We have had the voice of John Murtha with all it's negativity concerning the war in Iraq for quite a while now. However new voices are speaking out and making themselves heard. Positive voices that believe democracy can and will find it's way into the heart of the Middle East. With The help of the coalition of forces that have brought freedom to Iraq, I for one, expect to see this accomplished. But only if the voices FOR freedom keep speaking out.
Vets for Freedom dot org is up and running. Their "About Us" web page has this to say:
Vets for Freedom was founded by a group of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans who believe in the mission of freedom, specifically Operation Iraqi Freedom, but who have become frustrated with the way the operation has been politicized and reported to the home front.
In January 2006, this group of veterans, enlisted personnel, and officers decided to take action. The result was the creation of Vets for Freedom, a non-profit advocacy group whose mission is to promote the unbiased, nonpartisan truth of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to educate the public and mobilize public support for the Global War on Terror.
The founders and members of Vets for Freedom have witnessed the firsthand events, both the successes and failures, of the Iraq War. While their voice has largely been ignored by many policymakers and the media, they have earned the right to be heard and will use this organization to lend their insights to this worthy cause.
Yesterdays Hugh Hewitt Radio Show had Wade Zirkle of Vets For Freedom on and I must say it was great radio. It was for interviews like this one that God invented the radio. Don't worry. You haven't missed it. Generalissimo Duane at RadioBlogger.com has typed out the entire transcript. BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! Generalissimo has provided the mp3's of the entire interview! Is this a great country or what?
Wade Zirkle wrote a letter to the Washington Post and they put it on their Op-Ed page. That can be found here. In it he says: "Murtha undoubtedly knows full well that the greatest single thing that drags on morale in war is the loss of a buddy. But second to that is politicians questioning, in amplified tones, the validity of that loss to our families, colleagues, the nation and the world."
Zirkle wrote the letter/article as a result of this confrontation between Sgt. Mark Seavey and John Murtha at a "town meeting" sponsored by Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.).
Sgt. Seavey: My name is Mark Seavey, and I just want to thank you for coming up here. Until about a month ago, I was Sergeant Mark Seavey, Infantry squad leader. I returned from Afghanistan. My question to you (applause) like yourself, I dropped out of college two years ago to volunteer to go to Afghanistan. And I went and I came back. If I didn't have a herniated disc now, I would volunteer to go to Iraq in a second with my troops, three of which have already volunteered to go to Iraq. I keep hearing you say how you've talked to the troops and the troops are demoralized. And I really resent that characterization. The morale of the troops that I talked to is phenomenal, which is why my troops are volunteering to go back, despite the hardships they had to endure in Afghanistan. And Congressman Moran, two hundred of your constituents just returned from Afghanistan. We never got a letter from you. We never got a visit from you. You didn't come to our homecoming. The only thing we got from any of our elected officials was one letter from the governor of this state, thanking us for our service in Iraq when we were in Afghanistan. That's reprehensible. I don't know who you two are talking to, but the morale of the troops is very high. Thank you.
Vets for Freedom has a PayPal button and would appreciate any donations. So will the Iraqi nation!
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