“It’s the will of one nation…versus the stubbornness of one man.”
"It's the will of one nation...versus the stubbornness of one man."
Americans United for Change launches national TV ad campaign on eve of 4th anniversary of ‘Mission Accomplished'
Ad calls on President Bush to sign the Iraq Accountability Act and bring U.S. troops home from policing a bloody civil war that has no end in sight
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April 27, 2007 (Washington D.C.) - As the 4th anniversary of President Bush's infamous ‘Mission Accomplished' speech on May 1, 2003 fast approaches, Americans United for Change launched a new TV ad campaign calling on President Bush to sign the Iraq Accountability Act into law and begin the safe and responsible redeployment of U.S. troops out of harm's way in Iraq. The significant six figure ad blitz began running today on national cable television (daytime on CNN, FOX and primetime on Hardball, Anderson Cooper 360, O'Reilly Factor), and will also air on Meet the Press this Sunday and on local Washington D.C. broadcast early next week.
The ad, entitled ‘Major' will air through Tuesday, May 1st - the 4th anniversary of the President's ‘Mission Accomplished' speech and the day the Congressional Democratic leadership will send the Iraq Accountability Act to the President's desk - binding and meaningful legislation to set a date certain for bringing U.S. troops home from policing a bloody civil war in Iraq that has no end in sight. The legislation passed in the U.S. Senate yesterday and in the U.S. House of Representatives despite the President's repeated veto threats. Recent national polls show that nearly 65 percent of the American public supports the Democratic plan to begin the safe withdrawal of troops from Iraq by early 2008.
"4 years -- nearly $400 billion squandered -- over 32,000 American soldiers wounded -- over 3,200 American lives lost. It's maddening to think about how many of those troops were killed and wounded since President Bush so arrogantly dressed up in a flight suit and declared ‘mission accomplished' in Iraq," said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for Americans United for Change. "The President was dead wrong then -- and he's dead wrong now. With two-thirds of the American public behind this binding legislation to safely and responsibly bring our troops home from Iraq, it's the clear will of one nation versus the stubbornness of one man."
The Iraq Accountability Act:
- Provides for a responsible redeployment of U.S. troops, with, at the latest, redeployment beginning in October 2007 with a goal of being completed by March 2008.
- Fully funds our troops, providing $4 billion more for the troops than the President requested.
- Honors our veterans, providing $1.8 billion more for our veterans' unmet health care needs.
- Requires accountability of the Iraqi government, by setting measurable and achievable benchmarks.
- Strengthens our military, providing $2 billion more to create a Strategic Readiness Reserve and address the serious readiness crisis our military is facing.
As part of an aggressive, several hundred thousand dollar campaign, Americans United for Change recently launched TV ads across the country holding Members of Congress publicly accountable for their votes against ending the war in Iraq, including US. Reps. John "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (NY-29), Jim Walsh (NY-25), Tim Johnson (IL-15), Dean Heller (NV-02), Mary Bono (CA-45), and Heather Wilson (NM-01), Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and Senate Minority Leader and Obstructionist-in-Chief Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The ads were designed to persuade pro-Iraq war, Republican Members of Congress to change course, as the more of these Members are convinced to do the right thing by our troops -- the more likely President Bush will make significant concessions on his failed ‘stay the course' policy of open-ended permanent war in Iraq.
"Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed" - President George W. Bush, USS Abraham Lincoln, May 1, 2003
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