Obama-Attacking, Pro-McCain Group Gets Free Trip To Iraq

Salon:

On its face, it seems like an idea any enterprising editor could have come up with: Gather a group of veterans of the Iraq war who also have journalism experience, including some highly decorated soldiers. Then send them back to the areas of Iraq in which they served, this time as reporters embedded with the troops still fighting there, and get their assessment of the security situation and whether the surge is working.

Someone has organized just such an expedition, and this Monday eight veterans left for Iraq. But the "Back to Iraq" trip wasn't put together by the Washington Post or the New York Times; it's the brainchild of Vets for Freedom (VFF), a pro-war group. VFF is nominally nonpartisan, but it has a remarkable number of ties -- some previously unreported -- to Republicans generally and John McCain's campaign specifically. And it has run attack ads against Barack Obama.

It's unremarkable to send reporters with thin journalistic credentials to Iraq, or to promise that journalists with a known political bias will report "objectively." Conservative and liberal publications send their preferred reporters to Iraq all the time, and their representatives come home, unsurprisingly, with differing conclusions. But what about sending political activists and GOP operatives to Iraq in the guise of journalists, with the cooperation of the U.S. military and on the taxpayers' dime, so that the activists can come home and proselytize for the Republican presidential candidate's position on the war?

Read the whole story: Salon

Comments

[nwerle]

10:10 AM on 08/13/2008

Their web site only allows you t orespond if you are a "volunteer­"

so much for free speech and wanting full discussion­!


1 of their posting however was on target and seemed t oshow the rpboelms that wihtout US their will be civil war, for decades! of course that matches Mccain position.

[Faldo]

05:33 PM on 08/12/2008

Well the NY Times has already been out there for a while, so its about time we got some balance. These folks are true Americans who helped achieve victory for us in Iraq. If everyone in this country could step back and see what we have accomplish­ed, we would all be in a better place. A secure, stable Iraq that does not have a genocidal madman as a leader is a good thing for the world.

[sladenyv]

01:07 PM on 08/11/2008

Some of you people make me sick. Can't it be enough to just criticize the agenda of this group? Do you have to go on to wish them ill, or worse? That's the problem with so many on this blog. If you're arguments aren't strong enough to persuade others and you have to resort to wishing ill on others, then perhaps the problem is you, no? What I've been reading by some is real, unadultera­ted hate speech. Dig it.

[SCG2]

07:51 PM on 08/10/2008

Figures.

[VOTER]

04:28 PM on 08/10/2008

I wonder if McSame told them to enjoy a shopping experience in his
favorite Iraqi Market?

Oh, no!

The Shorja Market is not a safe place and is controlled by Moqtada al Sadr's
Mahdi"s army.

Ooops.....­.........

[MYQUEEN7]

12:02 PM on 08/10/2008

This is another example and demonstrat­ion of McCain's poor judgement. This is another example of how and why the military needs to get out and stay out of politics. The military gets its marching orders from the Commander in Chief, not the other way aroung. John McCain has stated fervently that as Commander-­in-Chief, he TAKES his direction from the military leaders.
WRONG ON THE CHAIN OF COMMAND!
WRONG ON THE ECONOMY!
WRONG ON NATIONAL SECURITY!
WRONG ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS!
WRONG ON GEOGRAPHY!
WRONG ON FAMILY VALUES!
WRONG ON WOMEN'S ISSUES!
WRONG ON THE ENERGY CRISIS!
WRONG FOR AMERICA!
JUST PLAIN WRONG!!!

[Berettasskeeter]

01:05 AM on 08/15/2008

"This is another example of how and why the military needs to get out and stay out of politics. "

I hope you have said this same thing to Jon Soltz, who blogs here.
Semper fi

[Tommygun264]

09:10 AM on 08/10/2008

Sounds like yet another investigat­ion is in order - our tax dollars are being spent to pay for "journalis­ts" who produce nothing but anti-Obama­, pro-McSame op-eds. Def NOT a legal use of our tax dollars.

[walkthewalk]

01:30 PM on 08/09/2008

Foul.

I hope the MSM will be just as critical of the reporting of these non-journa­lists as they were about military reporting of Obama's trip to Iraq. Since I'm clairvoyan­t, I can predict exactly what this group of pro Republican vets will say upon their return. "The surge is working, but the democracy is still fragile and requires our presence. A time horizon of 2010 makes sense, but definitely not a timetable of any sorts because decisions must be made based upon conditions on the ground."

So, tell me again. What is it that our tax dollars are paying for?

[RatgurlSD]

01:59 PM on 08/08/2008

'Bellavia says. "We want to know what these soldiers think." '

Then give the soldiers back their blogs. I don't want my precious informatio­n on which I base my descisions filtered through a bunch of OLD, BIASED, white guys with small pipi syndrome. I'd rather have the truth, thank you very much.

And while I'm ranting, I don't want my tax dollars paying for VFF's spreading of propaganda­. That's just BULLSH!T!

~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~
Please don't delete my comment, mods. I'd like to utilize my freedom of speech today!

[PitBull6]

10:10 PM on 08/13/2008

Well, at least you acknowledg­e it is a rant.

Exactly to which old, biased, white guys with some kind of disorder do you refer? If its the VFF personnel, if I'm not mistaken, they are mostly young (twenties and thirties), mostly white (is that now a bad thing?) and yes, biased, in that they have been there and they have listened to the accounts here and they will most likely report a more accurate ground truth, regardless of their ideologica­l background­s.

[FiLoLi]

01:38 PM on 08/08/2008

OK. I understand the outrage regarding this trip. So what do you say we send over a group of Code Pink members to report on the status in Iraq. That's fair.

[Totto]

12:43 PM on 08/08/2008

"I hate to tell you, there will be more wars."-Joh­n McCain

[TrooAmerican]

02:23 PM on 08/08/2008

"I hate to tell you, most of these jobs will never come back" - John McCain

"I hate to tell you, but oil prices will likely never come down" - John McCain

"I hate to tell you, but the environmen­t must now take a backseat to the needs of the oil companies to drill on protected areas" - John McCain

[loax]

12:17 PM on 08/08/2008

Why does the pentagon put up with this crap? My tax money better not be spent for this ridiculous group of war mongers!

[RatgurlSD]

01:58 PM on 08/08/2008

'Bellavia says. "We want to know what these soldiers think." '

Then give the soldiers back their blogs. I don't want my precious informatio­n on which I base my descisions filtered through a bunch of OLD, BIASED, white guys with small pipi syndrome. I'd rather have the truth, thank you very much.

And while I'm ranting, I don't want my tax dollars paying for VFF's spreading of propaganda­. That's just BULLSH!T!

[Birdman]

08:12 PM on 08/08/2008

Actually the Pentagon wants pro war people reporting so this is right up their alley. Afterall the pentagon job is war so why not try to get better PR for your product.

[mesut]

12:05 PM on 08/08/2008

so my tax money is wasted once agan. Why aren't I surprised?

[chyko]

11:57 AM on 08/08/2008

Killing people or being accessory to killing of human beings should not, I repeat, must not be turned into a political ping pong. War is not movie making where the actors live to make another movie. Please stop using war as an instrument of political gamesmansh­ip.

[loper2008]

11:56 AM on 08/08/2008

they should stay, since the 'surge' is working. they can lead peaceful and productive lives in Iraq.