Time to Move Out and Draw Fire! - The Battle Over the War Narrative

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Time to Move Out and Draw Fire! - The Battle Over the War Narrative

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

*radio static cuts out*

ATTENTION ON THE NET, This is Blackfive.

GUIDONS! GUIDONS! GUIDONS!

Notice the uptick in troll activity? Well, that's just the beginning. MoveOn and George Soros and VoteVets and CodePink and the cast of lunatic fringe elements are all trying to get ahead of the testimony from General Petraeus and paint the surge as a loss.

In order to join the fight, Uncle Jimbo and I should be joining up with Veterans for Freedom in Washington DC on September 17th and 18th. And both of us should be at a MAF rally on September 11th here in Chicago. Please consider joining us.

From Pete Hegseth of Veterans for Freedom, here's how you can counter the massive and well funded left wing campaign against Victory.

In the past two weeks, Vets for Freedom has released television advertisements in 5 states (read about them here & here) and stood up State Chapters in 26 states. We plan to release 5 more TV ads this week, and formally announce 5 additional State Chapters. And every day, our membership numbers expand rapidly.

Without question, we are on the offensive throughout America - communicating to members of Congress and the American people a very clear message: give General Petraeus, and his counter-insurgency strategy, the time, troops, and resources necessary to succeed in Iraq.

But rest assured, Washington DC-based, anti-war radicals are also active, and they plan to make their next political statement on Thursday, August 16th. According to a MoveOn.org strategy memo, they will "release a hard-hitting report to local media on what the war has cost your congressional district. This will happen on August 16th."

MoveOn.org will send out press releases in every congressional district stating how much the Iraq War is costing American taxpayers. But, of course, they fail to ask a more fundamental question: what is the cost of defeat in Iraq? And what will it ultimately cost America-in lives, treasure, and reputation-if we declare defeat at the hands of Al Qaeda & Company?...

Do you want to help?

Of course you do! More information on what you can do after the Jump...

On Thursday, August 16th, as a direct response to MoveOn.org's crass attempts to politicize the Iraq War, Vets for Freedom is asking all of its members to participate in our "Cost of Defeat" Call-in Campaign.

And we are not alone in this effort. We are proud to be partnering with Families United for the Troops and Their Mission, a grassroots coalition of thousands of Gold Star and Blue Star families including some with loved ones currently in harm's way. Both the troops-and their families-will be making calls this Thursday!

So mark your calendar and call your members of Congress to explain the "Cost of Defeat" in Iraq. Tell them that defeat in Iraq would mean the following things:

A bloodbath in Iraq, costing hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi lives and possibly destabilize the entire Middle East region.

A failed state in Iraq and a safe haven for Al Qaeda to plan future attacks against America and her allies.

An emboldened Iran in pursuit of nuclear weapons and a victorious Al Qaeda in pursuit of new ways to kill Americans at home and around the world.

For more tips and information about what to say when you call, please read the "Call Tips" section at the end of this email. We have provided a word-for-word script.

Call Instructions:

1. On Thursday, call your 2 Senators and 1 Representative. Call their offices in your home state and remind them of the "Cost of Defeat" in Iraq. Use the links below to find the phone numbers for your members of Congress:

Contacting your U.S. Senators
Contacting your U.S. Representatives

2. After you have called your members of Congress, call the following 10 Senators and remind them what the "Cost of Defeat" would look like if they vote to undercut General Petraeus and the mission in Iraq in September. Phone numbers are provided below for phone numbers in their home state:

Senator Chuck Grassley R - Iowa 515-288-1145
Senator Sam Brownback R - Kansas 785-233-2503
Senator Pat Roberts R - Kansas 785-295-2745
Senator Ben Nelson D - Nebraska 402-391-3411
Senator Mitch McConnell R - Kentucky 502-582-6304
Senator Norm Coleman R - Minnesota 651-645-0323
Senator John Sununu R - New Hampshire 603-647-7500
Senator Judd Gregg R - New Hampshire 603-622-7979
Senator John Warner R - Virginia 540-857-2676
Senator Mark Pryor D - Arkansas 501-324-6336

When you're done with the calls on Thursday, please shoot a quick email to [email protected] and let us know. And if you had any particularly interesting exchanges, we'd love to hear about it.

Call Tips

When you call the senators, a few important things to remember:

* Always be courteous. The person answering the phone is likely a young staffer.

* If you are calling a Senator who represents your home state, say "I am from [City, State] and am a member of Vets for Freedom. I recently returned from Iraq [or insert relevant experience] and I respectfully request to speak with Senator [name]." When they ask to take a message, say "I'm calling to tell Senator [name] that I oppose MoveOn.org's attempts to undermine the mission in Iraq and to remind the Senator what the "cost of defeat" in Iraq would be. Defeat in Iraq would mean [cite three reasons above]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."

* If you are calling a Senator who is not from your state, say "I am a veteran of the Iraq War [or insert relevant experience] who served with [insert unit] in [insert location] from [insert dates]. I am a member of Vets for Freedom and I'm calling to tell Senator [name] that I oppose MoveOn.org's attempts to undermine the mission in Iraq and to remind the Senator what the "cost of defeat" in Iraq would be. Defeat in Iraq would mean [cite three reasons above]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."

What Else Can You Do This Week?

1. Attend Your Senator's Town Hall Meetings. We need pro-mission veterans and citizens at every single town hall meeting in August, encouraging members of Congress to support the mission in Iraq. If you find out about a Town Hall meeting in your state, do two things: 1) Attend! 2) Let us know at [email protected].

2. Sign Up to Show Up in September. We still need more veterans to sign up early and join us on September 17 & 18 at our nation's capitol. Just send an email to [email protected] with your name, military bio, your home state, and contact information. Once we receive this information we can start the process of arranging your travel and scheduling your appointments in Washington, DC.

3. Visit our "Live From Iraq" Blog. Check daily for updates from Jeff Emanuel, Iraq war veteran and Vets for Freedom member, who is reporting from the front lines in Iraq. He will provide daily "on the ground" updates from inside the surge.

Our comrades in Iraq have Al Qaeda on the run-and it's up to us to keep radical anti-war groups on the defensive for their ill-informed and partisan viewpoints.

Move out and draw fire!

Regards,

Pete Hegseth
Iraq War Veteran 2005-2006
Executive Director, Vets for Freedom

Thank you very, very much.

Blackfive, Out.

Posted by Blackfive on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 02:07 PM in Bust Their Chops | Permalink | Comments (34)

Comments

*radio static cuts out*

ATTENTION ON THE NET, This is Blackfive.

GUIDONS! GUIDONS! GUIDONS!

From Pete Hegseth of Veterans for Freedom, here's how you can counter the massive and well funded left wing campaign against Victory.

In the past two weeks, Vets for Freedom has released television advertisements in 5 states (read about them here & here) and stood up State Chapters in 26 states. We plan to release 5 more TV ads this week, and formally announce 5 additional State Chapters. And every day, our membership numbers expand rapidly.

Without question, we are on the offensive throughout America - communicating to members of Congress and the American people a very clear message: give General Petraeus, and his counter-insurgency strategy, the time, troops, and resources necessary to succeed in Iraq.

But rest assured, Washington DC-based, anti-war radicals are also active, and they plan to make their next political statement on Thursday, August 16th. According to a MoveOn.org strategy memo, they will "release a hard-hitting report to local media on what the war has cost your congressional district. This will happen on August 16th."

MoveOn.org will send out press releases in every congressional district stating how much the Iraq War is costing American taxpayers. But, of course, they fail to ask a more fundamental question: what is the cost of defeat in Iraq? And what will it ultimately cost America-in lives, treasure, and reputation-if we declare defeat at the hands of Al Qaeda & Company?...

Do you want to help?

Of course you do! More information on what you can do after the Jump...

Someone You Should Know

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The Authors

Blackfive
Former Paratrooper and Army Officer, "Blackfive" started this blog upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of a friend that was not reported by the journalist whose life he saved.
Email: blackfive AT gmail DOT com
Jim Hanson
Retired Special Operations Master Sergeant, Jim Hanson ("Uncle Jimbo") is now focused on writing about the military, politics, intelligence operations and foreign policy.
Email: jimbo AT unclejimbo DOT com
The Laughing Wolf
Writer, photographer, and raconteur C. Blake Powers is the Laughing Wolf. He is independent in politics and covers topics including journalism, military, weapons, preparedness, space, science, cooking, food and wine, product and book reviews, and even spirituality.
Email: wolf1 AT laughingwolf DOT net
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Grim Beorn
Grim -- an Old Norse name that means 'one who wears a mask' -- blogs on issues of intelligence, information operations, and foreign relations.
Email: grimbeornr AT yahoo DOT com
Pinch Paisley
Instapinch Bill Paisley, otherwise known as Pinch, is a 22 year (ongoing) active and reserve naval aviator. He blogs over at www.instapinch.com on a veritable cornucopia of various and sundry items and will bring a tactical naval aviator's perspective to Blackfive. Readers be warned: any comments of or about the F-14 Tomcat will be reverential and spoken in low, hushed tones.
Email: wpaisley AT comcast DOT net
Mr. Wolf
Mr. Wolf has over 26 years in the Army, Army NG, and USAR. He’s Airborne with 5 years as an NCO, before becoming an officer. Mr. Wolf has had 4 company commands. Signal Corp is his basic branch, and Public Affairs is his functional area. He recently served 22 straight months in Kuwait and Iraq, in Intel, PA, and senior staff of MNF-I. Mr. Wolf is now an IT executive. He is currently working on a book on media and the Iraq war. Functional gearhead.

In Iraq, he received the moniker of Mr. Wolf after the Harvey Kietel character in Pulp Fiction, when "challenges" arose, they called on Mr. Wolf...
Email: TheDOTMrDOTWolfAT gmail DOT com
Deebow
Deebow is a Staff Sergeant and a Military Police Squad Leader in the Army National Guard. In a previous life, he served in the US Navy. He has over 19 years of experience in both the Maritime and Land Warfare; including deployments to Southwest Asia, Thailand, the South Pacific, South America and Egypt. He has served as a Military Police Team Leader and Protective Services Team Leader and he has served on assignments with the US State Department, US Air Force Security Police, US Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He recently spent time in Afghanistan working with, training and fighting alongside Afghan Soldiers and is now focused on putting his 4 year Political Science degree to work by writing about foreign policy, military security policy and politics.
McQ
McQ has 28 years active and reserve service. Retired. Infantry officer. Airborne and Ranger. Consider my 3 years with the 82nd as the most fun I ever had with my clothes on. Interests include military issues and policy and veteran's affairs.
Email: mcq51 -at - bellsouth -dot- net
Crush

Chris Carter is a former USAF firefighter and now civilian firefighter who covers military history, national security, and baseball. Find out more at his website.

Twitter: @CrushingChris
EMAIL: crushnik AT yahoo DOT com
Tantor

Tantor is a former USAF navigator/weapon system officer (WSO) in F-4E Phantoms who served in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is now a curmudgeonly computer geek in Washington, DC, picking the taxpayers pocket. His avocations are current events, aviation, history, and conservative politics.
Long Tab Sig O
Twenty-three years of Active and Reserve service in the US Army in SF (18B), Infantry and SOF Signal jobs with operational deployments to Bosnia and Africa. Since retiring he's worked as Senior Defense Analyst on SOF and Irregular Warfare projects and currently ensconced in the emerging world of Cyberspace.

The Authors Emeritus

Major Pain
Major Pain -- A Marine who began his blog in Iraq and reflects back on what he learned there and in Afghanistan. To the point opinions, ideas and thoughts on military, political and the media from One Marine’s View.
Email: onemarinesview AT yahoo DOT com
Froggy
Froggy is 21 year Navy SEAL corpsman and vet of the War on Terror. Follow Froggy on Twitter @FroggyRuminates
Driven
"Driven" is an OIF vet, Sergeant and team Leader in the 82nd Airborne Division...
Uber Pig
Uber Pig was an Infantryman from late 1991 until early 1996, serving with Second Ranger Battalion, I Corps, and then 25th Infantry Division. At the time, the Army discriminated against enlisted soldiers who wanted use the "Green to Gold" program to become officers, so he left to attend Stanford University. There, he became expert in detecting, avoiding, and surviving L-shaped ambushes, before dropping out to be as entrepreneurial as he could be. He is now the founder of a software startup serving the insurance and construction industries, and splits time between Lake Tahoe, Boonville, and San Francisco, CA.

Uber Pig writes for Blackfive a) because he's the proud brother of an enlisted Civil Affairs Reservist who currently serves in Iraq, b) because he looks unkindly on people who make it harder for the military in general, and for his brother in particular, to succeed at their missions and come home in victory, and c) because the Blackfive readers and commenters help keep him sane.

Email: enlisted swine (at) gmail (dot) com.
COB6
COB6 spent 24 years in the active duty Army that included 5 combat tours with service in the 1st Ranger Battalion and 1st Special Forces Group . COB6 was enlisted (E-7) and took the OCS route to a commission. COB6 retired a few years back as a field grade Infantry officer. Currently COB6 has a son in the 82nd Airborne that just returned from his third tour and has a newly commissioned daughter in the 4th Infantry Division.
Subsunk
Subsunk is a retired US Navy Submarine Officer.