April 17, 2008
McCain Pressured On Troop-Benefit Bills
Washington Post: Veteran Groups Want Senator/Candidate To Support Aid Boost
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John McCain has told reporters that he is open to boosting educational benefits for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and is working with colleagues on language changes to the bills. (AP)
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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is basing his bid for the White House on his credentials as a decorated veteran and leader on defense policy, has become the target of veterans groups pushing hard for more aid and relief for troops returning from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At issue is a growing slate of legislation to boost veterans' education assistance and to rest troops between combat assignments. Two of the bills were written by Sens. James Webb (D-Va.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), both fellow Vietnam veterans, and are expected to see votes in Congress soon. Those bills would substantially boost college assistance for returning war veterans to cover fully tuition at a state university, while mandating that troops spend a month out of the combat zone for every month in it.
A third measure, introduced yesterday by eight Democratic senators and two Republicans, would provide more education aid to National Guard members and reservists, especially those who have served on multiple tours in Iraq.
It is generally agreed that McCain is key to the bills' prospects for passage.
"John McCain's got a lot of things to focus on right now, but this isn't one of them," Webb said. "He needs to get on board."
For McCain, the growing pressure is not the kind of attention he has been seeking. His status as a Vietnam War hero has helped broaden his appeal with independents and some Democrats. His campaign takes as a given his support among veterans.
But on Monday, the group VoteVets.org, backed by the political action committee of retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark and the liberal documentary film production company Brave New Films, delivered petitions with nearly 30,000 signatures to McCain's Senate office, imploring him to back Webb's updated GI bill.
In an Internet ad, viewed more than 104,000 times, Iraq veteran Joshua Drake intones, "If I could talk to John McCain, I would try to appeal to him as a fellow vet." Robert Lopez, a former tank commander, adds: "He should put himself in our shoes."
McCain told reporters on his campaign plane Monday that he is open to boosting educational benefits for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and is working with colleagues on language changes to the Webb-Hagel bills.
"We are working on proposals of our own. I'm a consistent supporter of educational benefits for the men and women in the military," McCain said. "I want to make sure that we have incentives for people to remain in the military as well as for people to join the military."
All three measures could come up for votes this month or early next month, when the House and Senate consider a $108 billion emergency war spending bill. Some Democrats do not want to put Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the position of voting for the GI bill and "dwell time" amendments, only to have them vote against the war funding bill. Democrats worry that such votes would put them in a position similar to that of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004, when he said he supported a war funding bill before he voted against it.
But Democrats may break up the war bills into an Iraq funding measure that will pass largely with Republica votes, and an Afghanistan funding bill on which they will try to attach popular policy measures.
The Post-9/11 Veterans Act would substantially boost the higher-education benefit first approved for returning World War II fighters. It carries a cost of $2.5 billion to $4 billion over 10 years.
But it is not the price tag that gives Defense Department officials pause. It is the fear that a generous education benefit would persuade soldiers and Marines ending their tours to pursue an education rather than reenlist in the overstretched military.
For McCain and his allies, the Webb-Hagel "dwell time" amendment -- which mandates a month off for every month in combat -- has proven to be an easier political target.
"The worst thing you can do is let a bunch of politicians worrying about their reelections mandate troop rotations," said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a close ally of McCain.
But the GI bill has been far more difficult. The measure already has 55 co-sponsors in the Senate, including former Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.).
"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."
By Jonathan Weisman and Michael D. Shear
© 2008 The Washington Post Company
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See all 61 CommentsIf not, we will vote for Obama, he said he will provide the vets what the deserve, but than again, he said he would let the *** serve openly and proudly of their choice of bad behavior. Better stay with the GOP I think , what say you ????
OR DID THEY JUST LET IT DIE ON THE VINE?
I''M GONE!
If McCain signs this bill, I don''t see how he''s going to be able to argue that he can accomplish the platforms of his campaign - having troops maintain security in Iraq for over 100 years, also fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq, sustaining a strong military without resorting to the draft, balancing the budget when he''s going to have to pay more for not only education but recruitment bonuses, keeping spending down.
If he doesn''t sign the bill, he''s selling out the troops.
I would guess McClueless'' instinct would be to sign the bill, but his advisors now that he''s running for President are telling him not to . . . if he doesn''t sign it, it starts to make you wonder who really is pulling his strings . . .
MaCain do the right thing and vote for it veto the chimp you will not get the President bid because Aemrica is just fed up with the GOP.
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Posted by Tonyd_31 at 11:16 AM : Apr 17, 2008
+ report abuse
I agree! He should be a Vet First and face the fact that he''s nothing more than a sacrifice to the Right!!
Posted by JACK3213
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And John McCain tells the troops to F*U*C*K*O*F*F because he won''t sign a bill that is intended to help them.
Also - More people have been murdered in the name of the Catholic Church then have been with Hamas. The only difference is that Hamas Kills Jews (well the catholics used to get killed by Jews - just look at Jesus) and the Catholic Church likes little boys and Kills anyone who doesn''t believe in them (well used to - they can''t get away with it anymore) so they brainwash them.
So stuff that up Your Hamas!
Yet this same veteran and POW has CONSISTENTLY voted AGAINST bills that would help veterans by either revising and/or expanding the old GI bill!
And this is SUPPORTING THE TROOPS????????????
It is obvious that John "McBush" McCain is a politician FIRST, and a veteran when its convenient!
SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!
sig heil, (more of the same) John "McBush" McCain!!!!
POVERTY and DEPRIVATION will force the STUPID COMMON PEOPLE to SIGN-UP and STAY IN the military so we can USE THEM and ABUSE THEM to CONTROL the REST OF THE SHEEPLE
As the world spirals out of control the media focus is on "political gaffs."
All McCain offers is tax cuts and more deregulation.
Enough is enough!
Posted by afmca
And you know this HOW????
And you know this HOW????
Posted by likeitis5050 at 03:23 PM : Apr 17, 2008
It has been shown, more suicides have occurred, because of the governments failure to help these post thematic stress syndrome victims of the war. It is just like agent orange victims, during the Vietnam war.No one would help these combat veterans and it is happening again.It is like afmca said our government sends them to fight and die and boggles them down in beauracy paper work, and they do not get the help they deserve.It is a disgrace 30,000 injuries and we are not equipped to help these combat veterans, now you know what ya gonna do about it
As the world spirals out of control the media focus is on "political gaffs."
All McCain offers is tax cuts and more deregulation.
Enough is enough!
Posted by david1737 at 02:33 PM : Apr 17, 200
Could not have said it better myself
Can we impeach him now?
OR DID THEY JUST LET IT DIE ON THE VINE?
Posted by prairiefox1 at 10:24 AM : Apr 17, 2008
Nope the media is too busy covering Rev wright and Bosnia to inflict more wounds on the pres. election the media over looked it so what happened I see the price is up again, what is the use these oil mogels found a way to make billions in profits and we can not catch there accounting practices, or we don''t want to
Study: 300,000 U.S. Troops Suffering From Depression, PTSD; 320,000 Have Brain Injuries
And you know this HOW????
Posted by likeitis5050 at 03:23 PM : Apr 17, 20
look what I found likeitis5050
Why do you hate the troops?
Of course due to the MEDIA BLACKBALLING FROM DAY ONE you''d NEVER know it.
On to the RECENT NEWS that the MSM DOESN''T WANT YOU TO KNOW...FOOD RIOTS in Haiti...they OUSTED their President...Nice EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW.
Some NEOCON controlled statisticians RIGGED a SQUEAKING LIE that "RECESSION" isn''t happening because "leading indicators" MIRACULOUSLY somehow are looking UP despite RECORD HIGH prices and RECORD LOW PURCHASING along with A BIG JUMP in unemployment.
BUT that ALL IMPORTANT 6 MONTH BS REQUIREMENT for indicator downturns was (with a few NEOCON STYLE "adjustments") AVOIDED AT THE CRITICAL LAST MINUTE to show EVERYTHING''S COMING UP ROSES through THEIR DISTORTED FILTER.
NOW don''t we ALL feeel SO MUCH WEALTHIER because the DELUSIONAL NEOCONS TOLD US SO? LMAO
Oh, by the way the DROUGHT in AUSTRALIA has "indicated" the RICE CROP along WITH CORN and WHEAT WILL ALSO "fall short of expectations"
CODE WORD FOR MORE food riots as SHORTAGES and FAMINE SPREADS.
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?
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.
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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.
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) .
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
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:
"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."
Jim Webb has been trying to update the GI Bill to restore its original intention -- which was to reward returning vets for their service by giving them a full education, lifetime healthcare, and the foundations on which to build a comfortable and successful civilian life. But, says Friedman, the Cons have apparently abandoned that noble goal. And in doing so, they''re unveiling an entirely different vision of our troops'' future relationship to the rest of America.
McCain makes it clear that he wants to make the GI Bill so weak and useless that troops will have no choice but to stay in the military for life. Friedman argues persuasively that this is not only a breach of a sacred trust Americans have upheld with their troops for over 60 years; it''s also a slap in the face to military recruiters, who ask families to give up their children to the war machine -- and now have nothing compelling to offer them in return. And in the long run, it ensures that the military will become the career of last resort for those who have no other options. Reading this, it strikes me that, as usual, the conservatives aren''t being nearly careful enough about what they wish for. In fact, it''s not hard at all to imagine a scenario in which this new relationship to our military -- which forsakes the last vestiges of America''s traditional civilian militias and creates a new class of involuntarily indentured permanent soldiers -- creates far-flung changes that may undermine the stability of our democracy.
McCain makes it clear that he wants to make the GI Bill so weak and useless that troops will have no choice but to stay in the military for life. Friedman argues persuasively that this is not only a breach of a sacred trust Americans have upheld with their troops for over 60 years; it''s also a slap in the face to military recruiters, who ask families to give up their children to the war machine -- and now have nothing compelling to offer them in return. And in the long run, it ensures that the military will become the career of last resort for those who have no other options. Reading this, it strikes me that, as usual, the conservatives aren''t being nearly careful enough about what they wish for. In fact, it''s not hard at all to imagine a scenario in which this new relationship to our military -- which forsakes the last vestiges of America''s traditional civilian militias and creates a new class of involuntarily indentured permanent soldiers -- creates far-flung changes that may undermine the stability of our democracy.
With the GI Bill, America democratized this ancient deal. It guaranteed that same shot at a solid middle-class life to everyone who signed up and did their tour, regardless of what their service entailed (and, in doing so, also somewhat reduced the incentive for ambitious soldiers to secure their civilian futures by instigating unnecessary battles. Combat hero or clerk typist, you were part of the effort, and you''d still get yours.). In a country that had usually resisted the very idea of raising a standing army, the GI Bill fostered the new post-war military industrial complex by normalizing military service. It was the deal that allowed families to send their sons (and later, their daughters) off in the belief that the military would open the doors to a better life. It was also the sugar that -- for a while, anyway -- took some of the bitterness from universal conscription.
Generous GI benefits became even more important in the aftermath of Vietnam, as the country abandoned the draft in favor of an all-volunteer army. The country''s war hawks approved of this move: The Vietnam-era draft had touched every family in America regardless of class; and it was the middle and upper-middle classes'' unwillingness to consent to that sacrifice that had so forcefully politicized the war. A military comprising troops who''d voluntarily agreed to be there would not only be easier to discipline and manage; they''d be much easier to deploy without creating major political upheavals.
The brass also knew from the start that going all-volunteer would increase the class divisions in the military. The bulk of those new recruits -- both noncoms and officers -- would be kids from working-class families looking for a shot at college. As the conservatives cut back on government-backed college grants and loans, the GI Bill and ROTC would step up to become the country''s new college-aid programs. Given that this realignment happened alongside the retooling of a new high-tech military that required an extremely skilled and disciplined corps to function, this new model wouldn''t work -- couldn''t work -- unless the benefits and working conditions were good enough to attract a huge flow of smart, stable, high-quality volunteers.
Predictably, the number of volunteers has fallen off markedly in the Bush era, as the war has dramatically raised the risks associated with service, and the promised benefits have vanished. Working-class kids may not have many prospects left; but they can do the math, and they''re staying away in droves. To keep the warm bodies coming, the military has begun to compromise on quality. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the number of new recruits coming in on conduct waivers is up. So is the number of convicted felons, gang members, avowed racists and people with substance abuse problems. The military is increasingly turning a blind eye to soldier misconduct, because it can''t afford to lose the boots -- so racist activity, rape, and other criminal acts are going largely unpunished.
Maybe McCain figures that this new crop of kids isn''t all that interested in college anyway. Maybe he''s decided that down here, with the bottom of the barrel coming into sight, we''re getting the kids for whom the military isn''t a ticket to college, or a way out of anything. It''s just a better alternative than a lifetime of unemployment -- or worse, cycling in and out of jail. And maybe he''s being a realist about that. It''s certainly where we seem to be headed.
But we don''t have to go there. And if we think this all the way through, we''ll do whatever it takes not to go there. Because if McCain is serious about stripping away the barest promise of benefits and turning America''s high-tech army into a dumping ground for the country''s undereducated, precriminal, behaviorally unstable and economically desperate -- then there''s another possible future looming, and it''s the stuff of our worst nightmares.
What lies ahead
What follows is a scenario -- a little concatenation of what-if stories about what could happen if America breaks its historical pact of guaranteeing education, healthcare, and a middle-class future to its service men and women. It''s not a prediction. It''s just a look at some of the ways McCain''s new view of what we owe our troops could play out if we don''t change course.
Inside the military
As kids with any kind of prospects at all flee from recruiters who have nothing left to offer them, the sliding standards of the past few years become a fast tumble to the bottom. Soon, America''s military is nothing more than the employer of last resort. It''s society''s dumping ground for people with inadequate education, drug problems, criminal records, and unaddressed behavior issues -- people who can''t even hold down McJobs and for whom going to war and getting shot at is a marginally better choice to going to jail and getting knifed.
Wh
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