The Follies Of Fundraising

A Retired General Charged A Fee To Use His Name To Raise Money For Wounded Troops

(CBS)  Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.

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After General Tommy Franks invaded Iraq with a force so small he didn't even have enough troops to guard the ammunition dumps that Saddam Hussein abandoned, I questioned the strategy.

Sure, he was under pressure from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who was determined to prove a small modern force could do what larger forces used to do.

But we don't hire our generals to rubber-stamp every idea their civilian bosses come up with. We hire them for their expertise on military matters, and Franks went along with a plan that violated the first rule of warfare: never invade unless you have an overwhelming advantage and a firm idea of what to do next.

Franks has since retired, but I have questions now that go far beyond his military expertise.

Congressional investigators have discovered he charged a professional fundraiser $100,000 to use his name to raise money for wounded soldiers.

Which leads me to ask: What kind of PERSON would insist, or even ALLOW himself, to be paid to raise money for those who were wounded while serving under him?

Franks says he severed his connection to the fundraiser when he realized most of the money he helped raise went to the fundraiser, not the troops. But doesn't he owe the troops a little more than that?

Here are two names he may want to add to his rolodex: The Walter Reed Society and the Yellow Ribbon Fund.

They are mostly volunteers and they'll see that whatever help he wants to give will get to those who need it - the troops - so many of whom served in his command.

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[ioweign]

But we don''t hire our generals to rubber-stamp every idea their civilian bosses come up with. We hire them for their expertise on military matters, and Franks went along with a plan that violated the first rule of warfare: never invade unless you have an overwhelming advantage and a firm idea of what to do next.

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That is why so many generals have retired under Bush as President. If you don''t have a president that will listen intelligently, the generals are not going to bend over for a AWOL dry drunk president, well there will always be a Franks and Petraeus in the crowd...

[rayrobisonbl]

A new book shows Saddam did support al Qaeda and the Taliban:

''Both In One Trench: Saddam''s Secret Terror Documents''

http://www.bothinonetrench.com

[ramos937]

General (Ret.) Franks simply never cared for the troops under his command. That he charged $100,000 to endorse this "fund" whose purpose he knew was to help wounded soldiers is unforgiveable. The only meaningful punishment for him would be to have every veterans organization and military organization cancel his membership and to treat him as dishonorable if shows his face at any of their gatherings.

It is so difficult to understand how such
a man could have risen to be a General.

[rayrobisonbl]

A new book shows Saddam did support al Qaeda and the Taliban:

''Both In One Trench: Saddam''s Secret Terror Documents''

http://www.bothinonetrench.com

[feelfree1]

Re: "Retired General Tommy Franks charged a professional fundraiser to use his name in raising money for wounded troops."

It was clear to many that this craven moron lacks any integrity, so this is hardly a surprise.

He will need this money to defend himself before his war crimes tribunal.

[mennowoman]

Big non-profit organizations are in the business of keeping their organizations going. They raise funds, not to support their programs or to help people, but to pay salaries, buy furniture, pay utilities and ABOVE ALL, pay professional fundraisers who keep most of the money. The professional fundraisers keep 80% to 90% of the money you donate through them. If you receive a phone call or a letter asking for money for some charity, chances are 20 cents or less of every dollar you send will ever reach the non-profit organization and of that 20 cents, it may be only 6 cents or less will ever get to the people or causes you though you were giving to. It''s frustrating, but too many orgs are in the business of perpetuating their own existence. If they do something good, it''s incidental.

[myidoncbs]

rayrobisonbl claims that some idiotic book says that Saddam Hussein SECRETLY supported al Qaeda and the Taliban. But al Qaeda HATED Hussein, so even if he supported them, it would be IRRELEVANT because they did not support him!

But here''s something that''s NOT A SECRET: both Saddam Hussein and bin Laden were buddies with the USA, and the USA gave them money, weapons, training, intelligence, etc. SO, the USA supports terrorists, murderers, madmen, etc.!!!

Face facts, re.****: there was no justification for attacking, invading, and occupying Iraq, except that Bush wanted to be a "cowboy war prezdent" and Cheney wanted to install permanent military bases in Iraq (done!) and use them to threaten the rest of the middle east, as part of the neocon plan to rule the world through force, murder and mayhem. Read the PNAC documents if you don''t know about this. Cheney and his buddies published their evil plans for all the world to see.

[rowdytexan2]

Posted by rayrobisonbl at 12:45 PM : Jan 20, 2008

"We are assured by high-minded folks that we know for a fact that Saddam Hussein and his regime had no connection to al Qaeda. But we don''t know that for a fact. We know as the 9/11 Commission reported that we have no direct evidence on ongoing collaboration between Saddam''s regime and al Qaeda. But we don''t know for sure that there was none. Robison''s post points in the other direction."

What high-minded folk would that be? *** Cheney??? George Bush???

Whatta crock!

[rowdytexan2]

Posted by MyIDonCBS at 04:44 PM : Jan 20, 2008

Well said!

[rowdytexan2]

The fact that a US General would sell his name for $100,000 to a fundingraising organization is totally obnoxious! If he wanted to help why not just get in there and help???

He sits on a tremendously good retirement package after the debacle of the Iraq war. His shame should make him want to help for nothing!

[yamuttya]

It''s hard to find any part of the Bush administration that isn''t in total disgrace.
The world looks upon a very dark time in America.

[knyghtwolf]

The truth about fundraising is this, find a cure, you are out of business, PERIOD. There will NEVER be a cure for anything; heart disease, cancer, lukemia, diabetes, or MS because there is NO MONEY for the business if CURES are found. When did you last give to the Whooping Cough or Small Pox Foundations? When a TRUE cure is found, the business of that particular charity is GONE, so many people actually work their entire lives for these foundations and to find a cure means NO MORE JOB. The charities mentioned in the article are likened to the Red Cross, where roughly about $.05 of every dollar goes to the actual charity it was intended. Start dropping nickles instead of dollars and they WILL get the message.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by jake20076 at 02:01 AM : Jan 21, 2008

Your pimp service has been reported, creep.

Take it to the porn sites, where it belongs

[brianbwb-2009]

"Retired General Tommy Franks charged a professional fundraiser to use his name in raising money for wounded troops."

Probably because he knew that the money was going to the pockets of the parasitic scum running the scam, and not to the soldiers.

Even though he took a commission for helping those carrion eating buzzards, for which I don''t blame him, he is still amongst the lowest slime for taking part in helping these vampires scam people.

[chad55555]

The one thing you learn fast in the military,you get rank by brown noseing and kissing the right shoes.Not by your deeds or what you know.I never knew an officer I had any respect for or trusted with my or the men under me''s lives . That''s why in special forces enlisted men would rather do the job,then have an officer getting everyone killed. WHAT FRANKS IS DOING NOW IS NO DIFFERENT THEN WHAT POWELL AND THE OTHERS HAVE DONE IN THE PAST. THE MILITARY HAS CHANGED NOW IT''S MORE LIKE AN AFRICAN OR MEXICAN ARMY.

[noloyalisti]

We need an immediate war tax to pay the staggering costs of caring for the vets. The right wingers will be more than happy to pay the tax. The middle of the roaders will finally get off the couch and start protesting the fascist invasion and occupation. The left will be happy because the masses will finally be helping them.

[valendug]

This is the same "brave" general who tried to run the war in Iraq from an air-conditioned office in Florida.

[valendug]

This is the same "brave" general who tried to run the war in Iraq from an air-conditioned office in Florida.

[valendug]

This is the same "brave" general who tried to run the war in Iraq from an air-conditioned office in Florida.

[valendug]

This is the same "brave" general who tried to run the war in Iraq from an air-conditioned office in Florida.