The message that these men and the VoteVets organization wants to get out to the American public and to the Bush Republicans is simple and clear. Bush lied.
He's repeatedly said that he takes his direction from the commanders on the ground in Iraq. If they need more troops, they get more troops. If they say they need different equipment, that's what they get. These generals are calling him out on this lie. Batiste served as the commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division from August 2002-June 2005. During this timeframe, the "Big Red One" conducted successful peace enforcement operations in Kosovo and combat operations in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. In Iraq, the division was deployed to north-central Iraq from February 2004 until February 2005 and included 22,000 soldiers from active and reserve component units from throughout the United States.
Today, the second ad in the series debuted with Major General Paul Eaton-another Iraq War veteran. See his ad here http://www.votevets..... General Eaton has two sons in the active military to go along with his 33 years. His most recent operational assignment was Commanding General of the command charged with reestablishing Iraqi Security Forces 2003-2004, where he built the command and established the structure and infrastructure for the Iraqi Armed Forces.
These men are some of the finest leaders our military had. They are truly committed to our men and women who serve and to the institution as a whole. And they are not afraid to give their voices to this effort. One of the purposes of this series of ads and the outspoken comments is to urge the Congress to take action since Bush won't. They are respectful and do not slime or slander, but there is no doubt that their comments are having a devastating effect on the president and leaders of the Republicans in Congress. Specifically, members who are up for re-election and may be in tight races are the targets. In our own state, that is one Senator John Warner.
The third general to appear, next week, will be Wes Clark. General Clark has been telling Bush the truth and calling him on his failures since 2003 and his rhetoric has only accelerated over the last year. While Clark has not been active in the Iraqi theatre, he commanded each of the other two generals in the Bosnian/Kosovo War. During the time he was SACEUR, Iraq was "his territory" including the no-fly zones and containing Saddam. He knew the area well and knew what we were doing was working and that this war was not an imminent necessity. He knows Bush took his eye off the prize by diverting all efforts to Iraq and away from Afghanistan. I look forward to hearing how Clark addresses Bush and his minions when he gets up to bat.
Follow the action on either of these websites: www.VoteVets.org or www.SecuringAmerica.com. If you want to see the ads run longer or in more markets, consider tossing a few bucks their way. Since these ads have started, the mainstream media has picked up on this awfully quickly. An interview with Batiste on Countdown last week, an interview on Hardball with Eaton tonight and a long segment on Scarborough tonight. This is a dialog that needs to continue, and I, for one, can't thank these men enough for bringing it to the public in this way.
Gen. Paul Eaton, U.S. Army(Ret.)
Thank you General Batiste, General Eaton.
Thank you Jon Soltz, VoteVets, and General Clark.
Thank you Senator Webb.
I never imagined when George W. Bush became president in 2000, knowing first hand as a Texan that his priorities were antidemocratic, that the courage that would be required to hold him in check would be lacking in our Congress but would be found in retired military officers, some of whom are now focused on serving in our Congress.
Thanks especially to Generals Clark, Batiste and Eaton, as well as to Jon Soltz and all at VoteVets.org. Thanks for your continued service to country and for your courage to speak out when so few others do.