Blackburn Aligns with Vets for Freedom

A veterans group pushing for a troop increase in Afghanistan has found an ally in Republican Marsha Blackburn.

Blackburn’s district is home to Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division. She welcomed the director of Vets for Freedom to Capitol Hill. Many congressional Republicans have sided with the organization which lobbied Congress to increase troops in Iraq. Now the group and Blackburn say more troops are the key to turning around the war in Afghanistan.

 

“Having those additional bodies that are on the ground are going to be very important. There needs to be a continuation of achieving stability. A continuation of pushing toward Afghanistan having the ability to take care of itself setting up its form of government, it’s civil society.”

 

Blackburn says she has used military reports to help her form her position and she has spent time with commanders on the ground and troops that have returned home. President Obama is considering a recommendation to increase troop levels by 40 thousand. Other veterans groups have criticized the military strategy and have called on the President to end the war.

Vets for Freedom bills itself as a nonpartisan organization, but watchdog groups say it effectively serves as a public relations front for the GOP. The group does legitimately have a membership base made up of combat veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. However, in the past it has relied heavily on help from Republican consultants, and much of its funding has come from right-leaning political groups.