Iraq War Vets Target George Allen

VoteVets has "deployed" a hard-hitting ad in Virginia that targets incumbent Senator George Allen for hypocritically supporting the war in Iraq while voting against funding appropriate body armor for our troops. It seems Allen is all for the war, but when it come to giving our troops the equipment they need, well, that might be money better spent on tax cuts.



This is an issue that ticked me off royally when the war started. I'm sure you read about or heard reports of families buying commercial body armor to give to their sons/daughters/husbands/wives who were deploying without the most effective equipment to keep them safe. My brother is a US Army officer and was part of the initial invasion force. His unit was deployed with substandard body armor at the start of the war.

I spoke to my brother about the body armor issue at length when he returned from his first deployment. To be honest, I seemed to have more of a problem with it than he did. He's a good soldier and said it wasn't his place to criticize decisions made by the military leadership. He said the Army's job is to fight the war with what they're given. However, I know he was glad he had better equipment for his second deployment.

Anyway, I think the VoteVets project is a worthy one. I believe there are fewer veterans in Congress now than at any point in our history. And I think we, as a nation, could benefit from the insights of those who have actually been to war when debating our foreign policy.

Tags: VA-Sen; George Allen; VoteVets; campaign ads