The Shield of Achilles: Response from Paul Rieckhoff

I got a great letter from Paul Rieckhoff, in response to my last article. Here it is in full, along with my response:

John,

I read your blog entry from Friday about me with interest.

I'd like to send you that free copy of my book you stated that you would read. It will give you a much better understanding of my experiences and my views on the war which I believe you oversimplify in your blog tremendously.

I am not "anti-war." I have been extremely critical at times. Absolutely. But so have people like Senator John McCain, who few would call anti-war. I reject the label because I honestly believe the entire situation is more complicated than black and white, anti/pro war. And I believe that my voice, like yours and the thousands of other vets that have served on the ground, is critical to creating a better national understanding, better policy and greater military success. Having served there, I am sure you agree. I come down on different sides on different issues. I urge you to check out my recent letter to the NYT supporting the O'Hanlon pro-surge piece:

http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F00913FA3C550C718CDD
A10894DF404482

Regarding Franken: he is a good man. I urge you to look a little deeper than the public persona. He is a huge supporter of the military and a regular USO performer. Any celebrity who gives up a comfortable life in the US to perform for us deserves some respect in my opinion. He has been to Iraq a number of times to entertain our troops--and understands our community and it's people fairly well.

As for our work at IAVA, chose not to support if you like. But understand that IAVA is made of of thousands of veterans nationwide from all sides of the political spectrum. We are bringing OIF/OEF veterans together, and fight every day for them and their families on issues ranging from better VA funding, to the implementation of the Dole-Shalala Commission recommendations, to a new GI Bill. More at www.iava.org and here:

http://www.iava.org/about-iava/2007-legislative-agenda/

I think these are initiatives that all veterans (and all Americans) can support. And I invite you to join us. We'd love to have your involved. Especially given your writing talents.

Send me your address if you are interested in that book, and I'll have a copy out to you next week. I think you will find that my positions are hardly in line with those of the folks at the Nation.

Thanks for your time, and for your service.

Best regards,

Paul.

--
Paul Rieckhoff
Executive Director
Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
http://www.iava.org

My Response is below:

Paul,

Thank you very much for your letter. And thanks for reading my blog! I would love to see a copy of your book, and I'll discuss it on my web site when I'm finished. You can send it to [address inserted].

Now, just to clarify, I never said you were "anti-war", but rather "anti-Iraq war". That's the impression I got from your articles and interviews, and if that's not accurate either, I apologize.

But like I said, I have actually read your articles. And if I get a skewed impression, imagine someone who just glances at your stuff or hears a couple sound bites? Generally, anyone praised by the likes of Stephen Colbert and the notorious Scott Ritter (who changed his views on WMD when it was convenient for him, financed a documentary with Iraqi "oil for food" money, and was arrested for soliciting underage girls on the Internet) are usually clearly on one side of the political fence. Al Franken is another one. I have seen one of Al Franken's USO shows and it was very good, and non-partisan. It's wonderful that he does USO tours. The guy is actually funny, but I think he's much better when he sticks to what he does well, i.e. comedy, vs. political opinion. Some of these guys quite literally do not want us to win the Iraq war, and see Bush as the enemy instead of the terrorists.

The Huffington Post (where you are a regular contributor) is a forum for far-left extremists. Some of the threads have been so bad (outright calling for Bush or Cheney to be assassinated, etc) that entire comment threads have had to be shut down and deleted altogether on occasion. One such example is saved here: http://hotair.cachefly.net/video/2007-02/HuffPoCheneyTalibanThread.pdf

I know this is all guilt by association. But that's the point. Perception is important, many people view you (and by extension, the IAVA) as part of the leftist protest movement. That's why I cannot join IAVA at this time (although I wouldn't rule it out in the future). If you don't clearly define yourself, others will do it for you, for better or worse. I believe this "misunderstanding" with the magazine The Nation is a direct result of that. If you are truly concerned with the welfare of the soldiers and are politically neutral, then show it. Write a few pages about the enemy who is actually harming our soldiers (the insurgents, not Bush or Walter Reed). Write about some of the stuff we've done right in Iraq, instead of just the wrong. No, it doesn't sell as well as Bush-bashing these days, but it will help clarify where you stand. In the military, whenever we do an AAR (for civilians: "after action review") after a mission or training exercise, we usually ask participants to give their opinion, and list at least 3 things that went right, and three that went wrong ("pros" and "cons"). "Cons" are easy since people love to gripe, but "pros" generally harder for people to think about. But they are important too, so when we adjust fire we don't throw out the good with the bad.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not happy about the progress in Iraq. I do agree that much of the war was mismanaged and we need to try some different strategies. I also like some of the suggested legislation at your web site, and think your heart is in the right place. What I don't agree with is being used as a tool by the political left, and when I criticize our leaders, I try to keep in mind that they are on our side. Bush's record is far from perfect, but so is every other wartime President our nation has ever had. Just as one example, for every mistake/impeachable offense that Bush's enemies want to hang him for, Franklin Roosevelt has also done, and more. See here, for example:
http://shieldofachilles.blogspot.com/2007/07/why-its-too-late-to-impeach-president-i.html

In any case, thanks for visiting my humble blog. You are welcome back anytime. I wish you and IAVA all the best, and look forward to your book.

John Rohan

[Minor Update:] Mea Culpa - originally I published Paul's personal email address at the bottom of his letter. Unfortunately, that's a sure way to attract spam to someone. I should have caught that. I deleted it and his telephone number, at his request.