Latest from Move America Forward

 

In an astonishing editorial published last week, the Washington Post admitted that, "the U.S.-backed government and army may be winning the war."

They further went on to admonish Senator Barack Obama thusly:

 

That sentence tells you everything you need to know to understand the media's detachment from our American military men and women.

You see, we at Move America Forward believe that once the first U.S. troops were committed to the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq that all Americans - especially our leaders and elected officials - should have been committed to a plan for success.  Apparently some in the media didn't share this outlook.

It makes it easier to understand the following letter we here at Move America Forward received from a soldier in the U.S. Army who had received one of our care packages we sent during his deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom:

 

To highlight one key part of this letter:  "For some of the first timers it is an incredible boost to receive letters or packages after being constantly bombarded by negative press & media.  I know it wears you down after a while when you constantly put your butt on the line, day in and day out, to be called a failure and failing at your mission daily."

Please, show our troops that we've got their backs here at home.  Let's make sure they have the moral support here on the home front so that they can persevere - ignoring the negative media and those skeptics in the public square who denounce our troops' missions on a daily basis.

Send a care package to our troops - or send a dozen if you can. They really do appreciate your support.

 

** SPONSOR TROOP CARE PACKAGES - HERE ** 

You Can Help Too

Hat tip to Snooper from an article he posted at Digital Journal

Senior Coupon-Cutting Brigade Comes to Military's Aid

Some are frail, their bodies riddled with arthritis. Others are confined to walkers or wheelchairs.

Spread out across the country is a small army of old ladies determined to do their part in the war on terror. Their weapons of choice: scissors and coupons.

They cut out a couple hundred each day, a few thousand a week, and send them to military families in the Middle East and elsewhere overseas, who redeem them at commissaries. It may not seem like much, the ladies say, but every little bit counts.

In a new era of American warfare, when people are told to support the war effort by boosting the economy by shopping or simply by going on with their lives, these women think more should be done. They are from an older generation that remembers the days of war bonds and rations, and they are trying again to make a difference, one coupon at a time.

Lila Sclawy, 87, started clipping shortly after her husband, a veteran, died in 2001 of pancreatic cancer. Four weeks later, she turned on the news to see the World Trade Center crashing down.

As the country grieved, she was looking for a way to overcome her grief. That's when she heard about the coupon ladies in Greenbelt.

They meet every Tuesday in the musty upstairs room at American Legion Post #136. Each woman brings a heaping bundle of newspaper scraps gathered from their neighbors. For hours, they comb through the coupons, sorting them by denomination -- 25 cents off, 30 cents, a dollar -- so they can keep track of how much they're sending in each box.

The coupons are honored up to six months past expiration at overseas bases, where base officials distribute them to the spouses and children of troops who sometimes struggle to make ends meet on military salaries.

It is fulfilling work, the women say, and they have letters of gratitude from as far away as Saudi Arabia and Japan to show for it. It also gives them an excuse to gather. While they cut, count and sort, they talk, a chatty discussion that meanders from beauty tips to husbands and grandchildren and eventually to their memories of wartime.

They talk about the days when their families would stretch their rations of sugar and meat, and when they wrote letters to soldiers.

Most of the women are part of the American Legion Auxiliary, wives of veterans who served during America's wars. But a few served in the military themselves. And for many of them, World War II was when they discovered what every generation inevitably learns about war -- it is brutal.

World War II was the one that put its mark on everyone who lived through it, said Sclawy, one of the oldest members of the coupon clippers. It was also the first war in which women could serve with the Army in jobs beyond nursing.

To read the rest of the story go to this link at the Washington Post  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031003107.html

ONLINE RESOURCES

Here is more information on how to send coupons to military families abroad:

Overseas Coupon Program

Expired Coupons Help Military Families

You can also mail the women of the American Legion Auxiliary's Greenbelt Unit 136 at P.O. Box 1063, Greenbelt, MD 20768.

From Vets For Freedom's Pete Hegseth

Washington Post Op-ed by Vets for Freedom Members

Dear Vets for Freedom Members,

Below is an op-ed from this weekend's Washington Post co-authored by Major General (Ret.) John Batiste and myself. The op-ed outlines the need for America to succeed in Iraq, as well as in the Long War against radical Islam.

As you may know, in 2006 Maj. Gen. Batiste was an outspoken critic of failed strategies in Iraq. However, to his great credit, he now believes we must stop "prosecuting the past," recognize the success of the new strategy, and focus on victory. I could not agree more!

My sincere hope is that this op-ed will help serve as a sort of "political reconciliation" in our own country. It is time to put aside petty partisan differences, and rally behind the need for success in Iraq and in the Long War.

It was an honor to write the piece with Maj. Gen. Batiste—he is a fine officer and a true patriot. I would also be remiss if I did not thank David Bellavia, Vets for Freedom founder, for his role in making this happen. David is a phenomenal American.

Enjoy the piece.

Pete Hegseth
Iraq War Veteran
Executive Director, Vets for Freedom

From The Washington Post

Getting Beyond Stalemate to Win a War

By John Batiste and Pete Hegseth
Saturday, December 8, 2007; A17

Congress has been entangled in a war-funding debate that pits war "supporters" against antiwar "defeatists." With all sides seemingly entrenched, a stalemate looms. The Pentagon, meanwhile, will soon begin stripping money from its training budget to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Our military men and women deserve better than partisan politics; they deserve honest assessments of our nation's performance in fighting the Long War.

We are veterans of the Iraq war with vastly different experiences. Both of us commanded troops in Iraq. We, too, held seemingly entrenched, and incompatible, views upon our return. One of us spoke out against mismanagement of the war -- failed leadership, lack of strategy and misdirection. The other championed the cause of successfully completing our mission.

Our perspectives were different, yet not as stark as the "outspoken general" and "stay-the-course supporter" labels we received. Such labels are oversimplified and inaccurate, and we are united behind a greater purpose.

It's time to discuss the way forward rather than prosecute the past. Congress must do the same, for our nation and the troops.

Overall, this will require learning from our strategic blunders, acknowledging successes achieved by our courageous military and forging a bold path. We believe America can and must rally around five fundamental tenets:

First, the United States must be successful in the fight against worldwide Islamic extremism. We have seen this ruthless enemy firsthand, and its global ambitions are undeniable. This struggle, the Long War, will probably take decades to prosecute. Failure is not an option.

Second, whether or not we like it, Iraq is central to that fight. We cannot walk away from our strategic interests in the region. Iraq cannot become a staging ground for Islamic extremism or be dominated by other powers in the region, such as Iran and Syria. A premature or precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, without the requisite stability and security, is likely to cause the violence there -- which has decreased substantially but is still present -- to cascade into an even larger humanitarian crisis.

Third, the counterinsurgency campaign led by Gen. David Petraeus is the correct approach in Iraq. It is showing promise of success and, if continued, will provide the Iraqi government the opportunities it desperately needs to stabilize its country. Ultimately, however, these military gains must be cemented with regional and global diplomacy, political reconciliation, and economic recovery -- tools yet sufficiently utilized. Today's tactical gains in Iraq -- while a necessary pre-condition for political reconciliation -- will crumble without a deliberate and comprehensive strategy.

Fourth, our strategy in fighting the Long War must address Iran. Much has been made this week of the intelligence judgments that Iran has stopped its weapons program. No matter what, Iran must not be permitted to become a nuclear power. All options should be exhausted before we use military force, but force, nonetheless, should never be off the table. Diplomatic efforts -- from a position of strength, both regionally and globally -- must be used to engage our friends and coerce our enemies to apply pressure on the Iranian regime.

Fifth, our military capabilities need to match our national strategy. Our military is stretched thin and will be hard-pressed to maintain its current cycle of deployments. At this critical juncture, we cannot afford to be weak. Numbers and capacity matter.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, America was not mobilized for the Long War. This was an opportunity lost, but it is not too late. Many Americans are frustrated by the war effort, the burden of which has been shouldered by less than one percent of our citizenry. Our country is accustomed to winning. We deserve a comprehensive strategy that is focused on victory and guided by decisive leadership. America must succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we also cannot focus too narrowly on those conflicts. We need a regional and global strategy to defeat worldwide Islamic extremism to ensure a safer world today and for future generations.

The day after his famous Pearl Harbor speech, President Franklin D. Roosevelt again addressed the nation. "I was about to add that ahead there lies sacrifice for all of us," he said. "But it is not correct to use that word. The United States does not consider it a sacrifice to do all one can, to give one's best to our nation, when the nation is fighting for its existence and its future life." His words inspired the "Greatest Generation," and they should inspire us again today.

Americans must mobilize for the Long War -- bolster our strained military, galvanize industry to supply troops with what they need right now and fund the strategy with long-term solutions. We have no doubt that Americans will rally behind a call to arms.

America's veterans -- young and old -- are resolved to support and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. This commitment, and nothing less, should compel us to stand together, in and out of uniform. Would that Congress finds the courage to bury its pride and do the same.

Maj. Gen. (Ret.) John Batiste commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq from 2004 to early 2005. Lt. Pete Hegseth served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division from 2005 to 2006 and is executive director of Vets for Freedom.