Today's Action Item

Here's something everybody can do - make a couple of phone calls. Do it in honor of SGT Mike Stokely, who was KIA 2 years ago today in Iraq.

This call to action is from Pete Hegseth of Vets for Freedom.

On Thursday, August 16th, as a direct response to MoveOn.org's crass attempts to politicize the Iraq War, Vets for Freedom is asking all of its members to participate in our "Cost of Defeat" Call-in Campaign.

And we are not alone in this effort. We are proud to be partnering with Families United for the Troops and Their Mission, a grassroots coalition of thousands of Gold Star and Blue Star families including some with loved ones currently in harm's way. Both the troops-and their families-will be making calls this Thursday!

So mark your calendar and call your members of Congress to explain the "Cost of Defeat" in Iraq. Tell them that defeat in Iraq would mean the following things:

- A bloodbath in Iraq, costing hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi lives and possibly destabilize the entire Middle East region.
- A failed state in Iraq and a safe haven for Al Qaeda to plan future attacks against America and her allies.
- An emboldened Iran in pursuit of nuclear weapons and a victorious Al Qaeda in pursuit of new ways to kill Americans at home and around the world.

For more tips and information about what to say when you call, please read the "Call Tips" section at the end of this email. We have provided a word-for-word script.

Call Instructions:

1. On Thursday, call your 2 Senators and 1 Representative. Call their offices in your home state and remind them of the "Cost of Defeat" in Iraq. Use the links below to find the phone numbers for your members of Congress:

Contacting your U.S. Senators
Contacting your U.S. Representatives

2. After you have called your members of Congress, call the following 10 Senators and remind them what the "Cost of Defeat" would look like if they vote to undercut General Petraeus and the mission in Iraq in September. Phone numbers are provided below for phone numbers in their home state:

Senator Chuck Grassley R - Iowa 515-288-1145
Senator Sam Brownback R - Kansas 785-233-2503
Senator Pat Roberts R - Kansas 785-295-2745
Senator Ben Nelson D - Nebraska 402-391-3411
Senator Mitch McConnell R - Kentucky 502-582-6304
Senator Norm Coleman R - Minnesota 651-645-0323
Senator John Sununu R - New Hampshire 603-647-7500
Senator Judd Gregg R - New Hampshire 603-622-7979
Senator John Warner R - Virginia 540-857-2676
Senator Mark Pryor D - Arkansas 501-324-6336

When you're done with the calls on Thursday, please shoot a quick email to info@vetsforfreedom.org and let us know. And if you had any particularly interesting exchanges, we'd love to hear about it.

Call Tips

When you call the senators, a few important things to remember:

* Always be courteous. The person answering the phone is likely a young staffer.

* If you are calling a Senator who represents your home state, say "I am from [City, State] and am a member of Vets for Freedom. I recently returned from Iraq [or insert relevant experience] and I respectfully request to speak with Senator [name]." When they ask to take a message, say "I'm calling to tell Senator [name] that I oppose MoveOn.org's attempts to undermine the mission in Iraq and to remind the Senator what the "cost of defeat" in Iraq would be. Defeat in Iraq would mean [cite three reasons above]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."

* If you are calling a Senator who is not from your state, say "I am a veteran of the Iraq War [or insert relevant experience] who served with [insert unit] in [insert location] from [insert dates]. I am a member of Vets for Freedom and I'm calling to tell Senator [name] that I oppose MoveOn.org's attempts to undermine the mission in Iraq and to remind the Senator what the "cost of defeat" in Iraq would be. Defeat in Iraq would mean [cite three reasons above]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."

Our comrades in Iraq have Al Qaeda on the run-and it's up to us to keep radical anti-war groups on the defensive for their ill-informed and partisan viewpoints.

Move out and draw fire!

Regards,

Pete Hegseth
Iraq War Veteran 2005-2006
Executive Director, Vets for Freedom

Please also visit their "Live From Iraq" Blog with updates from Jeff Emanuel, Iraq war veteran and Vets for Freedom member, who is reporting from the front lines in Iraq.