Iraq Veteran Will Deliver War Critique for Democrats

[CShine]

A National Guard member from New York who served almost a year in Iraq will deliver the national Democratic radio address on Saturday morning, filling a role usually reserved for prominent members of Congress and other political figures.

The serviceman, First Lt. Paul Rieckhoff, 29, whose unit was attached to the Third Infantry and was stationed in Baghdad, is expected to deliver a critique of President Bush's leadership of the war on the first anniversary of his appearance on the carrier Abraham Lincoln with the posted "Mission Accomplished" banner. He will also recount his own experiences.

Lieutenant Rieckhoff, who was in Iraq from April 2003 until last February, was in a guard unit whose tour in Iraq was extended repeatedly.

According to information from the presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry, Lieutenant Rieckhoff is a resident of New York who was living in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, and helped in the rescue efforts that day and later at ground zero with his National Guard unit.


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/01/politics/campaign/01VET.html

[NMDemDist2]

1. Kicking it with Joy!!

:kick:

[Fenris]

2. Ruh roh!

Someone's not going to like that.

[boobooday]

3. Most Excellent!!!

This should be great.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

Take that, warmongers!
:spank: :spank: :spank:

[saigon68]

4. THESE RETURNING VETS ARE GOING TO FRY CHIMPY

BEEN THERE DONE THAT

MARCHES WITH BANNERS LIKE THIS WILL BECOME COMMON PLACE







Miami Convention 1972 (The second Nixon Coronation)

[kskiska]

5. Read the end of the article

The Repugs are trying to smear him:

Republicans, preparing for what they expected would be Lieutenant Rieckhoff's tough recounting of his time in Iraq as well as a critical assessment of administration policies, circulated a CBS News report from Iraq in October 2003 that featured him.

In the report, Lieutenant Rieckhoff discussed the difficulties of the military's job in Iraq but said American forces had made "incredible" strides. "It's going to take time to re-establish this entire government, this entire country, but I think it has enormous potential," CBS quoted him as saying. "And I think the sky's the limit for the people of Iraq."

[krkaufman]

6. Misguided twits

Yeah, I read the end of the article, and thought.... "That was awful nice of the Shrubbery to make this unfortunate son so much more credible."

I know that they meant the "expose'" as a smear -- to show his opinion now differs from last October (7 months ago!) -- but I'm thinking most people will view it as a mirror-image of themselves: that they were behind this pResident and his war, until he demostrated his total incompetence and absolute LACK of leadership.

Albert Einstein, oddly enough, appears to have best summarized this pResident's "leadership":

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." (link)

[slinkerwink]

7. that's excellent!

[Snellius]

8. AP Story:

WASHINGTON (AP) - An Iraq war veteran expressed disappointment with President Bush on Saturday, saying the nation's leaders refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of continuing violence in Iraq.

``I don't expect our leaders to be free of mistakes. I expect our leaders to own up to them,'' said Army National Guard 1st Lt. Paul Rieckhoff, who was a platoon leader in Iraq.

Rieckhoff's comments, distributed by Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign, were the Democratic response to the president's weekly radio address. Usually, a public official gives the response.

``Our troops are still waiting for more body armor. They are still waiting for better equipment. They are still waiting for a policy that brings in the rest of the world and relieves their burden,'' said Rieckhoff.
...
In advance of Rieckhoff's remarks, Republicans circulated televised comments he made last year in Iraq in which he gave a brighter picture of U.S. prospects.
...
Rieckhoff said he is not working for the Kerry campaign or for the Democratic Party. He contacted Kerry staffers who deal with veterans issues when he returned from Iraq three months ago, and they ``provided me with the forum. I wrote every word.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4042733,00.html

[PROGRESSIVE1]

9. Excellente!

:kick: