War views varying, Iraq vets speak up
D.C. sees them lobbying, protesting
By Alex Daniels
This article was published September 20, 2007 at 6:00 a.m.
Do you think veterans have a special view that makes their political opinion more valuable?
- Yes 66% 4 votes
- No 33% 2 votes
6 total votes.
WASHINGTON — They endured the same evening mortar attacks. Their nerves were rattled by the same roadside bombs. They spent the same lonely nights a long way from their families. Despite their shared wartime experiences, soldiers who have returned from Iraq disagree about what to do there.
As Congress continues to debate the war, veterans are speaking up. By protesting, lobbying Congress and funding candidates for office, they have moved from the battle zones of Baghdad and Fallujah to the political arena.
"We always hear retired generals and pundits on TV," said Perry Jefferies of Copperas Cove, Texas, a U.S. Army veteran who is the spokesman for the group known as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "We want the troops to tell their own story."
Members of Jefferies' group, which claims "tens of thousands" of members, were in Washington on Wednesday to push for the passage of the Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act, which would provide soldiers returning from combat with mental-health evaluations.
For more information see today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Subscribers can read the story here on ArkansasOnline.
