Salon: Maimed but not mute

[kskiska]

A politically diverse group of Iraq vets say it's time for Americans to face the ugly truths about the war.

It's the obvious political ad that has just been waiting to be made -- a young Iraq war veteran, missing a body part, talking simply and directly to the camera about the sacrifice he made in the service of official lies. The idea didn't come from the Democratic Party, or MoveOn.org, or the Kerry campaign. The new ad is the creation of a group of some 20 Iraq war veterans operating on a shoestring budget. Their organization, Operation Truth, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group of 150 members, is dedicated to elevating the perspective of soldiers and holding elected officials accountable for their policy decisions.

"I was called to serve in Iraq because the government said there were weapons of mass destruction -- but they weren't there," Spc. Robert Acosta, 21, who was an ammunitions specialist with the 1st Armored Division in Iraq, says in the thought-provoking ad. "They said Iraq had something to do with 9/11 -- but the connection wasn't there ... So when people ask me where my arm went, I try to find the words, but they're not there." The ad ends with a shot of Acosta removing his prosthesis, revealing a stub where his right hand should be.

In Washington on Tuesday, Acosta, Operation Truth founder Paul Rieckhoff, 29, and Operation Truth board member David Chasteen, 25, made the media rounds to promote the ad and their group. After a morning news conference at the National Press Club, they were at CNN's studios, talking on camera with Wolf Blitzer, and then trucked back to the Press Club for more interviews, including one with Salon.

The ad "is meant to wake people up," Rieckhoff told me. "And if people are uncomfortable for a few seconds, I'm OK with that. Because Robert's going to be uncomfortable for the rest of his life."

more…
http://salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/13/iraq_vet_ad/index.html

[Eye and Monkey]

1. I hope this goes down as one of THE all-time-most-effective ads.

And I hope these guys can find some healing.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. Good article

Let's hope as many people as possible see this ad. It's the Iraq war we should be talking about not Vietnam.