Comments on: McCain Pressured On Troop-Benefit Bills

Washington Post: Veteran Groups Want Senator/Candidate To Support Aid Boost

[starleo146]

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"Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, seemed to give a thumbs down to bipartisan legislation that would greatly expand educational benefits for members of the military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan under the GI Bill ..."

The reason for McCain''s refusal to support the bill is about the most disturbing rationale one could imagine. ... Officials in charge of Pentagon personnel worry that a more generous and expansive GI Bill would create an incentive for troops to get out of the military and go to college.

Friedman observes that McCain''s no-college-for-grunts position essentially says to the troops: "Thanks for your service and your three combat tours in five years. Now get back to work."

[starleo146]

pg1
John McCain, who from the early 1980s worked hard to establish himself as one of the Senate''s shining champions of Vietnam veterans'' issues, completed his betrayal of the Iraq-era troops today. Brandon Friedman of vetvoice.com has the details:

Yesterday VoteVets.org delivered a petition with 30,000 signatures to the office of Sen. John McCain. Through that petition, we asked him to support Sen. Jim Webb''s new GI Bill. And less than 24 hours later, we have an answer:

[starleo146]

McCain Shows Us How to Kill an Army

By Sara Robinson, TomPaine.com. Posted April 17, 2008.

McCain is gunning to tear up an ancient contract between a nation and its veterans, denying security to the very people who defend ours.
Tools

[omaar-101]

Thank You Bush Jr.


Pentagon institute calls Iraq war a Major Debacle with outcome in doubt !


Source: Yahoo.com

Give Thanks to Pres. George W. Bush & VP D!ck Cheney, for their Experience of 7 years.

WASHINGTON %u2014 The war in Iraq has become "a Major Debacle" and the outcome "is in doubt" despite improvements in Security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagons Premier Military Educational Institute.


The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President Bushs Projections of a U.S. Victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was Suspending U.S. Troop Reductions.

The report carries considerable Weight because it was written by Joseph Collins , a Former Senior Pentagon Official.


"Measured in Blood and Treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a Major War and a Major Debacle," says the reports opening line.

At the time the report was written last fall, more than (4,000 U.S.) and Foreign Troops, more than 7,500 Iraqi security forces and as many as (82,000 Iraqi Civilians) had been killed and tens of thousands of others wounded, while the cost of the war since March 2003 was estimated at ($450 Billion) .

[kansas1946]

McCain sees increased benefits for vets as merely another incentive to get out.


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Posted by whitepicks2 at 12:23 AM : Apr 18, 2008
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That is called pandering to the right. Republicans only like to see the big guns go boom. They don''t want to have to pay for something so mundane as taking care of our soldiers. That is boring.

[kansas1946]

I know my friend John McCain is taking a serious look at this legislation, and he''ll do what he thinks is right," Hagel said yesterday. "Our country has found enough money to send our troops to war. There surely is enough money to make education opportunities available to those who have earned it and sacrificed for this country."

While Hagel took the soft sell, veterans groups have been considerably rougher. The group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has begun advertising in Capitol Hill publications. The Veterans of Foreign Wars sent its lobbyists to demand action.

"He''s the odd man out," Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets and an Iraq war veteran, said of McCain. "You have 55 co-sponsors on this bill, and he''s not one of them. He has to lead or follow."

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John McCain looks a littl "soft" on supporting the troops. Can''t pi** of any Republicans by taking good care of our soldiers.

[whitepicks2]

McCain sees increased benefits for vets as merely another incentive to get out.

[lindaredtail]

Republicans always know how to request funds to wage wars. In the late 1980''s I worked as a referral counselor in a detox unit. Many of the clients were veterans. There already weren''t enough "beds" (treatment placements) for them. Ronald Reagan became one of the first U.S. Presidents to cut funding for veterans programs. This is a true story because I lived it. Many of those veterans became addicted to heroin in Vietnam where it was very plentiful. It became then even more difficult to find places for them and many returned to the streets. That should not happen to any U.S. veteran. Ever. It was very upsetting to all of us who worked there. So it seems that what the Republicans aren''t so good at is taking care of the wounded warriors they create.

[cyberus-2009]

I have an idea ... cancel one of the Halliburton no-bid contracts, bid it out and use the saving to pay for better care for the troops.

[homespunlady]

Why are McCain''s TEETH so YELLOW in the photo?

IS it his LACK OF GUTS for standing up for his fellow vet''s rights or Just that he''s so "full of it" that it''s beginning to show?