| SAN FRANCISCO, CA
- September 30 - A full-page ad running in the New York Times today presents an editorial comparing the current situation in Iraq to the Vietnam quagmire and accuses the architects of the Iraq invasion of not having learned the lessons of Vietnam in part because they avoided serving there.
The ad seeks to bring an impassioned editorial by former U.S. Senator Max Cleland to national attention just before Congress is set to decide on the Bush Administration's request for $87 billion to fund the occupation of Iraq. Cleland volunteered for duty in Vietnam where he lost both of his legs and his right arm in a grenade explosion. He served as the head of the Veterans Administration during the Carter administration and currently sits on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States.
“The American people – our soldiers, taxpayers and future generations – are paying a very high price for a President who never learned the lessons of Vietnam because he used the National Guard to avoid service, and then had his flying status suspended because he failed to show up at his designated base” says Michael Kieschnick, president of Working Assets.
“We are keeping American forces on the ground, where they have become sitting ducks in a shooting gallery for every terrorist in the Middle East, “ Max Cleland writes. “Welcome to Vietnam, Mr. President. Sorry you didn't go when you had the chance. “
To view the ad, visit http://www.workingassets.com/quagmire
Working Assets is a long distance, wireless, credit card and broadcasting company that was created to build a world that is more just, humane and environmentally sustainable. Since Working Assets was created in 1985, the company has raised $35 million by helping people make a difference in the world through progressive philanthropy and political activism.
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