Operation Truth

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Operation Truth is a non-profit (501c4) veterans' organization that seeks to "amplify the soldiers' voice in the American public dialogue" in order to "educate the American public about the truth of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the perspective of the soldiers who have experienced them first-hand. Many of our government's policies and approaches to military operations have manifested themselves as problems on the front lines and back at home. Whether the subject is the role of private contractors in military operations, the lack of body armor for troops, the closing of V.A. hospitals, or the effects of 'Stop-loss', the men and women who have served and who have returned to civilian life truly have a unique and politically valuable perspective. ... American servicemen and women have a voice that deserves to be heard; the issues and hardships troops face merit attention. Additionally, American servicemen and women have a distinct and important perspective that can influence the American political scene in a powerful way." [1]

History

The organization was founded in August 2004 by former Iraq war veteran Paul Rieckhoff. Although Operation Truth is nonpartisan, during the U.S. presidential election, 2004 its message was sharply critical of President George W. Bush.

One TV ad sponsored by the organization featured Robert Acosta, a soldier who lost his hand in combat in Iraq. "I was called to serve in Iraq because the government said there were weapons of mass destruction – but they weren't there," Acosta said. "They said Iraq had something to do with 9/11 – but the connection wasn't there… So when people ask me where my arm went, I try to find the words, but they're not there." The ad ends with a shot of Acosta removing his prosthesis, revealing a stub where his right hand should be. [2][3]

"The Voice of the Troops"

Issued March 20, 2005, by Operation Truth on the two-year anniversary of the war in Iraq, the After Action Review: The Voice of the Troops provides "a closer look at what our troops think about this war." OT's new survey, The Voice of the Troops, created from "responses -- submitted directly by active service members in Iraq to OpTruth's website -- directly contradict the spin from the top echelons of Washington and the fortified compounds inside the Green Zone," according to The Nation's Ari Berman. [4]

Categories in the survey include comments made by the Bush administration, followed by those submitted by members of the military actually serving in Iraq:

  • Armor Shortages
  • Guard and Reserve Deployment
  • Poor Training
  • Private Contractors
  • Assistance for Returning Troops
  • Reconstruction

Read the survey.

Criticisms of Operation Truth

Stan Goff, a former US Special Forces officer, socialist writer, anti-war activist and "member of the coordinating committee of Bring Them Home Now!," has been critical of Operation Truth, accusing its executive director Paul Rieckhoff of being "a plant for the Democratic Party, using his outfit's non-profit status to give him plausible deniability." [5]

OT dismisses Goff's criticism that it is not an anti-war organisation on the grounds that it has never sought to describe itself as this.

Principals

Staff

Former Staff

Former Board of Advisors

Affiliations

  • Free Range Graphics provided website design services to Operation Truth
  • Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura has publicly supported the organization.

Contact information

Website: www.optruth.org

SourceWatch Resources

External links

2004

2005

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