Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the Progressive Plan for the U.S. Military
Friday, 05 February 2010 22:22 Last Updated on Sunday, 07 February 2010 08:58
This story came to me from a great reader of this blog and I’m happy to post it here. We all know the left has infiltrated and taken over many of our institutions, but did you know the U.S. Military is their next target? I've said before that I believe the plan of the left is to get this nation so buried in debt spending money on monstrous entitlement programs, that we can no longer afford to fund a strong military. That's one way they weaken the armed forces and America's place as leader of the free world. Another way is by going after military life and culture. This is a long piece, but well worth the read and your time. I look forward to finding some time myself to dig into this organization deeper. Here’s the piece:
I started looking into Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America a few years ago. A good friend is a U.S. Army Officer and used to go onto their website and debate people. Why would a veteran go on a pro-vet site and argue with people? Well, because before a fancy and expensive rebranding and positioning effort, IAVA was the artist formerly known as www.OperationTruth.org. Ah—now you get it.
The following excerpt was copied from this full article written by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org…It sums up the background of IAVA/Operation Truth…an organization that has slowly gained power and influence in military circles and on Capitol Hill:
“In 2004, Iraq War veteran Paul Rieckhoff founded Operation Truth. Operation Truth was an almost-anti-war, definitely anti-Bush organization funded by vast amounts of left-wing money ... which is not necessarily bad, but it always helps to know where the money comes from. (The editor at a well-known military web site names George Soros as the source of much of the funding.) The goal was to co-opt veterans' issues by using the media contacts of the left-wing money ... to make the country think of "veterans" as those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. http://www.vetlawyers.com/ Rieckhoff became a star on such programs as the Rachel Maddow Show on Air American Radio and MSNBC-TV. Realizing that he needed a broader base, Rieckhoff changed the name of the organization to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). IAVA became a lobbying powerhouse on Capitol Hill. Even though Iraq and Afghanistan vets make up just 3% of the veteran population, and IAVA membership is just a few thousand of that 3%, IAVA became a loud voice.”
Researching IAVA is like researching many liberal groups, because their webs are so wide. Apparently, they had a little PAC (website is now down) which launched in 2006. Their press release—which was widely published—said this:
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A group of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan announced Thursday that they have formed a PAC to back candidates who want the United States to change course. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America hope to raise $10 million this year for the political action committee, The Los Angeles Times reported. "These are people we want to send to Washington to articulate a better understanding of the war," said Jon Soltz, IAVA's executive director, served as an Army captain in Iraq. "We need credible knowledge inside Washington to change the course of this war." While the group is non-partisan, its platform is critical of President George Bush's handling of the war, calling on the administration to set benchmarks for success and accusing officials of shortchanging troops on equipment. Soltz campaigned for Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004, coordinating veterans outreach in Pennsylvania. Ten veterans have entered congressional races so far, with eight running for the House as Democrats and one as a Republican. In Ohio, Paul Hackett, a Marine reservist who lost a special election for a House seat last year, is challenging Republican Sen. Mike DeWine.
They shut that site down and created www.votevets.org which Michael Brodkorb at www.MinnesotaDemocratsExposed.com wrote about in 2007.
During the 2008 campaign, the “non-partisan” IAVA sent up a few red flags after it sent a 2008 report card to their members and the press. This “non-partisan” report card “graded” Congress on their support of veterans. John McCain received a “D” and Barack Obama received a “B.” Not only did McCain receive a bad grade—he finished second to last--out of 100 sitting U.S. senators. And although they didn’t put the party affiliations front and center, if you look through the names/grades, you can see that this organization has an agenda. It’s a complete joke.
But it all worked because founder Paul l Rieckhoff knows how to manipulate the system. He knows that he is “covered” as far as his political agenda ever being questions. And in the years since the group started, he has not just become a media darling (MSNBC, anybody?) but a Capitol Hill darling as well. Slow and steady has won the race for this guy. It started with his book, "Chasing Ghosts. A Soldier's Fight for America from Baghdad to Washington,” (turned into a movie…won a 2007 Sundance award) and continued with his blogs on the HuffingtonPost. In 2005, he gave the Democratic radio response to one of George Bush’s radio address.
Flash forward to the Obama administration. In October 2009, he joined Speaker Pelosi as she sent an Advanced appropriations bill to President Obama for his signature. In November of 2009 they teamed with the Ad Council to announce a new website called www.CommunityofVeterans.com . Which isn’t really new after all—it’s just more IAVA. On February 5th, 2010, he testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee on how the Department of Veterans Affairs budget request for 2011 and 2012 will impact a new generation of veterans. On January 27th-_the day after the State of the Union Address where he announced his wife’s focus on military families, Rieckhoff even got to meet with the President and the First Lady. Wow!
Is anybody buying the fact that this guy and this group don’t have a major political agenda? Where will we see them next? What, exactly, are they trying to do? Maybe infiltrate the one organization that progressives haven’t taken over like a cancer? There is a saying in the military: “The military takes care of its own.” That’s what makes it, well, the military. When soldiers are deployed, their spouses are told, basically, “the Army will take care of the soldier—you take care of yourself and your family.” That’s the culture of the military. But apparently, this group thinks that the military members and their families need their advocacy.
And, don’t kid yourself; the IAVA is not just one man’s dream. It is simply flourishing. What, with people like craigslist founder and Obama supporter Craig Newmark on their Board of Directors and constantly tweeting and writing about it on the Huffington Post –this should be no surprise. But he’s not the only one hooked into this joint. IAVA must have some powerful people and deep pockets behind them.
Every year they host a swanky gala (2009’s at Gotham Hall in NYC was hosted by NBC’s Brian Williams) so they can all get together and congratulate themselves on the smoke and mirrors progressive organization they’ve set up and the legitimacy it has automatically been granted because who would EVER go after a NON-PARTISAN group that helps veterans? Who would ever ask the obvious question out loud: why do we need this when we have the VFW or American Legion?
If you look at them from a high-level, they look good on paper. Dig a little deeper and you still aren’t sure what they are up to. At their last gala, Presenters included Westley Moore—former special assistant to Condoleezza Rice. Hey—that’s a good sign, right? Well, maybe not. His Mom is even buddies with Oprah. Oh, and he addressed the DNC convention in 2008. And then there is the article on the Huffington Post calling him the next black president. And guess what else? He got a six figure advance for his upcoming book, Elevate: American Journeys into Manhood…sound familiar?
But back to the party.
In addition to their high-profile MC and presenters, Sponsors of their annual dinner gala include Jonathan Soros. Guess who his daddy is? And the Honorary Committee for this shindig includes some interesting names: Senator Al Franken, Ms. Rachel Maddow, Mr. Chris Matthews, and Mr. Keith Olbermann. Other names listed on their honorary committee include some pretty impressive military brass:
Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez (USA, Ret.) former commander of ground forces in Iraq wrote a book slamming Bush he is also calling for a War Crimes Truth Commission.to investigate Bush-era interrogation and torture tactics. You may have seen him on Keith Olbermann.
Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis, MD (USA, Ret.) Check out his bio at CommissiononAccountability.org. “A non-partisan, independent commission to fully understand the use of torture approved by the U.S. government after 9/11.” Oh, and also find him on this one too. He also co-wrote this 2006 piece published in the LA Times—claiming that “the Pentagon forces mental health professionals to betray the Hippocratic oath.”
Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr. (USA, Ret.) was on the steering committee chairman of Vets for Obama. Check out his article on the DailyKos called “Defending Wesley Clark.”
Major General Paul D. Eaton (USA, Ret.) You will find his name on this “Statement From 16 Retired Admirals And Generals, Who Have Been Working Through Human Rights First, on Meeting Today With President Obama To Discuss Executive Orders Banning Torture And Closing Guantanamo.” He’s for it, of course. And against “torture”…of course.
Colonel James D. McDonough, Jr. (USA, Ret.) His opinion on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is here
He says “It's all about having respect for everyone…If we were able to put through a policy integrating women, we can put through a policy for gay personnel."
Ah, yes, Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell. Its resurrection comes most inconvenient time…no?
Intelligence chiefs say al Qaeda is likely to attack the U.S. within six months. ... the US economy is in dire straits….Haiti is flattened, and, oh, and our troops are deployed in multiple warzones that happen to be located in a area of the world where, according to www.muslimmedianetwork.com:
“the majority of the countries in this region are Islamic States and, irrespective of whether they are Sunni or Shiite nations, homosexuality is universally condemned as being contrary to the Creation of Allah. The punishment for the offense of homosexuality in many nations in the Middle East, regardless of whether the Sharia Law is implemented in the country or not, is often the death penalty.”
Yet, here we are taking on another big issue. Why? And, why now?
This blog isn’t about DADT. This blog is about the infiltration of progressive thinking and political correctness into the one organization that the liberal left doesn’t (yet) control: our military. Yes, Major Hassan was just a warning sign. It was a nudge for us to consider something that we don’t want to think about. They are worming their way into our armed forces.
With Obama in office and staying the course in Afghanistan, he needs to distract and satisfy his base. What better way than to bring up DADT.
The Obama administration knows the media is on their side. But what about the military?
Well, it only takes a few people in uniform to give the media a tingle up their leg on this issue. And they’ve got those folks lined up and camera-ready. I’m thinking we’ll see some new faces. The always-available for comment Wesley Clark just simply wouldn’t be enough for this effort. Well, they’ve got it covered. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, has already weighed in. Colin Powell too. And if he’s short on progressives who will tow the line, the first place he will go is here Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. A group whose mission is solely DATD. Or he can just ask his buddies over at IAVA.
If you scratched your head about Major Hassan’s ability to blend into the military and get away with his craziness (not to mention secure a field grade promotion months before he shot up Fort Hood) and are still in denial that these people exist at the HIGHEST levels of the military, it’s time to wake up. IAVA is a great place to find these people. And just in case you are wondering where the military’s dedicated press is on all this, there is a treasure trove of information at the David Bellevia blog. To follow is an excerpt:
“The Army Times is owned by the Gannet Company. They own USA Today and all the other military Times themed papers. The sick irony is that the military themed newspapers are as pro-American, pro-military as Muqtada al Sadr. The Military Times is most famous for one sided polls showing troops turning against a war they are currently bleeding in and of course who could forget the beating of the drums to force Donald Rumsfeld to resign. They wrote an op-ed publicly asking for his resignation five days before election day 2006. What was the Army Times’ response to John Kerry and John Murtha’s vitriolic commentary about the troops and our chances of success in Iraq?Crickets. Raindrops. Nothing. Hmm, no editorial board standing up and calling them out? Odd.Of course the Military Times and Army Times never bend toward political favor. It was a complete accident that they piled on Secretary Rumsfeld a full week cycle before a mid-term election.They have taken the Vietnam era accusations that the military themed papers were simply propaganda tools and flipped it so far to the anti-military side that it is absurd. Honestly, I would rather have a New York Times reporter embed with my unit than one of the military papers. Stars and Stripes included.”
Not familiar with the Military Times or its sister publications? Well, you will be next week when you see the editor of the MilitaryTimes all over the media discussing their “exclusive” Don’t ask/Don’t tell survey. This survey “is based on survey results and in-depth interviews with military leaders, both gay and straight.” And, guess what? They’ve taken a survey where there is really no statistical change to this:
“Opposition to gays serving openly in the military has declined sharply among those wearing the uniform today, the Military Times newspapers will report Monday. An exclusive survey of some 3,000 active-duty troops shows such opposition has fallen sharply from nearly two-thirds (65 percent) in 2004 to about half (51 percent) today. The survey results appear Monday in Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times.”
The only thing this survey says (according to my military friends) that’s worth noting, is that 20 percent of those “surveyed” remained neutral. I’d like to hold the survey up side-by-side to the 2003 survey they are comparing it to…but I can’t find it….
But I did find some other interesting tidbits while looking. For instance, you may be interested to know that just last month, the Military Times’ lead book reviewer J. Ford Huffman, named "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America,” by Palm Center’s senior research fellow, Dr. Nathaniel Frank—as one of decade's top 20 military books. Dr. Frank is a Dr. Frank is Senior Research Fellow at the Palm Center at the University of California. “Since 1998, the Center has been a leader in commissioning and disseminating research in the areas of gender, sexuality, and the military.” Check out their page of retired military brass …Generals and Admirals Who Have Signed a Statement Calling for Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". LTG Gard (from the IAVA list above) has his name on there. So…there are 100 Admirals and Generals who want DADT repealed. I guess we’d need to know how many retired Admirals and Generals there are overall to know what his means. Best guess is somewhere between 3,100 and 6,300 retired generals and admirals.
The IAVA helped Dr. Frank with his initial research by helping him find soldiers to interview for his book. Cozy, huh?
Look for his light-weight opinion on MSNBC in the coming weeks.
In addition to the “tease” about the Military Times survey coming out in full Monday, our buddies over at IAVA also released a new study today:
“Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest non-partisan, nonprofit organization representing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, released a revealing new report highlighting the countless bureaucratic roadblocks, lengthy waits for care, and complicated disability systems facing wounded veterans. Red Tape: Veterans Fight New Battles for Care and Benefits”.
At the end of the press release they plug yet another initiative
From Feb. 6th to Feb. 12th, IAVA members from across the country will converge in Washington D.C. to bring the issues highlighted in the Red Tape report to Congress, the VA, the Pentagon and the White House for the annual Storm the Hill campaign. Disability reform will be the top priority. More information about the campaign is available at www.StormtheHill.org.
Man, these folks are busy.
So, for now, my biggest question is: Where on earth is the money coming from? Anybody?
