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| Retired U.S. Army generals to make TV commercials criticizing Bush's handling of Iraq war |
| 2007-05-09 |
| WASHINGTON (AP) - Two retired Army major generals with experience in Iraq will appear in television commercials critical of President George W. Bush's handling of the war. The ads, to begin airing Wednesday, take aim at key Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Financed by VoteVets.org, the $500,000 (euro368,785) in ads will feature retired Maj. Gens. John Batiste and Paul Eaton, both of whom have criticized civilian leaders of the U.S. Defense Department in the past. Batiste commanded the 1st U.S. Infantry Division in Iraq, and Eaton oversaw training of the Iraqi military from 2003 to 2004. The commercials are timed to coincide with congressional debate over the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The media markets chosen by VoteVets are designed to pressure Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John Sununu of New Hampshire, John Warner of Virginia and Norm Coleman of Minnesota, all of whom are up for re-election next year. The ads also will run in the congressional districts of Republican Reps. Mary Bono of California, Phil English of Pennsylvania, Randy Kuhl and James Walsh of New York, Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri, Tim Johnson of Illinois, Fred Upton of Michigan and Michael Castle of Delaware. The ads represent the first time former military commanders in Iraq have appeared in commercials to criticize the conduct of the war, now in its fifth year. |
| Posted by:Delphi2005 |
| #8 Thanks for the confirmation, Chuck. I suspected as much. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2007-05-09 21:51 |
| #7 Major General Batiste is a hypocrite. He was Paul Wolfowitz's aide during the planning for the liberation. He also commanded 1st Div in Iraq. He has never, never admitted the role he had planning the liberation or owned up to any mistakes on his part while commanding 1ID. He has blamed Rumsfeld for it all, to the exclusion of blaming anyone else. Eaton is the perfect example of a general officer that made that rank without ever having seen a gun fired in anger. He managed to avoid every single instance of American troops in combat during his entire career. He boasts not one ribbon for combat, not even the CIB. Both generals are Clinton generals, loyal to the core. See my post General Nuisance for a list of General Eaton's ribbons. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2007-05-09 19:22 |
| #6 OK, Let's put these two statements in the cage to fight it out and see what comes out: 1) Two retired Army major generals with experience in Iraq ... critical of President George W. Bush's handling of the war 2) The commercials are timed to coincide with congressional debate over the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq Hmm. Is it just me or does the first statement seem disingenuous given the second? Given the way W doesn't counterattack, I'll bet he is just going to hope enough people start to read RB. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-05-09 18:22 |
| #5 What the article doesn't say is that there are three generals involved, not two. According to the VoteVets.org website, Gen. Batiste will be in the first ad. Then, "Next week, we'll launch another ad with retired Major General Paul Eaton. And, after that, the campaign will wrap up with a powerful ad from former NATO Allied Supreme Commander, General Wesley Clark." 'Nuff said. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2007-05-09 16:01 |
| #4 Remember before November the chorus was all about George not listening to the Generals. Now Pelosi and Reid don't have the time of day for Petraeus. I'll give them credit for the balls to do what the Trunks refuse to do - that is spend the money now to hit their opponents and not wait for the normal election cycle. The Donks are politicizing the military. Getting the military into the political arena means that in the end the military will run this country, not the wretched pols. Its repeated written in history. Human behavior is consistent. Keep making the same mistake in your desperate pursuit of power. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-05-09 15:43 |
| #3 Weren't these the ex-general's that the Dems used before the Nov. elections who called for more troops in Iraq? |
| Posted by: danking_70 2007-05-09 15:37 |
| #2 Two retired Army major generals with experience in Iraq will appear in television commercials critical of President George W. Bush's handling of the war. ... The ads represent the first time former military commanders in Iraq have appeared in commercials to criticize the conduct of the war, now in its fifth year. But do they say the war was wrong to begin with? Not that I can see. But that's how the Dems and Nutroots always spin these things. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2007-05-09 15:13 |
| #1 Eaton oversaw training of the Iraqi military from 2003 to 2004 - isn't that the period when it was near impossible to get an Iraqi army trained? If so, what were Eaton's big mistakes and should they be discussed in counter ads? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2007-05-09 14:55 |