Vets For Freedom Action Fund

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Vets For Freedom is a 501 (c) (4), a nonpartisan, tax-exempt American political organization with the stated purpose of giving a voice to America's veterans and active duty troops who support the Global War on Terror, the War in Afghanistan, the War in Iraq, and the current "surge" strategy of General David Petraeus [1]. The founders of the organization have all seen combat in Afghanistan or Iraq and view themselves as a "mainstream counter to MoveOn.org and Code Pink." The organization works with members of both parties and strives to "put long-term national security before short-term partisan political gain." [2]

Contents

[edit] Organizational work

Spokesmen for VFF appear on televised news shows and write op-ed pieces for newspapers. The organization has also issued a number of press releases. Vets for Freedom sponsored a full-page political ad in the Hartford Courant on August 14, 2006[3] endorsing Democratic US Senator Joe Lieberman and embarked on a television advertising campaign in Connecticut supportive of his reelection.[4][5][6] Additionally, they financed an ad campaign in Georgia to support embattled Democratic Congressman Jim Marshall in 2006. He won by the smallest margin of any Democratic congressman that year.[7]

In March 2008 Vets for Freedom launched a nation-wide event called the "National Heroes Tour." The trip made national news when a scheduled event was canceled by Forest Lake High School in Minnesota. Many media outlets such as the Drudge Report picked up the story and the school was flooded by emails and phone calls of protest.

[edit] Vets on the Hill I and II

On Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Vets for Freedom took part in a breakfast on the south lawn of the White House with President George W. Bush, the First Lady, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Following the program, over 250 members of the organization lobbied members of the U.S. House and Senate to "support Gen. Petraeus and the War in Iraq" and to ask them to denounce MoveOn.org's attack on "General Betray-us." A 3 p.m. rally near the Capitol that day featured speeches from Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman, Lindsey Graham, and John Cornyn. Remarks were also made by Rep. Roy Blunt.

One day later the "Jim Webb slow-bleed" amendment to reduce troop rotation levels failed by four votes. Vets for Freedom had been strongly opposed to the legislation and had lobbied for its defeat.

Vets for Freedom held a second Vets on the Hill in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, April 8, 2008. Over 450 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans attended the program and met with senators and representatives from every state. Vets for Freedom claimed it was the largest gathering on Capitol Hill of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. A rally was held at 8:30am edt that featured speeches from Sen. John McCain, Sen. Joe Lieberman, and Rep. Jim Marshall. 27 media outlets covered the event which was held the same day as Gen. Petraeus' testimony before the Senate. Earlier in the day Vets for Freedom members heard speeches from retired Gen. Richard Myers, a former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and current Georgetown men's basketball coach John Thompson III.

[edit] Founders

  • Executive Director Wade Zirkle is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and served two deployments to Iraq with Marine infantry units. He fought in the First Battle of Fallujah as a platoon leader. Eight Marines under his command were killed in action. Zirkle was severely burned by a suicide car-bomb in Fallujah in 2004.[8]
  • David Bellavia is a former Army Staff Sergeant who served in the 1st Infantry Division (Task Force 2-2). He was recommended for the Medal of Honor, nominated for the Distinguished Service Cross, and received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star (v), and the Conspicuous Service Cross. In 2006 he was invited to attend the President's State of the Union address as an honored guest. Bellavia has been the subject to some notoriety in the military for action he took on November 10, 2004, where he singlehandedly stormed a house full of insurgent fighters at night. He not only fought the attacking insurgents off, he managed to kill them all. Out of ammunition, Bellavia stabbed the last attacking insurgent to death with his pocketknife in a hand to hand combat.[9][10]

In 2004, Bellavia was the subject of a Time Magazine cover story titled [11] which won a Pulitzer Prize.[12] According to Publishers Weekly, Bellavia secured a book deal in the neighborhood of $500,000.00. [13] The book was titled House to House [14], and was published in September 2007.

Zirkle and cofounder David Bellavia, now a writer, returned to Iraq as civilian reporters in 2006 and embedded with the Iraqi Army in Ramadi. Their articles were published in the Philadelphia Enquirer[15] and the Weekly Standard [16].

Bellavia and Zirkle appear regularly on CNN and Fox News Channel as representatives of Vets for Freedom to offer commentary on the Global War on Terror.

  • Co-founder Owen West is a Marine reservist who served in Force Reconnaissance during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. West is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Business School. His first novel won the Boyd Literary Award for best military novel. He has written several articles on the military and outdoor adventures and recently won the 2005 Marine Corps Essay Contest [17]. He lives in New York City with his family.
  • Co-founder Joe Worley was badly injured in an ambush in Fallujah in 2004. He was struck by an EID and shot five times in a coordinated insurgent ambush. His left leg was blown off in the assault and he now is confined to a wheelchair because of a badly damaged right leg. [18] He is the recipient of a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for Valor[19].
  • Co-founder Mark Seavey spent one year as an infantry squad leader in Afghanistan and now works for a veterans organization in Washington.[20] In 2006, he was widely praised by the veteran community[21] (and scorned by the anti-war community)[22] for confronting Congressmen Moran and Murtha at a Townhall meeting. The exchange was recorded by C-span[23]. Seavey is a graduate of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.[24]
  • Co-founder Chris Neizdiocha was a Marine Infantry Officer who was the recipient of a Silver Star for leading a counterattack that killed 23 Taliban fighters in 2004. [30]. He has written a tactical article for the Marine Corps Gazette[31] titled "CAAT and Mouse". A CAAT is a "Combined Anti-Armor Team." Neizdiocha is a graduate of Penn State.[32]

[edit] Political connections

  • As of May 2008, Vets for Freedom is supporting five candidates for the House of Representatives, all of them Republicans who have served in the armed forces.[2]
  • The VFF website is hosted in a server owned by Campaign Solutions, a subsidiary of the Donatelli Group, a firm that previously worked for the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee.[33]
  • Zirkle was a regional field director for Republican Jerry Kilgore's unsuccessful 2005 campaign for governor of Virginia.[34]
  • A "key Vets for Freedom adviser is Bill Andresen, a Democrat and former chief of staff to embattled Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut." [35]
  • Among the Vets for Freedom advisors are Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol and former Iraqi Coalition Provisional Spokesman Dan Senor. [36]

[edit] Funding

VFF has applied for status as a tax-exempt charity, but donations are not tax-deductible because the application has not been approved. Zirkle said that "Initial funding came from family members and friends."[34]

Vets for Freedom states on their homepage[37] "We depend on small donations from our thousands of supporters across America."

According to Sourcewatch.org, "VFF staff and members have extensive ties to George W. Bush, Bill Kristol and Republican Party."

[edit] References

  • Army Staff Sergeant David Bellavia Cotillion June 13, 2006

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/about/ Vets for Freedom - About
  2. ^ Vets for Freedom
  3. ^ http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/news/courant.aspx
  4. ^ Vets for Freedom
  5. ^ Vets for Freedom
  6. ^ War Veterans Lend Support To Lieberman In TV Ads - New York Times
  7. ^ http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/news/macontelegraph_marshall.pdf
  8. ^ CNN.com - Transcripts
  9. ^ BLACKFIVE: SSG David Bellavia - Someone You Should Know Radio
  10. ^ The Greatest Generation | Redstate
  11. ^ http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1101041122-782070,00.html "Into the Hot Zone"
  12. ^ Vets for Freedom
  13. ^ Deals - 9/25/2006 - Publishers Weekly
  14. ^ House to House
  15. ^ http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/14973936.htm
  16. ^ Birth of an Army
  17. ^ www.westwrite.com, Francis West, Owen West
  18. ^ Wounded In Fallujah, David Martin Reports On The Families Of Injured Marines - CBS News
  19. ^ Vets for Freedom
  20. ^ Vets for Freedom
  21. ^ BLACKFIVE: Vets taking on Murtha and Moran
  22. ^ CNN.com - Transcripts
  23. ^ YouTube - Mark Seavey Confronts Murtha
  24. ^ Vets for Freedom
  25. ^ Vets for Freedom
  26. ^ USATODAY.com - Humvee deaths on the rise despite armor upgrades
  27. ^ http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/14842898.htm
  28. ^ http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,SS_063004_Patrol,00.html Stars and Stripes
  29. ^ [1][dead link]
  30. ^ Vets for Freedom
  31. ^ Marine Corps Gazette
  32. ^ Vets for Freedom
  33. ^ John Stauber, "Pro-War "Vets For Freedom" Tied to Bush's PR Team", Common Dreams, June 26, 2006
  34. ^ a b Jerry Zremski, "Former vets with GOP ties boost war effort in blogs", Buffalo News, June 25, 2006
  35. ^ The Buffalo News(TM) - News Library : Simple Search
  36. ^ FOXNews.com - Veterans Group Backing Lieberman - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum
  37. ^ VetsForFreedom.org

[edit] External links