It was 2005 in Afghanistan. Marines were ambushed. Men were being hit. Army artillery officer Mike Breen, and his unit were holding off the enemy, but they were running out of ammunition. Breen kept calling for helicopters to re-supply us. But the helicopters never came.

Where were the helicopters?

This is the question the third and final ad of the "Generals" series by VoteVets.org asks.

View the final ad here | Donate Here

Following on the ads from General Batiste and General Eaton, I appear in this ad with Officer Breen to highlight the Bush administration's failed national security and foreign policy. The fact is the Iraq war hinders our ability to fight the war on terror.

Where were the helicopters?

The helicopters, the equipment, and the troops are stuck fighting George Bush's war in Iraq. As I said before the invasion, military action against Iraq would distract us from fighting those who attacked us on 9/11: Al Qaeda. George Bush and Dick Cheney constantly trumpet their capture of Saddam Hussein, but where is Osama Bin Laden?

Congress has to help get the strategy right, so we can fight the terrorists who are the real threat to America.

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The President did not listen when I went before the House Armed Services Committee in 2002, discouraging an invasion of Iraq. The President did not listen to General Batiste and General Eaton, as they called for a new strategy in Iraq. And the President is still not listening.

The series of "Generals" ads is making an impact. The voters, the national media, and the local media are putting pressure on the members of Congress who are blindly supporting the President. The days of rubberstamping Bush's failed strategy must end.

In this version of the ad, I call on Congress and Virginia's Senator John Warner to "Protect America, Not George Bush." Blindly supporting Bush's failed strategy does not protect America. The voters need to know the truth, and the more money we can raise for the ad, the more voters we can reach.

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The ads are making a difference. The response has been overwhelming, but we can't rest now.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Wes Clark

Today, we are launching our second of three "Generals" ads. Last week, you made our historic ad featuring retired Major General John Batiste a smashing success. From when it launched on Wednesday, through the weekend, it was the talk of the news and discussion shows, and even featured in a Sunday New York Times story!

Today, retired Major General Paul Eaton debuts in an ad, again taking on the false notion that the President listens to his commanders on the ground.

View the first ad here | Donate Here

Like General Batiste, General Eaton should know whether the President really listens to his commanders on the ground, or not. General Eaton recently retired from the US Army after more than 33 years service. His most recent operational assignment was Commanding General of the command charged with reestablishing Iraqi Security Forces from 2003-2004, where he built the command and established the structure and infrastructure for the Iraqi Armed Forces.

Last week, President Bush kept maintaining that he bases his decisions on the war based on what he hears from commanders. Yet, for the second time in as many weeks, one of those commanders has decided to speak out and say it isn't so. The media is finally beginning to catch on - the President is not telling the truth. As General Eaton says in the ad, the President is being told we need more diplomacy in Iraq, not escalation - and the President is still not listening. We're taking that message into the states and districts of Senators Susan Collins and John Warner and Representatives Mary Bono, Mike Castle, Phil English, Jo Ann Emerson, Tim Johnson (IL), and Heather Wilson,

Over the past few months, the most consistent question we've gotten at VoteVets is, "When's your next ad coming out?" Well, you wanted it...you got it!

Today, we're launching a massive, half-million dollar ad blitz, featuring -- for the first time on the paid airwaves -- George Bush's former commanders on the ground in Iraq. In the ads, they challenge the notion that the President listens to commanders, and another featuring retired General Wes Clark and an Afghanistan veteran, makes clear that the war in Iraq has not made America more secure.

View the first ad here | Donate Here

The first in the series of three ads features VoteVets.org Advisory Board Member, Major General (ret.) John Batiste, who was commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division from August 2002-June 2005. During this time frame, he conducted combat operations in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Batiste twice voted for President Bush and is a lifelong Republican. If you like this ad, then you're going to love what we have coming up in about a week, from Major General Paul Eaton. And, then the ad featuring General Clark after that. That's fitting, because it is General Clark who paved the way for other retired brass to speak out.

Here's the deal, though. We're pouring a half-million dollars towards airing these ads in states and districts where Senators and Representatives are very close to abandoning the President on Iraq. We're going to pull out all the stops to ensure they start to support the troops. If you like what you see, then please donate so we can raise enough to air these ads on networks, nationally. We're going to need to raise another $100,000 to get all of our ads on the air nationally, and really hold lawmakers' feet to the fire on the war.

Watch the TV Ad – Stop Escalation

For too many years, those of us who advocate a responsible use of our military, and thus have spoken against the President’s failed Iraq policy, have been falsely tagged as against the troops by the Bush Administration, neo-conservatives, and their cronies. Today, that all changes.

VoteVets.org, the leading political group of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, is launching a television advertisement that makes it crystal clear – opposing the President’s escalation of the war in Iraq means you are supporting the troops. VoteVets.org is joining organizations such as MoveOn.org, SEIU (Service Employees International Union), and Center for America Progress as founding members of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq. I am proud to say that I am an active Board of Advisors Member to VoteVets.org, and even prouder of how they are taking up the fight and leading the way in opposing the President’s folly.

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The President’s new so-called plan for Iraq amounts to nothing more than “Stay the Course,” a futile exercise akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

More than 20,000 troops are being sent into harm’s way for a mission that is not achievable by military power alone. Changing our approach in Iraq must go hand in hand with fixing a regional strategy that has been an abject failure. As I noted in my USA Today op-ed published in November, much of which was picked up by the non-partisan Iraq Study Group when it came out against an escalation of the war, what is needed now is more diplomacy that brings all the players to the table, including our enemies. Absent of this, the President is sending the troops needlessly into harm’s way. That’s not how you support the military and its members.

Because of Iraq

A blunt new ad says the world is more dangerous… because of Iraq.

November 5, 2006

VoteVets Action Fund made up of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, is today unveiling an ad that directly takes on the now-infamous “These Are the Stakes” ad that began airing earlier this month.

Featuring four Iraq veterans and VoteVets.org Advisory Board Member, retired General Wesley Clark, the ad reminds Americans that the next time they see ads declaring the world is a more dangerous place, they should remember it is that way, because of Iraq.

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