Veterans and Military Families: Pentagon Statements on WikiLeaks Cloud Real Issues

Three organizations representing veterans and military families have released a joint statement on the Pentagon's response to the Afghanistan WikiLeaks documents. They said today: "Obama administration officials are trying to spin events in their favor. On the one hand, in an effort to downplay the significance of the release, we are told the documents contain no new information. On the other hand, some high-ranking members of the U.S. military are trying to: 1) intimidate anyone else from doing the same thing, and 2) turn public opinion against whoever leaked the current documents. A more damning statement could hardly be imagined than this one from Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 'The truth is they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family.'

"As veterans and families with members in the military, we consider statements like Admiral Mullen's to be nothing more than calculated attempts to turn public attention away from the real problem -- the ongoing occupation of Afghanistan that has already caused the deaths and injuries of many thousands of innocent people ... while millions of Americans are jobless and face foreclosure or eviction.

"This suffering in Afghanistan and this bleeding at home will continue as long as our troops remain in that country. Congress must stop funding this war. We must bring our troops home now, take care of them properly when they return and pay to rebuild the damage we have caused to Afghanistan."

Interviews are available with representatives of the groups that issued the statement:

MIKE FERNER
President of Veterans for Peace.

DEBORAH FORTER
National Director of Military Families Speak Out.

JOSE VASQUEZ
Executive Director of Iraq Veterans Against the War.