First, the article which is the genesis of this post is linked above. But the gist is that a guy left Americans Against Escalation in Iraq because they weren’t fighting the fight the way they wanted.
The leading Washington coalition for ending the war in Iraq has lost its highest-profile Iraq veteran. John Bruhns, a former Army sergeant who participated in the 2003 invasion, left his position as legislative representative of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEI) at the beginning of October. He had started in May, but quickly became frustrated with the group’s lack of legislative success as well as some of its tactics.
Standard disclaimer applies here. He felt a certain way, joined a group, lobbied for his beliefs. I applaud him on all of that. We may be on opposite sides of this, but the guy served honorably, and I thank him for that. Also, I am not so dogmatic that I think that what he is doing is wrong. The Constitution says we have a right to petition for a redress of grievances, and he is doing that. Bruhns supports the Constitution, and his service shows that, I just happen to disagree with him.
But that is not what is so interesting to me, this is:
In May, Bruhns joined AAEI, which includes MoveOn, the Service Employees International Union and VoteVets. He was hailed by anti-war legislators for his experience and willingness to speak out.
Well, actually that is also the set up. THIS is the part that brought me up way short:
Mack said AAEI has another Iraq veteran on staff, Josh Lansdale, who is in charge of outreach to veterans
.
Why is that interesting? Well my friends, for that answer, you’ll need to step into the wayback machine with me. Here is Josh:
“Jim Talent doesn’t need to wait 6 months for an appointment, why should we?”
Good point Josh.
Describing his service in Iraq, Josh said this:
“It was a pretty hot zone. We took a lot of mortar fire, IEDs, car bombs, saw a lot of helicopter crashes and worked the UN embassy bombing. I dragged a lot of people out of burning buildings, cars, motorcycle wrecks and explosions.”
I was the 1SG and Fire Chief for the unit. I also was AGR for the unit for 17 years. We were deployed in May of 03. We were stationed at Camp Anaconda Iraq. We arrived there on or about the 23rd of May and departed on or about the 21st of April 04.
There was one Helicopter tire that blew up on a couple soldiers and messed one up pretty bad and killed the other. There was also one motorcycle accident when a soldier hit a honey wagon (Porta Potty Cleaner) and his head was pretty swollen when we got there. Other than that, There was not one plane or helicopter that crashed on us during this period. None of us even got close to Baghdad or any Embassy buildings other than when we drove on the outskirts on our way to Balad (camp Anaconda).
Yes we had many nights of mortars come in but only a couple even got close to us at the fire station and that was right at the end. 95% that they fired at us either missed everything or were duds. None of my fire fighters that fought any fires dragged anyone out of a building. We had 2 of our own fire fighters go down because of heat problems while fighting fires, but that was it.
I am sure that Josh Lansdale saw a lot of things that you would not see in the states, however he is blowing this way WAY out of proportion. I had 3 other soldiers that came a lot closer than he ever could imagine to being killed. I would have to see his medical records, but I can not even remember him hurting his ankle. He may have sprained it at worse if even that…
And his claim about waiting 6 months for an appt?
“We see them within 30 days of their entry into our system,” said Jane Alley of the VA Medical Center.
Alley is a nurse and one of two people at the medical center who oversees new patients. Mahoney said it should be easy to check Lansdale’s claims if he would produce his appointment schedule.
Naturally, Josh refuses to come forward with that info.
He may not be a “phony soldier” in the sense he actually served there, but he’s phony in just about everything he’s said since he got back. I actually menationed this guy in my MSNBC interview. And what did VoteVets have to say about him? Well….nothing. Getting VoteVets off their prearranged message is like trying to get Rosie away from the buffet table.
Enough already. Seriously. You clowns couldn’t identify MacBeth as a phony, when it took the vast majority of us 3.2 seconds, and even with this guys tales of woe and battlefield prowess being taken out like a lone jihadi caught in an L shaped Ambush, they hire him as a full-timer.
Meanwhile, Kos takes pot shots at Hegseth. It’s ridiculous. The credibility of these guys is virtually non-existent, and losing Bruhns isn’t going to help them. Find some guys who served, who don’t engage in standard Ghengis Khan type hyperbole and then get back to me.
There is no shame in doing your job in a combat zone. It’s when you start to embelish your heroism that I start getting a case of the monkey arse.
h/t to Hotair for The Hill article, and to Michelle Malkin for several great posts on Lansdale.
Tags: claire mccaskill, Iraq, jim talent, john bruhns, Josh Lansdale, Pete Hegseth, phony veterans, vetsforfreedom, VoteVets
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20071119_The_anti-war_phonies.html
The anti-war phonies
By JOHN BRUHNS
I CAME HOME from Iraq in February 2004 and since then have fought tooth and nail for an end to the war.
I did so because I believe the war is immoral and illegal. I aligned myself with some high- profile lobbying organizations who I believed would have the most significant impact on ending the war. In doing so, I detached myself from the people of this country who are honestly committed to ending the war.
I traded my convictions for “special interest” groups who sometimes seem to be in place simply to smear those who disagree with their political agenda. But the agenda is not anti-war. The war is used by these organizations as ammunition against political foes – primarily Republicans. They are the enemy despite the fact that many Democrats vote the same way.
It was very hard for me to go “off the reservation.” I didn’t want to face the fact that these anti-war groups had other aims.
We watched as legislation that had no substantial impact on ending the war was debated. There ARE anti-war resolutions still floating out there that call for a real end to the war, but the groups I worked for wouldn’t spend one dime to promote legislation considered out of the mainstream of the Democratic Party.
Any genuine anti-war message was filtered through media consultants who provide politically correct “talking points” to veterans for them to carry out a phony message that is beneficial to the campaign.
We threatened Republicans with “political extinction” if they didn’t change their votes on Iraq. It was a partisan tactic that got us nowhere fast.
When I worked with these organizations, I did nothing to actually stop the war. I only put on a good show that would catch the attention of the media. We focused on America’s desire for entertainment rather than the core issue of ending the war.
Our troops are still being killed on a daily basis and the main agenda of these well-financed anti-war groups, I think, is nothing short of the prolonged character assassination of all those who disagree with their message. In my eyes, it’s just as bad as those who fight for a continuation of the war, and I’m no longer able to distinguish between the two sides.
I was not honest when I walked away and pursued the “lone wolf” route. Instead I painted a rosy picture of my departure in order to preserve my credibility and longevity within the establishment. This confession is the only way to restore my integrity. So I can go on to continue to fight against the war in Iraq with a clear conscience.
I didn’t commit eight years of honorable military service to this country to be an indirect proxy of one political party. I saw the damage done to our country for most of the last seven years with the Republicans in control of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. There was no political balance whatsoever to keep our democracy pure. That’s why we are so divided as a nation, and I’m not about to fight for the same partisan domination for the Democrats – even though that is my party affiliation.
THE Democrats promised they would bring change if given a majority in Congress. It didn’t happen, and I’m not going to be fooled again. There are many courageous Democrats who vote to end the war in Iraq. But there are many who do not.
Republicans in Congress, for the most part, would follow George W. Bush to the gates of hell. And because of their unity, they are able to keep prevailing despite being in the minority of both houses of Congress.
If any candidate wants my vote, they first and foremost need to convince me that they will end the war in Iraq. *
John Bruhns is a writer and anti-war activist in the Philadelphia area.
Find this article at:
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20071119_The_anti-war_phonies.html