'Military Recruiters Are Under Attack,' Group Says

[Soldier4Christ]

'Military Recruiters Are Under Attack,' Group Says

Pro-troop advocates say anti-war protesters' attacks against U.S. military recruiters have intensified in the last few months and become a "growing trend."

"What ended up happening is that some of the groups ... got very frustrated that when the Democrats took control of Congress, that they felt [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid and [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi failed to deliver on the promise to cut funding for the war in Iraq," Joe Wierzbicki, spokesman for the pro-troop organization Move America Forward, told Cybercast News Service.

"They were left with no other choice but to cut the flow of bodies for the war," he said.

Wierzbicki added that there have been more than 50 incidents "where recruiting centers were either vandalized, protests were done specifically for the purposes of shutting them down, [or] in some instances they would go and occupy the offices to force the recruiting efforts to stop."

Wierzbicki noted other violent acts, such as the bombing of the Times Square recruiting center earlier this month.

"That was just one incident where something really bad actually happened," Wierzbicki said.

He further noted that an incendiary device was thrown at an armed forces recruiting center in Vestal, N.Y.; protesters threw bricks through a center's windows in Rockville, Md.; and protesters spread human feces throughout the offices of a center in Milwaukee, Wis.

Also, centers in San Jose, Calif., and Asheville, N.C., were set on fire; gunshots were fired at a center in Denver, Colo.; and a pipe bomb was planted at a center in St. Louis, Mo.

To call attention to these attacks, Move America Forward will be launching a 60-second television ad campaign to air on cable networks nationwide beginning March 19. Watch video

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink, told Cybercast News Service that such violent acts are "terrible" and that her group does not support their use, although they are opposed to recruitment efforts. "I think there will be more protests at recruiting stations, but I don't think there will be violent actions like that," she said.

Code Pink led the most publicized opposition to recruitment efforts in Berkeley, Calif.

Benjamin said "counter-recruitment" efforts have been going on for years. "That means going to recruiting stations and passing out literature or going and doing protests inside recruiting stations," she said. "It's not new, but it's become intensified.

"The recruiters have had a hard time meeting their quotas, and so they've become much more aggressive, and they promise things they don't fulfill like career options, or they tell potential recruits that they won't be sent to Iraq," said Benjamin.

"They also go to the high schools, and they try to recruit kids who aren't even 18 years old," she said. "They have also been recruiting more in immigrant communities, promising people that they and their families will become legalized citizens. I would say the recruiters themselves have intensified their outreach. As a result, we've also intensified our efforts.

"We're trying to stop the war, and one of the ways to stop the war is to stop people from being recruited to fight in this war," said Benjamin. "We are also trying to stop young people from getting killed and potentially killing in a war that we don't support. Every young person we save from going into this military might very well be a life saved."

She noted that, "We're not against the troops, that's why we're so anxious for them to come home - because we love them, we support them, and we want them to be here protecting us at home."

"Attacks on military recruiting centers and on recruiters themselves are attacks on our troops." Wierzbicki said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Principal nixes class visit by decorated war vets
Scheduled presentation to students abruptly canceled after some parents complained

Forest Lake High's principal said the decision was spurred by concerns that the presentation was more political than educational.

A national tour featuring decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan won't be stopping at Forest Lake Area High School today as planned, after school leaders abruptly canceled the visit.

Steve Massey, the school principal, said the decision to cancel was prompted by concerns that the event was becoming political rather than educational and therefore was not suitable for a public school.

He said the school had received several phone calls from parents and others, some of whom indicated that they may stage a protest if the event took place.

"The event was structured to be an academic classroom discussion around military service. We thought we'd provide an opportunity for kids to learn about service in the context of our history classes," Massey said. "As the day progressed, it became clear that this was becoming a political event ... which would be inappropriate in a public setting.
"We decided to cancel," Massey said. Organizers of the National Heroes Tour then scrambled to relocate the event to the American Legion building in Forest Lake. The visit, which U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater, had been scheduled to attend, is sponsored by Vets for Freedom, a national organization run by Pete Hegseth, a 1999 graduate of Forest Lake Area High School who served with the 101st Airborne in Iraq in 2005-06.
 
"I think it's extremely unfortunate that a school would bow to the political pressure of outside groups and not bring in a veterans organization," Hegseth said. "Are we saying that patriotism and duty and honor have no place in our public schools?" So far, the tour has visited one school, albeit a private school.
 
The stop in Forest Lake was supposed to involve about 150 social studies students and was going to be closed to the public but open to the media. But the last-minute venue change left Hegseth wondering how many people would actually show up today.
 
"I don't know if we'll have a crowd," he said. "We changed venues, but we don't have the ability to publicize it." He said he had talked with school officials ahead of time and assured them that the presenters would not make any political statements.
 
"We had a number of conversations at the beginning of this to make sure our message was in keeping with the traditions of a public school," Hegseth said.
 
 "We have not endorsed a presidential candidate. We're not in the business of doing that." According to the Veterans for Freedom website, the national tour "is about supporting our troops, honoring their commitment and rallying the country to complete the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
At this critical juncture in our country, we need Americans, lawmakers and the media to fully recognize -- and appreciate -- the sacrifice of our brave military and the dramatic success they have achieved, especially in Iraq with the new counterinsurgency strategy."
 
When asked whether the part about "rallying the country to complete the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan" could indeed be construed as political, Hegseth said that the group agreed not to advocate about the "progress made in Iraq and Afghanistan."
 
"It's Iraq and Afghan veterans talking about what they saw and what they did there, and about what it means to put on the uniform of your country," he said. The veterans started their bus tour in San Diego on March 14 and will end April 9 in New York City.

[Soldier4Christ]

This article is not clear on who the Veterans group is that is the subject of this controversy. They are called "Vets for Freedom National Heroes". They are clear in their objective which is "about supporting our troops, honoring their commitment, and rallying the country to complete the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan". Is this political? It could definitely be argued in favor it being that.

Groups like "Code Pink", "ANSWERS" and other leftists that has caused such a stir and even committed acts of violence at recruiting stations around the country has been holding rallies and various other activities on school campuses around the nation. These groups however are considered by the same people to "just exercising freedom of speech" and not politicizing the the schools.

It is rumoured that a group called "Democratic Underground" had joined in with the few parents that complained and threatened to stage close down protests.

I don't blame the principle who was only considering the safety of the students in such a protest as this.

[Soldier4Christ]

Vets for Freedom played to a standing-room-only crowd. Apparently, calls came in ‘complaining’ about VFF’s scheduled appearance at Forest Lake High School, and the principal of the school cancelled the event.

With an incredible 12 hours’ notice, 200 people showed up at the American Legion — the standing-room-only crowd spilled out into the hallway.

    About two-dozen Forest Lake High School students skipped school to attend, holding signs that said “Support the Vets” and “We love our troops.” The outpouring of support from the community in Forest Lake was incredible, and we hope for an even larger crowd at tonight’s event.

Capt. Pete Hegeseth founded the group Vets for Freedom. He is an Iraq War vet and a Forest Lake High School graduate. He received word yesterday that the school did not want the bus rolling through, calling the talk too political for a public school.

He said parents and an outside group threatened to protest if they came.

Instead, the group spoke at the Forest Lake American Legion.

Dozens of students at Forest Lake High School were so upset that they skipped school to go see the speech.

"My brother's in the armed forces...it's a slap in the face for people with family members in the armed forces," said student Elijah Miller.

The non-profit, non-partisan group does talk about staying in Iraq, but Hegeseth said the current speech has been adjusted for public school students. He said it's about sharing experience.

"I was out there for three days outside the neighborhood outside the green zone and I didn't hear a single shot fired or a single explosion," Heggeseth told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. "Markets were open, the Iraqi Army was out on the street corner--that's not political, that's what I saw first hand," Hegeseth told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.

School officials repeatedly denied our requests for comment on the situation.