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I just spent a week in Iraq and Kuwait cultivating a skill that I, as a talk-show host, have found nearly impossible to master: shutting up. Turns out, it was easier than I thought, at least in Iraq. When you're listening to a 20-year-old kid from Indiana tell how he earned his second Purple Heart, speechlessness is the natural reaction. I was there as part of the much-maligned "Truth Tour" organized by Move America Forward, a conservative group based in California. According to reports in the mainstream media, I was part of a "propaganda" junket paid for by the...

The Final Chapter of My Trip To Iraq Martha Zoller Isn’t it interesting how things have a natural beginning and end to them? The Voices of Soldiers Tour began flying away from Hurricane Dennis and ended flying away from one of the biggest sand storms in history. Col. Daniel Kornacki, the Commander of the Air Base at the Baghdad Airport from the 94th Airlift out of Dobbins and is a Delta 767 pilot in his other life, said that sand storms are the desert’s thunderstorms. Coming from tornado alley, that is an analogy I can understand. Our group (Buzz Patterson...

Sending the ‘right’ signals The following was written by Spc. Curt Cashour of the military’s “Desert Voice” on the “Voices of Soldiers” Truth Tour that took place from July 7th - 17th. Cashour is based at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. Sending the ‘right’ signals By Spc. Curt Cashour Coalition Forces Land Component Command Public Affairs Office There’s an old saying among those in the media that states, “If it bleeds it leads.” There’s a reason the motto has stuck: it’s the truth. Take Iraq for example. Day after day, stories of car bombings and suicide attacks take prominence over the...

Some of What I Learned in Baghdad Author: Brad Dated: Tuesday, July 19 2005 @ 01:03 AM EDT On Wednesday July 13, 2005 I had the opportunity to go out on patrol with the US Army stationed in Baghdad 3 times, including foot patrol with the New Iraqi Army. Our soldiers who are assigned to patrol duty generally go out several times a day. These patrols are regularly irregular so as to establish a presence in the area without presenting a predictable target. These are some of the things I learned while in Baghdad. The International Zone in Baghdad is...

Courage plentiful in Iraq By: Howard Kaloogian BAGHDAD, Iraq ---- Courage. You know it when you see it. "Speaking truth to power" is thought of as courageous. Lt. General Abdul Qader Jassim told Saddam Hussein that the Iraqi army could not withstand the coalition forces arrayed against it in the mid '90s. Then he spent the next 7 years, 4 months and 10 days in an Iraqi prison until being liberated by American troops in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Today he is the head of the Iraqi army. We met him in Baghdad. He talked to us through an interpreter whose...

CAMP FALCON, THE GREEN ZONE, BAGHDAD: Sorry about the lack of postings since my arrival here in Iraq early Monday morning, but internet access has been somewhat limited. Sheesh! You'd think there's a war on or something... I have a hundred stories to tell, all of them amazing in their own way, but I don't have time now to tell them all. So let me tell you just one, from earlier this morning: Melanie Morgan of KSFO in San Francisco and I went on patrol this morning on Route Irish, aka "The Highway of Death" with Delta 3-7 of the...

Latest from Iraq - from Melanie Morgan's website at KSFO I spoke with Melanie this morning and she asked me to forward a few pictures of what we are doing here in Iraq. The 184 IN is part of the California National Guard and we are assigned to the 4 BCT (Brigade Combat Team) 3rd Infantry Division. We are currently stationed at FOB Falcon in the Southern part of Baghdad. I realize that the media tends to focus solely on the IEDs the firefights etc because that is what sells. The reality is that for every contact we have with...

Still in Bahgdad by Martha Zoller As we enter our third day in Bahgdad, there is much to report. I was unable to post yesterday, we were out most of the day. Believe it or not, there is power and wireless internet connectivity in the tents we are staying in but it is hit and miss as far as the strength of the signal. Also, when the soldiers are on missions, they have the ability to take down the internet and cell service in the area of operation. Yesterday, we walked alot in the heat and I really felt it...

Wow, What a Day! This has been the most incredible trip of my life! I have met the most wonderful people and have learned so much first hand. A Doctor, Captain Daniel Green, at Fort Prosperity, one of Saddam's Palaces, decided that the only way we were going to see Iraq properly was to have unfettered and total access to anyone in Baghdad, from the lowest soldier to the Chief of Operations.... and we did!. He got a two star to sign off and the real fun began. (A few feathers were ruffled in the middle but they came on...

Tuesday, July 12th, 2005Voices of Soldiers Tour Arrives In Iraq Move America Forward FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 12, 2005 CONTACT:  Mark Washburn at (916) 441-6197 We’ve Arrived In Iraq Delegation of Talk Radio Hosts fromAround the Nation Arrive in Iraqfor “Voices of Soldiers” Truth Tour (SACRAMENTO) – The “Voices of Soldiers” Truth Tour organized by Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org) and RighTalk Radio Network has arrived in Baghdad, Iraq. The delegation includes talk show hosts from around the country as well as the leadership of Move America Forward who will all file live reports on the situation in Iraq...

Tuesday, July 12th, 2005Voices of Soldiers Tour Arrives In Iraq Move America Forward FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 12, 2005 CONTACT:  Mark Washburn at (916) 441-6197 We’ve Arrived In Iraq Delegation of Talk Radio Hosts fromAround the Nation Arrive in Iraqfor “Voices of Soldiers” Truth Tour (SACRAMENTO) – The “Voices of Soldiers” Truth Tour organized by Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org) and RighTalk Radio Network has arrived in Baghdad, Iraq. The delegation includes talk show hosts from around the country as well as the leadership of Move America Forward who will all file live reports on the situation in Iraq...

Baghdad.... Day 1 Author: Brad Dated: Monday, July 11 2005 @ 04:24 PM EDT Baghdad. First Day After nearly 30 hours of travel and few hours of sleep we loaded onto a C130 for the trip to Baghdad. There were several soldiers returning to the theater as well as our group. We were all carrying our gear as well as wearing army issue kevlar and helmets. My helmet broke before I even put it on. (At least the strap did). The plane ride is like an E-Ticket at Disneyland. Everyone talks about getting shot at, rough air, noise... it was...

Sunday, July 10, 2005 Posted By:Melanie MorganPermalinkThe Group Is Now in Kuwait Greetings from the Middle East… I’m writing to you from Kuwait (the land Saddam Hussein raped and pillaged during the first Gulf War)—the whole gang arrived late last night,and we’re not sleeping much due to jet lag. It’s 104 degrees at 8:30 at night.  We’re taking off again at 6:30 A.M. in a military transport aircraft for Camp Victory. I’m really excited about getting the chance to see our troops in Iraq, and to provide them the means to provide a direct, unfiltered report to the American people...

RIGHTALK.com, America's premiere conservative talk radio network on the internet, is honored to announce co-sponsorship along with Move America Forward of the "Voices of Soldiers" Truth Tour going to Baghdad July 8-15. Created and organized by Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson, host of "The Buzz Cut" on RIGHTALK, a group of experienced and dedicated radio hosts will broadcast direct from Baghdad interviewing soldiers on the ground to find out what is really going on in Iraq and whether American's military is winning the war against the terrorist insurgents and also the hearts and minds of Iraqi citizens. Go to VoicesofSoldiers.com...

Listen While You Freep! All programs are replayed for 23 hours and again on weekends so tune in when it’s convenient for YOU! Call In Number - 866-884-TALK (8255) Heating the EDGE of a New Media! 12pm-2pm EST - VOICES OF SOLDIERS TOUR 2005!! BUZZ LIVE FROM BAGHDAD! Join Buzz as he broadcasts live from Camp Victory, Iraq. Lots of insightful interviews with our men and women in uniform from the front lines. The Buzz Cut! 2pm EST – “Breaking Free” with Kerri Houston and Peter Roff! 3pm EST - Live From Baghdad!!! Martha joins Buzz Patterson on the Voices...

Conservative talkers taking radio shows on road to IraqPublic support for the war in Iraq is plummeting at home and overseas, military recruiters aren't making their quotas, and U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians are being killed every day by insurgents. But enough of the bad news, say a group of six conservative talk-show hosts led by San Francisco's Melanie Morgan. They're headed to Iraq on Friday for a "Truth Tour" -- a seven-day trip designed to show that what's happening on the ground in Iraq isn't as dire as what's being beamed across the globe on network news programs and...

Here is the complete broadcast schedule for the talk show hosts who will be broadcasting live from Iraq next week: (I added the show links where people can listen on-line) href="http://www.moveamericaforward.org/index.php/DailyFile/complete_broadcast_schedule_from_centcom_hq_kuwait_iraq/ Complete Broadcast Schedule from CENTCOM HQ, Kuwait, Iraq (All times are eastern) --- Friday July 8- Tampa, FL - Centcom Headquarters Melanie Morgan (from San Francisco), KSFO: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PMhttp://www.ksfo560.com/ ('Listen Now' link)http://www.ksfo560.com/djadditionalinformation.asp?djid=11187 (Show page) Martha Zoller, WDUN: 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM http://www.marthazoller.com/main.asp (Listen On-Line link) Michael Graham, WMAL: 9:00 AM – 11:45 AM http://wmal.com/showdj.asp?DJID=25410 (Listen Live link) Buzz Patterson/Martha Zoller, Rightalk: 11 AM – 12...

Critics Call Radio Hosts' Trip Propaganda MissionSunday, July 03, 2005 By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos WASHINGTON — A contingent of conservatives talk radio hosts is headed to Iraq this month on a mission to report "the truth" about the war: American troops are winning, despite headlines to the contrary. The "Truth Tour" has been pulled together by the conservative Web cast radio group Rightalk.com and Move America Forward, a non-profit conservative group backed by a Republican-linked public relations firm in California. "The reason why we are doing it is we are sick and tired of seeing and hearing headlines by the...