment. Leave him alone, quit dragging him into the debate, and focus on the BS that campaigns are supposed to focus on, whatever that is.
The real “Vets for Freedom” are the men and women sweating, facing mortal danger, and working long, hard days, 7 days per week, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere – not a bunch of political activists in this country who fundamentally misunderstand (or perhaps simply do not care about) the nature of the military profession.
Joseph –
I did ten years active duty, and 13 years in the Reserves. You do NOT tell me to shut up on politics because I served, because I might somehow influence people because I’m a veteran.
While in, we’re apolitical in uniform by regulation. Every election season, we were told thou shalt not stump for candidates in uniform. And we don’t.
AFTER you get out, you’re a private citizen. You can say what you want, where you want, when you want. And you can’t stop them based on some supposed ‘serving the nation’ reason.
You want the vets to shut up, not say what they think? You believe we should stay out of the political process?
I believe you’re a stooge, trying to find some way to shut up people who have views and information… and ACCESS to ways to get that info out that might be damaging to the party you adhere to.
No. Once out the gate, we’re free.
Funny you don’t seem to realize that…
You want the vets to shut up, not say what they think?
No.
You believe we should stay out of the political process?
No.
And, FYI, I don’t adhere to a party. I’m not even registered with one.
AV-but, what about the ‘chickenhawk’ argument? I thought you weren’t supposed to have an opinion about the war (or is that have a pro war argument) unless you, not only have served in a service, but have served in a combat zone. Seems these arguments get framed depending on who is supportive of the cause in Iraq and who isn’t.
I served 22 faithful years and have the education, training and ability to form an opinion on military and foreign affairs – but now I am not supposed to use it? Give me a break!
How dare you tell peope to be quiet. You have no right to abridge my, or any one else’s, freedom of speech. Blood, sweat and tears have gone into defending your right to post these idiotic statements, I dang sure can get to have my say.
BTW, you can be on the active rolls and have an opinion – heck you can contribute, join a political party, make commercials, almost anything. You cannot wear the uniform or give the impression that your office is officially supporting a given candidate, nor may you use govt equipment property, real property or funds to support a given candidate. What you do with your personnal funds and times is totally up to you. Other than a few restrictions, you still have many of the same rights as a civilian.
So when is Mr. Obama going to Iraq? And when will he meet with the Combatant Commander? These questions still need to be resolved.
Regards,
^ This post was for Joe Sixpack (I am sure he means a six pack of Merlot or Starbuck Espressos, not beer) and not AV
I thought you weren’t supposed to have an opinion about the war (or is that have a pro war argument) unless you, not only have served in a service, but have served in a combat zone. Seems these arguments get framed depending on who is supportive of the cause in Iraq and who isn’t.
Hey. I’m two out of two. Who signs my Free Speech pass?
Well I have to admit it wasn’t much of a combat zone (Yankee Station), but I did get combat pay. For three months actually. Got the Medal to prove it.
Seriously. Why not let the people with experience speak? How else can we really learn all the different views of the elephant.
I served 22 faithful years and have the education, training and ability to form an opinion on military and foreign affairs – but now I am not supposed to use it? Give me a break!
Have no worries. Take your well earned break. I am not advocating that you not use your experience to form your opinion. My concern is that military service becomes politicized when groups with political motivations offer notoriety to veterans.
How dare you tell peope to be quiet. You have no right to abridge my, or any one else’s, freedom of speech.
I told no one to be quiet. My words are still posted above.