Raw Story links with Keith Olbermann's interview with VoteVet Brandon Friedman, Vice Chairman of VoteVets and a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. They make the point that because McCain is a veteran he should not be immune to criticism on his military position because he is not the only one to have suffered in wars. Interview is worth watching.

I graded this down because I definitely can understand a pro-McCain stance on this one. I can see why McCain, with his history of bravery, would say why it isn’t important for the troops to come home. He expects the troops to stay over there until “the job is done”. So, from his perspective he is absolutely correct to demand a high level of courage and commitment not worrying about when you come home but to stay and do your duty. If I had had this kind of commitment when I was in the military my years would have counted for something. All that being said when you discount the legitimacy of this invasion and occupation all this bravado is for naught. If the invasion and occupation were for a just cause then I could accept the ... More »

Not quite as incisive as some Olbermann stories, but does provide more than one viewpoint to the story. The equivalence of dropping bombs from 30,000 feet on victims you never see, to the experience of house to house combat and insurgent suppression where you see the suffering; that equivalence seems false. The piece never touches upon the immorality and illegality of the invasion and occupation, not the 1.4 million Iraqi dead and 5 million refugees.

This is plausibly the mindset of some Iraq multiple tour vets, but a balanced panel would have had the pro surge advocate and the article could have presented the view of some I've met who can't wait to get back to their unit to protect their friends.

This opinion piece has no journalistic merit. It repeats the hate attaqcks coming from the Obama camp, and completely ignores the context. Senator McCain pointed to the fact that we have troops stationed peacefully in Japan and Korea decades after the wars ended, and in Germany and elsewhere and said he hopes the same will happen in Iraq. Do these people really think the American people are so uneducated that they do not know this? Should not have been posted on newsTrust.