Freedom's Watch Delivers Petition On Capitol Hill

A group of veterans and military families delivered congressional leaders a petition Tuesday signed by 65,000 individuals who are calling on lawmakers to "resist calls for a premature withdrawal from Iraq" as the fight for a year-end spending bill heats up.

The group, which was organized, in part, by Freedom's Watch, delivered the petitions one day after the anti-war groupMoveOn.org called on Democratic presidential candidates to filibuster any year-end spending bill that includes money for the military to continue conducting the war in Iraq.

The petition reads, "We urge you to support our troops by giving them the resources and time they need to successfully complete their mission."

The recipients included Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).

The signatures were gathered online in a combined effort with Vets for Victory, Families United, Band of Mothers and Gathering of Eagles. Freedom's Watch was launched by allies of President Bush as the conservative answer to MoveOn.

War funding has become a big component of the year-end spending fight, with the White House and congressional Republicans angling for more money to conduct the war in Iraq as anti-war Democrats continue pushing majority leaders to include a timetable for withdrawal on any military money that could be used for the war.