Updates at end of post.

Iraq Veterans Against the War are trying again. Only this time, they better really bring it. Winter Soldier is going for Round 3 in trying to influence the public about the supposed “travesties” taking place in Iraq. Only this time, we’ll be paying even more attention to what they say UNDER OATH about the “failure of troop surge”, according to their press release.

WHAT: Winter Soldier on the Hill
WHO: Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) & The Congressional Progressive Caucus
WHEN: May 15, 2008, 9:30am-12:30pm
WHERE: 2261 Rayburn House Office Building
WHY: To present eyewitness accounts of the Iraq occupation to Congress.

Washington, DC – On May 15, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will testify under oath before Congress about their eyewitness accounts of the military occupation of Iraq. Testifiers will include veterans who served during the surge.

This testimony represents a shift from reports to Congress from high-level commanders and political appointees to direct accounts from boots-on-the-ground soldiers and Marines about the situation in Iraq. Testifiers will detail the ineffectiveness of the “troop surge,” the dehumanization, abuse and killing of innocent Iraqi civilians, and the breakdown of the military as a result of the ongoing occupation of Iraq.

Testifiers will include Luis Montalvan, who served two tours in Iraq as an Army Captain; Jason Washburn, a US Marine Corps Infantry Rifleman who served three tours in Iraq; and Kristofer Goldsmith, who served in the Army as an Artillery Forward Observer in Sadr City, Iraq.

I notice that they’re not using any of the same people from Winter Soldier Dos (that’s Spanish for two – I’m an educated Soldier) a few months ago. Maybe they realized what a crock sham it turned out to be. The Soldiers insinuated many of their experiences and presented no first-hand accounts for the most part.

I can’t wait to hear from some of these guys. I checked out Luis Montalvan’s website, sorry – former Captain Luis Montalvan, and got to hear first-hand what we can expect to hear from one of his own videos. I find it hard to believe that he was a Captain and feel truly sorry for the troops that fell under him. He’s inarticulate, yet tries to use his vast vocabulary to sound intelligent and important. He failed. For someone about to testify about the atrocities and the “abuse and killing of innocent Iraqi civilians” I found it odd that his main page features pictures of him holding and playing with Iraqi children.

I’ve discussed this before, but his latest blog post is about a walk out at Columbia University. He posts a flyer of the event that boasts “1,200,000 estimated deaths” after five years in Iraq. Even if we used the disproven Lancelot survey taken back in 2004 and multiply their skewed numbers as an average, the most we would find are 500,000 deaths. Using Mr. Montalvan’s, and Columbia University peace thug figures, more than 20,000 civilians would have to be killed EVERY MONTH to reach the 1.2 million figure. It is assumed that every Captain in the military has at least a 4-year degree before earning their commission, so it perplexes me why he can’t do simple math. Even the extreme left-wing Iraq Body Count tracks a few more than 91,000 deaths on their high end! Montalvan is a hack! But, he’s an IVAW hack and invited to testify by John Kerry to continue the treason Kerry started in the sixties, so give him some credit.

Next up on the ASP hitlist is former Marine CPL Jason Washburn. As I reported he did in March, Washburn will tell us about all kinds of bad things that American Soldiers did in Iraq – none of which he witnessed. He just happens to know “someone” or have a “friend” who did something bad. He talks about seeing bodies in the streets, but never saw how they got there. He’ll tell us about horrible interrogations Marines used that he never experienced. He’ll talk about the “atrocities” of Haditha though he “was not there to witness the shooting.” He’ll have us believe that Haditha is not an isolated incident but can’t recall any others. He held true to my predictions. However, this time he’ll be testifying under oath!!

Kristofer Goldsmith is a bitter former Army Sergeant who was caught up under stop loss. He’s an alcoholic and drug abuser who tried to commit suicide and THIS is the kind of guy that the The Congressional Progressive Caucus wants to hear from!! The poor guy was stop-lossed and just couldn’t handle it. His harshest experiences include documenting mass graves and having a stick pointed at him by a 6-year boy! I wish I had his life when I was deployed.

Now let’s look at the people supporting this treasonous effort to undermine the troops in combat, the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The Caucus co-chairs are Lynn Woolsey (CA-6) and Barbara Lee (CA-9). Go figure! Other members include Dennis Kookicinich (Kucinich), Jim McDorkmitt (McDermitt), James McUngovernable (McGovern), Charles Ranghoul (Rangel), and Henry Waxmymanstuff (Waxman). Adolescent? Yes, but I don’t care. Their main goal is “to take on the Bush Administration’s agenda by providing a comprehensive, thoughtful, progressive alternative” (ie: undermine the war effort against Islamic extremism).

From Col(ret) Harry Riley:

Take a look at the organizations that supports the Congressional Progressive Caucus (Circus)……does this give you an idea of the 70 or so Congressional membership on this caucus(circus) and how they spend their time?

“An array of national progressive organizations will work to support the efforts of the caucus, including the Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation magazine, MoveOn.org, National Priorities Project, Jobs with Justice, Peace Action, Americans for Democratic Action, and Progressive Democrats of America. Also co-sponsoring the kickoff event were the NAACP, ACLU, Progressive Majority, League of United Latin American Citizens, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, National Council of La Raza, Hip Hop Caucus, Human Rights Campaign, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, and the National Hip Hop Political Convention. The CPC has long maintained cordial ties with the Democratic Socialists of America, which hosted its website during the 1990s.”

I’m glad these guys will be under oath. You better believe that if the Caucus doesn’t ask them tough questions and demand proof (names, dates, time, locations, units, witnesses, leadership involved, etc) that we will. If their stories are indeed true, then the Soldiers involved should be punished, including any IVAW members involved that didn’t report these atrocities when they had the chance. I will not allow them to trash my brothers and sisters without proof. So, they better “bring it!”

Update: Looks like IVAW is going to have a lot of support in their hearings. Check out the official positions of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. h/t to NYGOE for link.