PRESS RELEASE from Vets for Freedom


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 2, 2008
Contact: Judy Mayka
Brian Marriott

VFF Ad to Obama: “Acknowledge the Surge Worked,” $7 Million Effort Launched on Senate Surge Resolution

(MINNEAPOLIS, MN) — Vets for Freedom (VFF) today released a new television advertisement calling on U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) to “acknowledge the surge worked” and to support a pending U.S. Senate resolution recognizing the strategic importance of the surge. The Senate resolution, S. Res. 636, will be the focus of a $7 million issue advocacy offensive designed to secure bipartisan Senate support for the measure.

The 30-second advertisement, “Re-enlistment”, features footage of General David Petraeus, then commanding General of Multi-National Force Iraq, leading the largest battlefield re-enlistment ceremony in the history of the all-volunteer force. The commercial, which begins airing Wednesday in the Minneapolis media market, directly challenges Senator Obama for his refusal to attribute recent security gains and resulting political progress in Iraq to the increase in U.S. forces and new strategy that the surge implemented.

The complete video of the advertisement and supporting documentation are available at www.VetsforFreedom.org

Senator Obama opposed the surge when the policy was announced in January 2007 and has stated that, based on the results of the surge, he would make the same decision again.

U.S. Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced S. Res. 636 on July 31. It states, in part: “[The Senate] recognizes the success of the troop surge in Iraq and its strategic significance in advancing the vital national interests of the United States in Iraq, the Middle East, and the world, in particular as a strategic victory in a central front of the war on terrorism”.

“It is time for Senator Obama to tell the truth about the surge,” said Vets for Freedom Chairman Pete Hegseth, who recently returned from his most recent trip to Iraq. “Despite the facts on the ground and the assessments of senior commanders, Senator Obama has made it clear that he would again oppose the surge if given the opportunity. This extreme position suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation in Iraq and suggests a perspective incompatible with the policy goal of a stable and secure Iraq.”

“With the return of Congress next week from the August recess, Vets for Freedom will undertake a $7 million effort to build bipartisan congressional support for this critical resolution recognizing the strategic success of the surge. A vote by Senator Barack Obama against Senate Resolution 636 would be a vote against the surge, against finishing the job in Iraq, and a signal of American weakness at a moment of growing international instability and conflict.”

Both Pete Hegseth and VFF Vice-Chairman David Bellavia recently returned from Iraq and are in Minneapolis, MN and available for interviews. To speak with Pete or David, please contact Judy Mayka (202) 834- 5931/ Judy@vetsforfreedom.org or Brian Marriott (703) 593-1679/ Brian@vetsforfreedom.org For more information about Vets for Freedom, please visit www.vetsforfreedom.org.