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A Project For FreeRepublic - Townhall With The Troops Campaign
Redstate.org ^ | 11/28/2005 | Martin A. Knight

Posted on 11/28/2005 5:47:25 AM PST by MAKnight

It may be time for those of us on Right on the web to see if we can pool our resources and see if we can make a difference in breaking through the media filter to highlight the progress being made in Iraq, and to rally the American people to support the mission in Iraq.

The fact is; the very soldiers who have served or are currently serving in Iraq happen to be a great deal more optimistic about the future of Iraq than any other grouping of the American people (especially the Left-Wing Press), and also happen to believe that a great deal has been achieved so far inspite the setbacks.

So this is my idea: we should try to get the American people to hear directly from the people who are doing the hard work of getting Iraq back on its feet how the effort is really going, unfiltered by clueless Republican-loathing reporters reporting from a hotel far from the action. The American people should get the chance to talk to and hear from the nation's soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors on the field in Iraq in their own words.

How?

Video web-conferencing.

I claim no expertise on the logistics or technology involved but it seems to me that the basic things needed is a truck with some projectors, large projection screens, video web-conferencing equipment and personnel to drive the truck and set up the screens and equipment at each stop. Over in Iraq, we need to have laptops and (high quality) webcams scattered over the various loci of operations (i.e. Baghdad, Mosul, Fallujah, Basra, etc.).

Every week, the truck would stop at somewhere determined the week previous and well publicized at that place thereafter the choice is made. In Iraq, a soldier (regs and superiors permitting) from each (or some) of the laptop locations is selected, preferably each soldier knowledgable about some aspect of the mission; i.e. troop training, civil affairs, etc. Better yet, the soldier would preferably be from the area or town being visited by the truck. When the appointed time comes, the screens, computers and projectors would be set up and connected via high bandwidth channels to the laptops (and webcams) in Iraq. The people in that community, like in a townhall Q&A session, would then be invited to ask the soldiers at the other end what is really going on.

Of course, this would lead to loud shrieks of outrage from the usual suspects in the Press and their allies in the Democrat Party and the crazier fringes of the Left would be apoplectic. But then, considering their insistence that they "support" the troops, how eager would they be to have the American people informed that they want to "silence the troops"? How many elected Democrats would stand up and accuse a soldier that just spoke to his community and stated that progress is being made that he's lying?

It may be crazy, but what do y'all think?


TOPICS: Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: conferencing; democrats; iraq; press; success; troops; truck; video; web
Thought I'd share with y'all here ...
1 posted on 11/28/2005 5:47:27 AM PST by MAKnight
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To: MAKnight

My guess is that the left would accuse the military people involved in trying to "politicize" the war and then they'd move to suppress any military involvement.


2 posted on 11/28/2005 5:50:44 AM PST by rhombus
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To: rhombus
Let them try ... They'll have a hard time getting the public to buy that. They'll not be able to publicly accuse the soldiers featured of lying, and if they can't they'll not be able to accuse them of "politicizing" anything, though they'll try ...

The Right's response? "Why do the Democrats want to silence the troops?"

3 posted on 11/28/2005 6:15:04 AM PST by MAKnight (I am a Muslim Conservative Republican ... Can You Deal With That?)
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To: MAKnight; All

Contact Laura Ingraham.

She had a guy on her show last week, Michael Yon.

He is doing his own personal reporting on/from Iraq.

He is in the states now but is heading back to Iraq.

His blog is here http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/.

We would need travel and expenses money for a video-cam/technical person to go with Michael (he will soon be returning to Iraq). There would also need to be money for equipment and hook ups.

Someone with the time and expertise to work on this should contact Michael and see if he would like to participate.


4 posted on 11/28/2005 7:23:03 AM PST by Wuli
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