Vets group plans McCain ad
WASHINGTON (AP) - July 5, 2008 Vets for Freedom is spending $1.5 million on ads that will run
on national cable television and in five states in July - the first
set of ads in a multimillion dollar campaign in coming months
touting the troop buildup, Pete Hegseth, the 25,000-member group's
chairman, said in a telephone interview Saturday. Aimed at
"informing the American people about the truth regarding progress
in Iraq and Afghanistan," the issue ads will feature veterans of
the war describing the accomplishments they've seen since the
buildup began in early 2007.
"We need to finish the job no matter who is president," the
ads say, according to Hegseth. The five states being initially
targeted are Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Virginia.
Vets for Freedom also said it would send its members to about a
dozen swing states as part of a four-month education campaign that
will "call for victory in Iraq and Afghanistan." The group
planned to formally launch their campaign and unveil the first ads
at a news conference on Wednesday.
In late May, Vets for Freedom released ads praising some of the
troop buildup's successes and criticizing expected Democratic
nominee Barack Obama for not visiting Iraq since 2006. After McCain
echoed the criticism, Obama soon after said he would visit Iraq
later this summer.
In the last week, Obama has said that "I'll ... continue to
refine my policy" on Iraq after his visit there, drawing a flurry
of commentary whether he might be softening his position on a troop
pullout. Later Thursday, Obama said any refinement of his position
on Iraq wouldn't be related to his promise to remove combat forces
within 16 months of taking office, but rather to the number of
troops needed to train Iraqis and fight al-Qaida.
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On the Net:
Vets for Freedom:
http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/