Questions for Band of Brothers 2006
By smagar Posted in User Blogs — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Fllow this link to the website for "Band of Brothers 2006"
No, it's not a site for Henry V fans. Nor is it a site for the E Company 506th Regt veterans association, immortalized by the Stephen Ambrose book and Spielberg/Hanks miniseries. Nor is it linked to the 101st Airborne Division, of which E/506th was part--and which still has a Task Force named "Band of Brothers", currently in the field in Iraq.
No, this is a Democratic website, representing a group of veterans running for Congress in 2006. Most have a clear anti-war, anti-Bush and anti-GOP bent in their platforms. And, they are meeting tomorrow, Feb 8th, in Washington D.C. for a major press event.
I hope someone at this event asks them these questions.
(More below).
1) I am not claiming that the phrase "Band of Brothers" is copyrighted, or is not in the public domain. From what I (a non-lawyer) can tell, your group has every legal right to modify the phrase "Band of Brothers" by adding the date, and using it as your own logo. But, the story of E Company did inspire millions of Americans, of all political persuasions, when Ambrose, Spielberg and Hanks told it.
- Are you concerned that you might be taking a symbol behind which many Americans could rally, and giving it a partisan taint?
- Did you consult with the E Company 506th PIR veterans before picking "Band of Brothers" as your name. Or the 101st Airborne Division, which is currently using the name in Iraq?
2) The website of at least one of your candidates, Tammy Duckworth (IL), says that "from a policy perspective, invading Iraq was a mistake. We should have focused our military resources instead on pursuing the terrorists who attacked our country and on capturing Osama Bin Laden."
- Does the Band of Brothers 2006 concur with this view?
- If the answer is yes, could you spell out how the Bush administration should have fought the war in Afghanistan differently?
3) A specific question about Pakistan and its soverignty. Many of the Taliban and al Qaeda are believed to be hiding in Pakistan. And the Musharraf government has not welcomed an open US armed presence on Pakistani soil.
- Do you think we should have invaded Paksitan, so our troops could have attacked al Qaeda strongholds in Waziristan and other remote areas of the country? How about US airstrikes in Pakistan, again without the approval of the Pakistani government?
- Would you have urged a covert US SOF presence, against the wishes of the Musharraf government? (I think the technical term for this is causus belli ) If the answer is yes, and some of our SOF were captured by Pakistani security forces, how would we have gotten them back?
4) One of the reasons for not pressing the Musharraf government to do more against the Taliban and Al Qaeda is our concern that Musharraf's government might fall.
- Would you have been wiling to risk the fall of the Musharraf government, in order to press a more aggressive chase of Taliban/Al Qaeda within Pakistan?
- If the answer is yes, how conficent are you that we, with a different Pakistani government, still could have accomplished the following achievements in the GWOT: (a)keeping Pakistan's nuclear weapons out of Islamist hands; (b) the capture of Khalid Sheik Muhammad; (c) the dismantling of A Q Khan's nuclear proliferation network?
5) Another of your Band, Patrick Murphy (PA) says in his "Murphy Plan for Iraq" that "I believe we could have all Guard and Reserve troops home in 90 days--or no later than this summer--if we radically speed up the planned redeployment of U.S. Troops from Europe and Asia."
- Does the rest of the Band agree with Murphy's assessement?
- Could Rep Murphy give some details of how he would execute all of this within 90 days?
- Some of the units in Europe have just returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. Is Rep Murphy suggesting that some of those units return to combat prematurely, in order to accomplish his timetable?
6) On the "Band of Brothers 2006" website, you have a "Values" section. I'd like to ask about this item from that section:
A foreign policy that promotes US leadership with NATO, the UN, and our allies in the war on terror
- Please spell out what the Bush administration should have done differently in terms of using NATO and the UN in respect to Iraq. Specifically,
- How would you have worked with the UN differently
- In your opinion, what countries would have joined the fight with us, AND been capable warfighting partners, if the Bush adminstration had handled the pre-OIF diplomacy differently?
Hint: you might want to look at Economist magazine archives from the summer of 2004. Several articles spell out shortcomings in the demonstrated military capabilities of prime NATO countries. Germany, for example, refused to provide its peacekeepers in Afghanistan with armor or let them conduct riot control. Needless to say, the warlords were less than intimidated. And recently, the Dutch asked for US security guarantees before they sent their own troops to Afghanistan for peacekeeping duty. Are these the allies whose help you criticize the Bush administration for not enlisting?
I hope a Redstater in the DC area can attend the February 8th event. Should be quite a show.
I am disappointed that 50 democrats have chosen to run under this name. 50 democratic vets running for a stronger America.
I don't think stealing this name if right. This name is probably the best known name for a military group today.
Their website does not seem to offer any way to comment.
- Can someone find an email address for this group?
- Would any Republicans who feel the urge, go to this website http://www.bandofbrothers2006.org/candidates/
and select a candidate to contact and express your disappointment.
The term "Band of Brothers" is from Shakespere's HENRY V. Before it was popularized in Stephen Ambrose's book and then HBO miniseries about the 101st Airborne unit, It was a featured part of the Danny Devito film, "Renaissance Man", about a fired ad man that teachs basic skills to Army recruits classified as slow learners. He improves their skills by having them study Hamlet, and takes the class to a production of Henry V. This leads to the high point of the movie for me, when in the middle of a rainstorm at a night firing class,a drill SGT asks one of the class members what he is learning in the slow class. He stands up and recites the "Band of Brothers" passage from Henry V. Impresses the heck out of his Drill Sgt and the other trainees.
So, does that mean Penny Marshall, director, and writer Jim Burnstein should sue Ambrose's estate?
Get off it, Band of Brothers is not copywriteable.
You seem to be missing the main point of what Band of Brothers 2006 shows.
There are over 50 veterans, many of the current GWOT, running for Congress for the first time.
ALL BUT 2 ARE RUNNING AS DEMOCRATS.
That should make Republicans take pause. I mean, you cant swiftboat them all, can you??
And the latest candidate eligible for this group just annouced his candidacy for Senator of Virginia, James Webb.
You know, the best selling author. Vietnam Veteran, Marine Platoon and Company Commander. Medals, Purple Hearts. Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan. FORMER REPUBLICAN.
He is now a democrat running against George Allen. (got to get thru the primary first). Very much in favor of destroying Osama and the Taliban. Very much AGAINST going into Iraq.
You just dont get it. You can argue tiny details of policy as above, and miss the big picture.
This shows that veterans who want to be in politics this year want to run as Democrats. They are tired of the massive Bungling done by Rumsfeld, Cheney and the other Neocons who got us into the mess in Iraq. Who cant seem to get the supply train right, or try to charge a wounded soldier $700.00 for his body armor stipped off him and discarded when they were torniquetting his arm and medivacing him. See:
Soldier pays for armor:Army demanded $700 from city man who was wounded
By Eric Eyre, Staff writer http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2006020623?pt=0
(A liberal blog, AMERICABLOG, took up a collection for him today, and had to close it when they collected over $5000.00 after a few hours. The are going to try to send the excess to other soldiers similary dinged on eqiupment turn in after being wounded..)
There is liable to be a political tsunami this fall, akin to the Republican Revolution of 1994. Only the Republicans will be on the recieving end.
Even if the Dems only capture one house of the Congress, that means the investigation and subpeona power goes into high gear and we will start digging out all the lies and other corruptions hidden since 2001.
As a veteran supporting Band of Brothers 2006, I am so looking forward to this fight..
Good jab.
No, I overreacted. I know (and love the Shakespeare speech). And, I know people in the 101st Airborne have taken this as a mantle they earned.
You and I may be on different sides of the fence. I was shocked to learn the extent to which John Kerry has made use of this term as it applies to both the group he served with as well as vets who support his politics.
The group's motto is: "We will put America back on course, make America strong and secure, and make America truly the land of the free"
Fifty plus vets running together. Strong stuff, I think.
Especially the part where I conceded that Band of Brothers 2006 had no legal obligation to receive permission to use the name?
I'll bet that, if people remember the phrase "Band of Brothers," many more people will think of the heroes of E Company than a Danny DeVito movie. But, maybe your friends are afficianoados of Renaissance Man.
As for your other comments on the Band of Brothers 2006, bring it. As a Persian Gulf war veteran and retired Army officer, I resent a group of candidates displaying their DD214s and saying "Vote for me, because I served." Or, in the case of Band of Brothers 2006, saying "I'm a veteran and I'm running as a Democrat, so Bush and the Iraq War MUST be wrong!"
I've visited the Band of Brothers 2006 website. Most of your 50+ vets served just one tour, or served in Vietnam or long ago. Their service was honorable--but how does that qualify them as expert critics of the Iraq War campaign?
And, I've seen their policy proposals. Pretty thin, IMO. We have LOTS of questions for your band.
Bring it.
Today I watched the democratic vets introduce themselves on the mall.
This is an impressive group of candidates. Some with long careers in the military.
Kerry's selection of the Band of Brothers name was brilliant. The recruitment of 50 plus clean cut career soldiers and citizen soldiers may be the best thing democrats have done since talking FDR into running a third term.
The message from this group is that they are articulate, clear eyed, citizen soldiers, against corruption, in favor of supporting vets, in favor of making America strong, in favor of supporting soldiers in the field, and in favor of bringing the troops home presents some good challenges to some incumbents.
I'd ask Patrick Murphy as a military professional a follow-up question:
Sir, based on your military training and experience, if your enemy tells you that he'll leave the theater of operations, how would that affect your strategy and tactics?
Would you engage the enemy head-on before he leaves/escapes, or lay low until he leaves and then continue your operations as usual?