Pete Hegseth, Executive Director of Vets for Freedom, did me the honor of letting me interview him in a 25 minute, fascinating interview, which on Thursday, 8/16/07, I will be bringing you the URL's to be able to read it.
Now, on to Week 6 of the Ten weeks to Testimony.
In the past two weeks, Vets for Freedom has released television advertisements in 5 states (read about them here & here) and stood up State Chapters in 26 states. We plan to release 5 more TV ads this week, and formally announce 5 additional State Chapters. And every day, our membership numbers expand rapidly.
Without question, we are on the offensive throughout America - communicating to members of Congress and the American people a very clear message: give General Petraeus, and his counter-insurgency strategy, the time, troops, and resources necessary to succeed in Iraq.
But rest assured, Washington DC-based, anti-war radicals are also active, and they plan to make their next political statement on Thursday, August 16th. According to a MoveOn.org strategy memo, they will "release a hard-hitting report to local media on what the war has cost your congressional district. This will happen on August 16th."
MoveOn.org will send out press releases in every congressional district stating how much the Iraq War is costing American taxpayers. But, of course, they fail to ask a more fundamental question: what is the cost of defeat in Iraq? And what will it ultimately cost America-in lives, treasure, and reputation-if we declare defeat at the hands of Al Qaeda & Company?What You Can Do This Week!
On Thursday, August 16th, as a direct response to MoveOn.org's crass attempts to politicize the Iraq War, Vets for Freedom is asking all of its members to participate in our "Cost of Defeat" Call-in Campaign.
And we are not alone in this effort. We are proud to be partnering with Families United for the Troops and Their Mission, a grassroots coalition of thousands of Gold Star and Blue Star families including some with loved ones currently in harm's way. Both the troops-and their families-will be making calls this Thursday!
So mark your calendar and call your members of Congress to explain the "Cost of Defeat" in Iraq. Tell them that defeat in Iraq would mean the following things:* A bloodbath in Iraq, costing hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi lives and possibly destabilize the entire Middle East region.
* A failed state in Iraq and a safe haven for Al Qaeda to plan future attacks against America and her allies.
* An emboldened Iran in pursuit of nuclear weapons and a victorious Al Qaeda in pursuit of new ways to kill Americans at home and around the world.
For more tips and information about what to say when you call, please read the "Call Tips" section at the end of this email. We have provided a word-for-word script.
Call Instructions:
1. On Thursday, call your 2 Senators and 1 Representative. Call their offices in your home state and remind them of the "Cost of Defeat" in Iraq. Use the links below to find the phone numbers for your members of Congress:
Contacting your U.S. Senators
Contacting your U.S. Representatives
2. After you have called your members of Congress, call the following 10 Senators and remind them what the "Cost of Defeat" would look like if they vote to undercut General Petraeus and the mission in Iraq in September. Phone numbers are provided below for phone numbers in their home state:
Senator Chuck Grassley R - Iowa 515-288-1145
Senator Sam Brownback R - Kansas 785-233-2503
Senator Pat Roberts R - Kansas 785-295-2745
Senator Ben Nelson D - Nebraska 402-391-3411
Senator Mitch McConnell R - Kentucky 502-582-6304
Senator Norm Coleman R - Minnesota 651-645-0323
Senator John Sununu R - New Hampshire 603-647-7500
Senator Judd Gregg R - New Hampshire 603-622-7979
Senator John Warner R - Virginia 540-857-2676
Senator Mark Pryor D - Arkansas 501-324-6336When you're done with the calls on Thursday, please shoot a quick email to info@vetsforfreedom.org and let us know. And if you had any particularly interesting exchanges, we'd love to hear about it. What Else Can You Do This Week?
1. Attend Your Senator's Town Hall Meetings. We need pro-mission veterans and citizens at every single town hall meeting in August, encouraging members of Congress to support the mission in Iraq. If you find out about a Town Hall meeting in your state, do two things: 1) Attend! 2) Let us know at joel@vetsforfreedom.org.
2. Sign Up to Show Up in September. We still need more veterans to sign up early and join us on September 17 & 18 at our nation's capitol. Just send an email to events@vetsforfreedom.org with your name, military bio, your home state, and contact information. Once we receive this information we can start the process of arranging your travel and scheduling your appointments in Washington, DC.
3. Visit our "Live From Iraq" Blog. Check daily for updates from Jeff Emanuel, Iraq war veteran and Vets for Freedom member, who is reporting from the front lines in Iraq. He will provide daily "on the ground" updates from inside the surge.
Our comrades in Iraq have Al Qaeda on the run-and it's up to us to keep radical anti-war groups on the defensive for their ill-informed and partisan viewpoints.
Move out and draw fire!
Regards,
Pete Hegseth,
Iraq War Veteran 2005-2006, Executive Director
More information on "10 Weeks to Testimony.
"When you call the senators, a few important things to remember:
Call Tips* Always be courteous. The person answering the phone is likely a young staffer.
* If you are calling a Senator who represents your home state, say "I am from [City, State] and am a member of Vets for Freedom. I recently returned from Iraq [or insert relevant experience] and I respectfully request to speak with Senator [name]." When they ask to take a message, say "I'm calling to tell Senator [name] that I oppose MoveOn.org’s attempts to undermine the mission in Iraq and to remind the Senator what the "cost of defeat" in Iraq would be. Defeat in Iraq would mean [cite three reasons above]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."
* If you are calling a Senator who is not from your state, say "I am a veteran of the Iraq War [or insert relevant experience] who served with [insert unit] in [insert location] from [insert dates]. I am a member of Vets for Freedom and I'm calling to tell Senator [name] that I oppose MoveOn.org’s attempts to undermine the mission in Iraq and to remind the Senator what the "cost of defeat" in Iraq would be. Defeat in Iraq would mean [cite three reasons above]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."
Thanks for the email Pete.
Folks, remember to come Thursday and read the interview I did with Pete, I guarantee you, his words and insight is invaluable to this issue.
Thanks.
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