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After Oklahoma City we moved on to Wichita, KS. This rally was to be held at the Keeper of the Plains memorial center. Basically it’s this local landmark that has a gigantic statue of a Native American and lots of information about their customs and traditions, etc. I never did find out what tribe though. That was too bad because it was pretty interesting stuff. The same kind of thing happened when we were in Dallas and we were driving down the freeway and Buzz points out “hey there’s the book depository that Oswald shot Kennedy from. Were we able to go up and see it? Of course not, no time! We also didn’t have time to see the memorial for the Oklahoma City federal building. 

Well that’s just the nature of this beast I suppose. Our rally in Wichita was really cool for a couple reasons. First of all the Keeper of the Plains was an awesome monument and it made a great backdrop to have a rally at. It’s like this enormous statue in tribute to Native Americans and then the whole area around it has all these little kiosks with information that showcase different facts about the tribes of the area.

There was only one problem with this location, its right a bend in the river so the only way you can get out to it is by taking one of two long bridges that extend out from the surround park. So we had to lug all our stuff out onto the island in the middle. It could have been a lot worse though, because we didn’t have to do it ourselves, everyone who was there at the rally already waiting for us asked if they could help bring stuff out from the trucks over to the spot where we were setting up.

We had a good crowd too, one couple followed us up from Oklahoma City, and another couple came all the way from Colorado to meet up with us for the Gathering of Eagles on Sept 15. Then there were those guys from the Marine Corps League and I was very impressed with those guys because they had so much energy. It was a fun rally to attend because they kept yelling ‘hooah’ when one of our speakers said something they really agreed with. I talked with those guys a lot because they not only seemed to be some of the most appreciative people I have talked to, they also enlightened me a lot about their own lives, their experiences in the marine corps and a little bit about what it’s like to be in the corps and some things about certain traditions.

My favorite part of these rallies is the end when our ‘rally’ is over, but people stick around to connect and talk. Because that’s what this is all about, people coming together with like minds and common goals. That’s how we’re going to evolve from an organization to a movement. It’s already doing so. Individuals cooperate to make an organization, and organizations cooperate to create movements. But I think that the pro-victory crowd has not organized nearly as tightly (so far) as the whole anti-war, surrender crowd. They’ve got Code Pink, MoveOn, various “peace” groups, far-left groups, socialist groups, young activist democrats, etc etc etc. We on the other hand have a few elements such as Move America Forward, the Free Republic crowd, Vets for Freedom and some others, but we have a long ways to go in order to challenge the structure that MoveOn and the Answer coalition has. They seem to have the advantage of young, naïve members who have lots of time on their hand, coupled with big name donors and fat donation checks. Then they’ve also got the media which seems to want to cover everything they do. We do have one advantage though…we’re right. And we know we’re right and our people know we are right.

But I have learned in my study of history that being right doesn’t always mean you win the debate. It’s going to take a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication and a lot of donations but I think that history is going to look back at this period in time and think how remarkable it was that this war in Iraq was won despite having been shaped so much by whimsical public opinion, the media, and endless micromanaging by a congress led by individuals who are not educated about war but still think they know better than the military.

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Okay, sit tight everyone; we’re almost caught up to today here. I still have a lot more I want to write about but there’s just no time. I want to do something and write about the Bin Laden Tape and Patreus’s report. But there’s just so much other stuff going on I am having a tough enough time keeping track of the Fight For Victory Tour

In Oklahoma City we had a great little rally; it was right between the Coca Cola Brick House convention center and the Bass Pro. One thing that was awesome about Oklahoma City was that we had plenty of cameras there! The crowd was good, not huge but a good size for these tours, but the tv stations were around in more numbers than they usually are. I wasn’t sure if I thought this meant that the tour itself is getting more coverage or if perhaps there was just not much going on in Oklahoma City that night. Either way it was really great to have the cameras there and all the people from the community who came out to support us.

One thing that was hilarious though was that one of the camera men stuck their camera right in Diana’s face and she says she almost smacked him or pushed it away. I guess things get interesting when you throw a couple news cameras in the equation. I notice that people act different because they want to be on TV of course. I noticed that a lot during the time I spent campaigning in Montana. I always tried to act normal and just worry about myself and my job whenever we had TV cameras around but I know it was difficult to just mind your own business. That’s how you know when you have someone who really puts the cause above themselves, when they aren’t chomping at the bit to get in front of a camera or do an interview. I kind of had a little experience with this obsession myself the last few days.

You know, shortly before our kickoff in Carson City and on the morning of our San Diego trip I had the opportunity to do some radio interviews, mostly impromptu. I know that it isn’t really a big deal but at the same time it is really exhilarating and kind of fun. I think that Debbie and Deborah are pretty used to it by now though, and it seems like TV cameras don’t seem to faze them.

I think about what would happen though if I or Ryan had to get in front of a camera and talk about what was going on or say something on behalf of Move America Forward. First of all, for that to happen we would have to actually know what’s going on, which usually is not the case. As the situation currently stands though, we just take orders, and there isn’t anything I see wrong with that, I am here for Move America Forward and for the troops, not Danny Gonzalez.

I guess it’s tough not to get a little excited though. How can you expect anyone not to?

Debbie Lee just got off the phone with BBC. Apparently she was on a show with someone from another group and they were having a debate about the war. The girl who represented the other side was really bumbling her questions and just not comfortable on the air. It’s unfortunate that we put so much emphasis on media and media coverage that we run the risk of losing what the real issues are, and that’s getting more grassroots support for our cause. That’s why I love this internet thing, we have so many supporters who are internet based or learned about us through the internet. I feel like we have to find a way to get more interactive and bring the community of people who visit www.moveamericaforward.org together and get them active in helping out their local area.

Well besides all this rubbish about the media, I had the chance to talk to some really amazing folks in Oklahoma City. One man was captured and became a POW in the Korean War. He talked with me a bit about his story, but unfortunately I was not taking notes and have forgotten most of it. Our conversation was brief too because the rally was starting and we couldn’t be talking over Buzz’s talking or Diana’s singing. I have a poem to share with all of you that this man brought to me and it honors those who fell beside him and never came home from the POW camps.

The poem was written in Pyuckton “Camp 5” North Korea. Over 1800 men died n this camp. In the spring of 1951 we saw over 1600 Dog Tags that were taken from these men. This poem is submitted by Theo Baudoin Jr. Many of the prisoners at this camp contributed to the words of “The Sixteen Hundred”

The Sixteen Hundred

Not a bugle was heard, not a funeral beat,
Or even a drum sounding retreat.
As over the ice the corpse was carried,
To the hill where those GIs are buried.

Six foot by two foot by one foot deep,
On a Korean hillside they sleep.
Both young and old, perhaps one wonders why?
These 1600 had to die.

No little white cross with their name,
But then they are not buried in shame.
Although they are in unknown graves,
“Sixteen Hundred,” American braves.

No useless casket enclosed their breast,
It is GI clothing for their last rest
All colors of men: Blacks, Browns and Whites
Now “Sixteen Hundred” faded Lights

A pill, a powder, medicine of any kind,
Or, should we say a stronger mind;
Could have saved them from yonder hill,
Those “Sixteen Hundred,” now laying still.

In their illness, tossing and turning,
Most of them knew there would be no returning,
Some went easy, some with pain
Did these “Sixteen Hundred” die in vain?

When we go home to enjoy our fill,
They are still there on that lonely hill.
Forgotten by some, yet remembered by most,
They will be “The Sixteen Hundred” in their last post.

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MAF Blogger Danny
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Texas Day.

San Antonio, Waco, Crawford, Dallas.

I figured that rather than write little posts about these rallies, I might just make one really huge post. Because that suits Texas, doesn’t it? One gigantic post just like Texas is one big state.

We know Texas is a big state. In fact we burned a whole day of our trip just getting from El Paso to San Antonio. I sure did miss Texas a lot since college. I guess I just really liked this state and I miss being around that culture and being in the heartland.

I mean California is one thing. I’ll always love California because it feels like the center of the universe. Montana is great because it’s so gorgeous, just absolutely pristine country out there. But Montana feels too small and Podunk, whereas Texas has that feeling of country heartland, it’s just too bad that Texas is so flat. Texas has a lot to offer for a guy like me though. I like politics and it’s always a powerhouse player in presidential campaigns. I like Austin for its music scene and young crowd…Austin is just a fun place to live. Dallas and Houston are sprawling metropolises that remind me of Los Angeles. And lastly, Texas is inundated with Hispanic culture which I feel I must always stay somewhat close to. So I think I like Texas a lot because it has a little bit of everything that I like about a place to live.

So our first rally of Texas Day (although it is the second rally we’ve had in the Lone Star State) was in San Antonio at the Bass Pro parking lot. This was an awesome show because the local guys here brought in their vintage jeeps and this one guy had a big transport truck from Vietnam! It was awesome just to see that there! I knew that this would happen too but TEXANS were the most supportive people of the military. I mean who could have guessed that? Duh!

Everyone was going around to everyone else, meeting and sharing stories, and just letting the Move America Forward people know that they were appreciated. We love to hear that what we are doing makes a difference because sometimes when we wake up at 6:30 after three hours of sleep we ask ourselves why we’re trekking across the country like a bunch of hippies. But every supporter that we talk to reaffirms to us that what we’re doing is so important, and so worth our time and 100% of our energies.

Besides all the great responses we got from people in old San Antone I had a chance to speak with a Gold Star Wife.

Jennifer Funkhouser, pictured here with her daughters Kaitlyn (6) and Allison (3) is the wife of Captain James Alexander Funkhouser. “Alex” was Killed In Action on May 29, 2006 in Baghdad. Alex was in the army and stationed out of Fort Hood, Texas. Jennifer tells me that she and Alex moved their family to that area specifically because Alex knew that he could get deployed if he was in that area. He really wanted to serve his country and do the maximum good.

According to a page about Alex on They Have Names, “Alex deployed with 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. He served as the Headquarters and Headquarters Company Commander and was dual hatted in charge of training the Iraqi Army. According to emails received on May 26th and a phone call on the 28th to his wife, Jennifer, things were going well. Alex was proud of the work he was doing to help the Iraqi people in their journey towards freedom and democracy.” http://www.theyhavenames.com/index.php?item=james.alex.funkhouser

On that day in May, Alex was on patrol with CBS Correspondent Kimberly Dozier and a camera crew. They ran across a suspicious looking vehicle and Alex in particular had a bad feeling about it. He felt so strongly alarmed that something was wrong; he told the camera crew and his fire team to run for cover. Alex stayed behind while his team retreated and he covered their retreat to make sure everyone was safe. It was at that time that the explosives in the car went off and took Alex’s life. Alex was able to recognize the danger and that this vehicle had an IED wired to it. He could have saved himself but he stayed behind because he wanted to be absolutely sure that his whole team got out safely. Kimberly was injured and two of the camera crewmen were killed in that blast.

Jennifer tells me that Alex went out on patrol with news crews often, and he did that because he wanted to tell people the good stories about what went on in Iraq. He wanted the media to see that we are building schools, training Iraqi army and police, remodeling hospitals, etc. Alex was very close to his Iraqi interpreter “Sam.” He wanted Sam and his family to trust and love Americans so he often brought presents for Sam’s wife and kids and talked with them about America.

Alex is dearly missed by his surviving family and Jennifer tells me that his daughters are finally beginning to understand that their daddy is not coming home, and starting to cope with that. I can’t imagine what it’s like for a small child to learn that Daddy is with Jesus now. It has to be one of the hardest things in life to lose a husband, father, sibling, son or daughter, especially when many people in this country have a hard time explaining why.

Debbie Lee tells me that every family goes through stages of coping before they come to and understanding of why they had to lose a family member. Grief, sorrow, anger, depression, questioning, these are all stages one must go through before one comes to understanding and justification. We as a country must also go through these stages, and I think for most of us here in the US we are still stuck in the anger or confusion stage. It will be a long, hard road to make victory long lasting and make Iraq stable and prosperous. Likewise, I think it will take a LONG time for America to understand the importance of what it’s people and it’s military are fighting for right now. In the future, when the histories are written, people will look back on our generation and wonder how we had the strength to persevere through such a world-changing conflict. Let us do all we can and pray hard that there will be a world in the future to live for.

After San Antonio we headed to Waco. On the way we drove through Austin and I started to get all nostalgic for school and living in Austin. I guess I still miss being in college and having that whole… “I’m expanding my mind and improving myself through education” thing. Of course you should always be educating yourself, one should never stop doing that, but when you are primarily a student it is a little different.

On the way to Waco we found out that Ryan’s budget truck had run over a nail or something and we were concerned that it was unsafe to drive. They tried to make it all the way to Waco but the tire was so flat they had to drop back and get a new tire. This is Sunday afternoon in Texas. There weren’t many places open to get a new tire. Luckily they found one so they were only about… oh …and hour and fifteen minutes behind us. And they had all the audio equipment.

One the way to Waco there were two goofballs up on the freeway overpass about a mile from the rally point and they had some signs that said something about war for oil or some other nonsense. I was afraid that meant we were going to have a big problem at the rally point but actually no protesters showed up. So when we got there we had to try and do the best we could without the aid of a microphone or a speakers or a podium. Lucky for us someone had a Ford Explorer Sport Trac, which they backed out into the middle of the parking lot and put the tailgate down so that we could all hop up on it and speak to the crowd below.

Diana Nagy sang her songs a cappella again. I think this is like the third time she’s had to do that and she always does a great job especially when she has to project so much more than usual. She wasn’t afraid either, she got right up there again and sang the star spangled banner, and also Where Freedom Flies.

I’m sitting on the bus right now and Buzz is talking to his daughter on the phone about how sometimes you get a good teacher and some teachers are harder to deal with but you have to be nice and try hard. How cute.

Deborah Johns got up and really got the crowd going! She definitely has a taste for this kind of thing, as she has a fiery attitude and gets the crowd involved and emotionally engaged. Deborah is very clear about her message when she speaks, that we must hold our elected officials in Washington accountable during the next few months as they are deciding how to proceed in Iraq. Deborah always says that we as Americans will not accept anything less than VICTORY.

Debbie Lee stands as a softer-spoken woman who speaks more from the idea that she is just honoring her son by continuing to fight for the same ideals that her son was committed to. The same ideals that he died for. Debbie doesn’t try as hard to get the crowd riled up, pumping their fists in the air, she simply tells her son’s heroic story and gives a little commentary on what it’s like for American families to sacrifice so much for our freedoms. The story speaks for itself, and moves people to action by itself.

I know we had LOTS of veterans, blue star families and some gold star families at this rally but unfortunately I did not get a chance to talk with any personally or take any specific ‘showcase’ pictures. Also we had quite a few people who joined us from San Antonio and were part of the caravan to Crawford also. The most exciting part was when I was running through the crowd at the conclusion of our Waco rally, getting people to come to Crawford with us! I was really amazed as a lot of people caravanned to Crawford with us. Some we picked up in Waco, some had come from Houston to caravan with us, some stayed with us from San Antonio!

You had to have been there to believe what the caravan looked like pulling out of the parking lot! It was breathtaking! We probably had 20 maybe even 30 cars in tow! It was great fun driving to Crawford, and we took it kind of easy because of the number of cars behind us. It felt like it took a while to get there, but finally we were pulling up to the Yellow Rose store right on the corner of the first road you hit in Crawford. We pulled over behind the Yellow Rose and directed most of the caravan cars to park across the street. As soon as we got there we had one agitator carrying around fliers full of nonsense. If I had it handy I would put a little of what it says and rebut, but it wasn’t even significant enough to tell you all. The guy with the fliers also tried to tell us that we couldn’t park there and that we couldn’t rally at the Yellow Rose. People started to get worried but the sheriff personally told me that we could do whatever we wanted so long as we didn’t block any traffic. And that’s what we did, had a rally right there on the corner, Diana sang wonderfully, we had our speakers do their thing and they did so just as excellently as ever. We had cars driving by and honking for us and that was great too!

The owner of the Yellow Rose came out and talked about what happened when Cindy Sheehan had put up Camp Casey and he invited us all in if we wanted to see a video about The President. Inside the Yellow Rose are thousands of little doodads and keepsakes centered on President Bush.

We also had one gentleman in attendance who went to Iraq in the Army and he shared a few things with the crowd. One was that he had brought with him a pair of boots, a rifle, and a helmet. He arranged these in the same manner that American soldiers have been arranging makeshift graves for years now, and explained how that came about and why the soldiers do that. He also shared a story about an Iraqi man who gave him a very special flag in a gift shop. The vendors were allowed to go on US military bases to sell their goods every weekend or so. This one Iraqi man came up to him and offered him this flag that had been specially made to show Iraqi support for America and vice versa.

The flag displays the national flag of the United States flying right next to the Iraqi flag, showing, according to our soldier, that the security and wellbeing of both our nations are tied together. It is in OUR best interest that Iraq become stable and democratic. It is in their interest that the US does not tire or falter!

So there you have it folks. The Waco/Crawford rallies were a huge success!!!

We got right back on the road and headed for Dallas next! It was not too long a drive over and we made fairly good time I think, but we still managed to be late, which is how we are used to doing things now. On the way over I received a call on my cell phone from Melanie Mitchell, a wonderful lady with KLIF radio who had helped me arrange to have their host Jeff Bolten speak at our rally. Melanie was setting up the KLIF booth at our rally point and while there had come in contact with a Detective with the Dallas PD who wanted to speak with me. The Detective called my cell and informed me that we had some protesters, and that since Flag Pole Hill, where our rally was supposed to be, was a public area, he and his men could not legally keep the protesters away from our rally. If they wanted to cause trouble, they could do so, within their legal rights. We said that was okay, hoping for the best.

Well it was no big deal, when we got there I found maybe five or six protesters holding a long cloth banner that just said “bring them home alive.” I spoke with Detective Allan who told me that he spoke with the leader of the protestors and he actually walked me over and introduced me to the guy, Hadi. I spoke with Hadi for just a couple minutes, I told him what we planned to do, and he told me that he planned to just have his people stand there and not to say anything. We both agreed to these terms and it sounded like everything would work out okay. Hadi asked me for some bottles of water, and I felt he had been very agreeable so I gave his group five or six bottle waters to appease them. Everyone seemed happy.

We got our rally underway and Jeff Bolten talked about his time in Iraq. Jeff went to Iraq in March of this year to meet with troops and get a feel for the situation there. He agreed that our military is doing lots of good for the Iraqi people and they are turning the tide against Al Qaeda. 

One thing that Jeff emphasized that I think is really important is for people to take action and call their congressmen or senators and let them know that Americas want to win in Iraq and we don’t want to see our military come home thinking their actions were wasted and that their buddies died for nothing. But to make sure everyone knows we have to take action. I think we need more rallies to support the troops, and I think we need to be calling our elected officials and letting them know that we feel this way. We know that the surrender crowd already does it, and they already rally more than we do. Maybe it’s because our people tend to work more, more often have families or busier lives. Whatever. If that is one’s attitude, there is no hope. We must care more about what happens to this country than in our own petty lives. At least by comparison, all of our lives are petty in relation to this conflict. We are a generation that is changing the course of history, and the ramifications of that change are going to mean the difference between freedom and death to untold billions of people in the future.

After everything was said and done though, our rally was a great success in Dallas. I ended up having words with one of the protesters, who told me I was closed-minded. I think that’s silliness. To be fair I called him crazy once, but I promise that was more of a reaction than a serious supposition of insanity. I really hate when people apologize for the terrorists like these guys try to do. You know he says to me…you know why they hate us? And then he talks all about the western world and how we’ve manipulated the Arabs so much. My thoughts are that you could come up with hundreds of examples of who did what to whom and who used who for what. There is a lot of convoluted history that goes back thousands of years but as we decide how to proceed in the future we can’t get hung up on those issues.

Oh yeah, it was Joe’s birthday too. Pictures.

If this is all about how the Arab people want to lives and how big bad America wants to step in and impose our morals and steal all their oil then what about the Iranian people before the Ayatollah took over? Under the shah of Iran (who may not have been a perfect leader, mind you) the people of Iran were very well off. They could practice their own religion in peace but they weren’t required to. They didn’t have to wear the burka if they didn’t want to do so. They were allowed to travel abroad and women could be educated. So where do people come up with this idea that a, Islam and democracy are incompatible, and b, totalitarian religious theocracies are compatible with the idea of self-determination.

See the left keeps saying we should let Arabs have self determination and that by invading Iraq we are taking that away. But the truth of the matter is that I would like to GIVE self determination to Iran by eradicating those religious extremists so that other religions can practice freely and live peacefully alongside Muslims. That’s what we have done in Iraq, eliminated the totalitarianism and attempted to institute a system that will respect and honor Islam as well as the other religions in the region. Isn’t that a better definition of self determination?

At the end of the day, it’s a class of civilizations, and it isn’t going to go away if we live Iraq. Hell even if we win in Iraq it isn’t just going to go away. Islam is having growing pains; their governments have already been integrating into the global market for years, exporting oil among other things. Now it is time for Islam to become part of the world community and that’s going to be a difficult road. In the end however I think it’s inevitable.

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MAF Blogger Danny
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At El Paso we were met with a smaller crowd than normal. There were probably a dozen and a half people there. That isn’t much but it actually made for a very intimate experience. I talked to everyone who was there, we shared our lives.

I talked a lot about myself and why I’m doing this. I was born in Long Beach, CA. I grew up for a while in Los Angeles County, until we moved to Cypress when I was in 2nd grade. Cypress is just across the border from Los Angeles County to Orange county so for the most part it’s quite like LA County in that it isn’t the picture of affluence you see on television. There are some really nice houses there, that have some insane prices, and it is for the most part White or Asian, upper middle class. The area has almost no crime and it’s usually just a great, quiet place to live.

I remember I started getting into politics because I remember one time hearing my grandpa talking about Clinton at a Christmas party. He was saying that he liked and trusted the guy. I don’t know why exactly but hearing that just stuck in my head for a long time. And when I was in 7th grade I think I was just barely starting to get an understanding of what politics was why people cared or made a big deal about politicians. I did not know why or what they really did, but I knew that for whatever reason, people were concerned or cared about these men and women.

I also remember my mother. She is a conservative, maybe too conservative. I really don’t even know why my mom and dad are republicans while my grandma and grandpa on both sides were all democrats. Perhaps it represents a shift in what those words mean over the years. Perhaps it’s just generational differences. For whatever reason though, I have always seen the most logic in what my parents tell me, as opposed to what I have been pushed to believe by teachers, news anchors, reporters, and the liberal activists that seem to get the most air time. Growing up had a lot to do with it also. I always remember thinking about how silly the kids at my school acted. They had their petty politics and social maneuvering, and they subscribed to the same typical fashions that the rest of their clique did. Whatever that happened to be. I remember just thinking that it was so silly to live like this, and that I wanted to identify more with my parents, the adults in my life, and my teachers than I did with my peers. I wanted to be able to engage them on their level, and on what they talked about. And people just love to talk about politics it seems.

So that’s kind of why I think I got into all of this to begin with. As I learned more about the political process, and how government works, I realized that this was important and that I should stick with it. But how is it that I survived college without being turned into a liberal?  Basically it was through reading. In college I was exposed to lots of texts that basically explained to me the reasoning behind all of the things I already believed in, but didn’t necessarily know WHY I believed in those things. Writers like Milton Friedman helped me to understand the political past and the reasoning behind free markets, capitalism, having choice, and maximizing liberties. If I had not read and learned these things by reading Friedman for myself I don’t think I would believe in them nearly as strongly. You see statistically, the biggest determinant of political party identification is the party identification of one’s parents. People generally tend to end up believing the same things as their parents do, after that brief period of rebellious adolescence of course. But having only that as your foundation, I think, leaves one weak to the suggestion of other points of view. Now I realize what I just said was quite a slippery slope.

I mean, how can you say that being open to other points of view is bad or weak? Indeed, closed minded people (on both sides) tend to be the cause of much unnecessary conflict and violence in our political system. But this is different from someone who has their own firm political beliefs and has good reasons for those beliefs and is open to new ideas but approaches those ideas with the same scrutiny that he looks at his own beliefs. So a person, who has reflected on their own beliefs and upheld them over other opinions that were equally scrutinized, has a much better foundation for defending their own beliefs.

Why am I talking about all this…

Well, for one thing it takes up space on this blog. Which is great.

Haha. I guess I just wanted to impart a little bit of myself onto this, so that people do not see these reports as simply little press releases that were doctored and collaborated on by the senior staff of Move America Forward.

These are the honest thoughts and observations of Danny Gonzalez. I’m from Cypress, California. I’m a registered Republican, I vote sometimes, and I like old cars and indie rock. I have strong beliefs and lots of goals but I am still searching for how to get there.

I am temporarily helping out Move America Forward, on the road, doing something I care about and what I feel is of critical importance. So what you read here comes from my heart, and it’s not some official statement made by someone who has worked for this organization for years and has a vested interest in making it look good.

In fact I’m pretty lucky that I don’t have to post these blogs on my own personal blogspace. I guess I just have not pissed off Joe or Sal yet, cross your fingers.

So, El Paso, I liked El Paso a lot. It was just a lot of fun talking to everyone and sharing my story with them, just as I have shared mine with you tonight. One woman who I spoke with, Angelique Whitt, has a husband currently serving in Iraq. Daniel Whitt is stationed somewhere in Iraq and he’s been out on the front lines alongside Iraqi police and Iraqi Army. He has spent time with the Iraqi civilians as well, and he has nothing but great things to say about the job we are doing. Daniel is in contact with his wife frequently and he always tells her about the children that he has met in Iraq. He loves those kids and as sort of adopted them in a way. She brought with her a poster that she had made and she wanted us to take it with us to use at the rally in DC. It shows pictures that Pvt. Whitt has taken of all the school kids he came in contact with and who he sees on a regular basis. The smaller pictures of smiling faces and kids laughing and playing outline the central picture which shows Daniel standing in a crowd of kids and holding a ‘thumbs up’ for the camera. The kids around him are waving and giving thumbs up and smiling for the camera. It’s a great, uplifting poster, but its message is somber. “If we leave, they will DIE.”

I thought this said a lot about our guys who are over there, and the kind of people they are. I know there are bad things that happen, and I know that our soldiers do not always conduct themselves professionally and ethically, but I firmly believe those are very rare exceptions to the rule. For the most part our soldiers love the Iraqi people. They have genuine compassion for the welfare and wellbeing of this country Iraq and its people.

They don’t want to abandon Iraq.
They don’t want to lose this war.
They don’t want to stop fighting until every terrorist who preys on the innocent is DEAD.

So why do so many liberals want to yank them back?

Posted By:
Catherine Moy
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Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker testified today that Iran is meddling in Iraq and is a great danger to the United States and stability in Iraq. Nobody with a quarter-inch of frontal lobe would disagree that Iran is a major problem in the Middle East and beyond for a number of reasons, including its push for nuclear arms.
One of the more frightening aspects of listening to the so-called leaders of our Congress as they cross-examine Gen. Petraeus is their general lack of focus on the Iranian problem – at least as of 2:45 p.m. Pacific Time.
We know that Iran is sending more and more sophisticated weapons to the terrorists who are slaughtering Iraqis and Americans in Iraq; we know that Iran is training suicide bombers and fighters; Gen. Petraeus testified that our troops have intercepted communications between Iran and terrorists in Iraq that showed a direct link between terrorist success and the funds Iran funneled to them.
I have spent some time now studying the Iran problem and have met with the leader of the country’s most popular resistance group, the People’s Mujahedeen Of Iran, also know as the Mujahedeen e-Khalq (MEK). Mrs. Maryan Rajavi is indeed a charismatic leader who is loved not only by many Iranians, but respected by a bipartisan group of America’s Congress, large swaths of parliamentarians in the European Union, and leaders around the world. She is also hated by the current Iranian regime.
The MEK is also a terrorist group, listed as such by both the United States and the European Union. I have spoken with Iranian expatriates who do not like the MEK or Mrs. Rajavi and support other resistance groups that work outside of Iran as well as inside.
Some don’t like the MEK because they mistakenly believe that the group killed Americans or they helped Saddam Hussein crush the helpless Kurds. I won’t argue these points right now, but I am convinced from hard evidence that these events did not happen. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (the NCRI), an umbrella group that includes the MEK, is composed of a cross-section of different religions and sects, including Kurds, Shiites, Christians, Jews and Sunnis. It is much more democratically friendly than the existing Iranian regime, which suppresses individuals and imprisons them for such little offenses as wearing the wrong color.
Others hate the MEK because they started out as a Marxist group. I’m no Communist and I don’t support Communism. It’s funny that I even have to say that, but some fruitloops have accused me of all sorts of strange things (I guess they haven’t read the many posts from the loons on the other extreme who call me a war whore, Attila the Hun’s right-hand whore and other well-thought out positions.
I’ve looked at the NCRI’s constitution and it doesn’t look like a Communist Manifesto to me. I understand that a paper doesn’t mean much until it’s implemented, so who knows for sure? I do know that the Iranian regime wants to kill Mrs. Rajavi and her followers and has assassinated hundreds if not thousands of MEK. The MEK is the only resistance group listed in the Iranian Constitution as blood enemies of the regime, and the regime always asks governments such as the United States to handcuff the MEK as concessions (which we shouldn’t be giving).
When I met with Mrs. Rajavi in Paris, she said she welcomes all resistance groups so they can work together to oust the current regime that stones women to death by burying them up to their necks and pounding them bloody with stones.
The most important point is there are resistance groups that know a great deal about the workings of Iran. America needs this intelligence and the MEK has given it to us.
My friend Alireza Jafarzadeh is a Fox News contributor and for years served as the chief congressional liaison and media spokesman for the U.S. representative office of Iran’s parliament in exile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (the NCRI). Jafarzadeh has always answered my questions with candor, as far as I can tell. Unlike detractors, he has never called me names nor has he attacked others in this manner.
Jafarzadeh and MEK were the first to give the United States credible evidence that the Iranian regime was ramping up its nuclear capabilities. They even pointed out the exact spots where the Iranians were doing their dirty deeds: the Natanz uranium enrichment facility and the Arak heavy water facility in August 2002.
So he has credibility when it comes to Iran. He wrote an article pointing out the importance addressing the Iran quagmire:

Iraq’s No. 1 problem is, in fact, Iran’s widespread and deadly presence in Iraq. Iran is undoubtedly the main instigator of violence, instability and derailing the political process in that country. Unlike Al Qaeda, Iran is a strategic threat for a sovereign, unified and Democratic Iraq. It is a regime with vast resources dedicated to the sponsorship of terrorism and export of fundamentalism, a 900-mile porous common border, and huge political and intelligence assets both within and outside the Iraqi government. Tehran is spending nearly $70,000,000 per month arming, training and funding Iraqi Shiite and Sunni militias.

He further noted:

Moreover, many moderate Iraqi politicians, including some key members of the Iraqi Parliament, believe that Iran’s main opposition group, the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), based in Ashraf City, Iraq, has been the catalyst for building stability in Iraq and supporting moderate Shiites and Sunnis. In addition, 5.2 million Iraqis signed a document warning of the threat of Iranian meddling in Iraq and recognizing the MEK as a balancing factor to keep Iraq clear of Iran’s domination. A large bipartisan group of members of the United States Congress believe that Washington must open a dialogue with the MEK as a strategic partner in the fight against Islamic fundamentalism and a bulwark against the Iranian regime’s influence in Iraq. According to the U.S. military, since 2003, the MEK has unveiled a major part of Iran’s terrorist conspiracies in Iraq and as such has saved the lives of countless Iraqis and Americans.

Isn’t that the bottom line? Gen. Petraeus testified that we are at war in Iraq to protect America’s interests. Defeatists tell us something else. Some even accuse President Bush and others of saber rattling against Iran. Huh? We’ve been fighting Iran since the United States crossed the borders of Iraq. And Iranian madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told us that Iran is ready to fill the void left when America vacates early.
So what’s it going to be? Are we going to hold hands with our allies and push the murderous regime back? Can we work together on this? Can we be the United States of America?