By JIM KUHNHENN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 14, 2007; 5:24 PM
WASHINGTON -- Army Spc. Tomas Young, shot and partially paralyzed on his fifth day in Iraq, is in the vanguard of a new deployment.
On Wednesday, Young, a 27-year-old Missourian, wheeled himself in and out of elevators and navigated the corridors of congressional office buildings in an effort to build opposition to President Bush's troop increase in Iraq.
War critics are running a million-dollar campaign with ads, rallies and personal appeals to members of Congress by wounded war veterans.
"Iraqis want us out of there. A majority of Americans want us out of there," Young said. "Sending more troops is just putting an Ace bandage over a gaping wound."
The mobilization against troop increases is just a preliminary maneuver for what activists say is the ultimate battle _ a fight to restrict spending on the war itself.
On Thursday, Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has emerged as a leading voice against the war, is expected to spell out a strategy that would link any deployment of troops in Iraq to their readiness status. Democratic leaders appeared to be rallying around that message Wednesday, calling on Bush to make sure soldiers have the equipment and training necessary to fight.
"It is wrong to deploy troops to the Iraqi theater until they have the up-armored Humvees, equipment, lodging, training and other support required to carry out their mission," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wrote in a letter to the president.
Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, added: "Right now we are not prepared. ... Funds provided last year and funds proposed in this year's budget should go a long way toward repairing and replacing Army equipment, but it will take many years to restore readiness to acceptable levels."
Murtha has prepared a video message that the liberal group MoveOn.org plans to show Thursday night at more than 1,200 house meetings across the country. He also has videotaped an interview with former Rep. Tom Andrews, D-Maine, head of Win Without War, another group opposed to the war. The interview will be posted on the Internet.
"This is where the rubber meets the road," said Andrews, a former member of the House Armed Services Committee. "It's all about Congress using its constitutional power of the purse."
Both MoveOn and Win Without War are members of Americans Against the Escalation in Iraq, a coalition that includes VoteVets.org, a group of veterans that has been active against Bush's war policy since last year's congressional elections.
No outside groups appear to be taking as aggressive a stance in favor of Bush's plan. The American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars have publicly supported the administration while conceding mistakes in the conflict. They have not mounted a campaign to counter Bush's opponents.
"We're not organizing any major grass-roots push," said Steve Robertson, legislative director for the American Legion.
Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., read a letter from Gary Kurpius, a Vietnam veteran and commander of the VFW, urging members to vote against the resolution opposing the troop increase.
"We have to let our generals be generals and wage this war as only they are trained to do, and have hope that the announced troop buildup will be the final key that's needed by the Iraqis to build a secure and united country," Kurpius wrote.
Saxton on Tuesday hosted a briefing with ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar, all of whom argued against a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops. About 50 Republicans attended that session.
Americans Against the Escalation, on the other hand, has raised $2.2 million and spent $1.6 million so far this year, with much of the money devoted to ads pressuring Republican senators to oppose the troop buildup.
After the Senate debate over the buildup stalled, activists turned their attention to the House, though a tour of key congressional districts this week was canceled because of harsh weather in many parts of the country.
Organizers are planning a series of press conferences and rallies in 34 states to pressure lawmakers to distance themselves from Bush's plan. The campaign is de-emphasizing traditional anti-war voices and pushing state organizers to recruit veterans, labor leaders and members of the clergy to act as spokesmen against the Bush administration.
A memorandum to organizers of the coalition, Americans Against the Escalation In Iraq, encourages them to amass a "diverse group of widely respected citizens."
"If the targeted member of Congress is Catholic, a priest could be a particularly persuasive partner," the memorandum states.
Republicans opposed to the troop increase say they have been less persuaded by activists groups than they have been by the sight of dead soldiers returning to their congressional districts.
"Of all the major influences, it's going to the viewings and funerals of those who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del. "These are young people, usually in their 20s, whose whole lives were ahead of them. You want to see that stopped."
Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, another Republican who opposes Bush's plan, said he senses "an urgency" across his rural eastern Maryland district to end the conflict in Iraq.
"I see people in the post office, many people whose children and grandchildren are in their third tour," he said. "People are looking to resolve this with conversations, with dialogue."