Iraq vet urges exit of GOP state boss
Posted on Thursday, June 7, 2007
The head of a national veterans group called Wednesday for Arkansas Republican Party Chairman Dennis Milligan to resign over a statement in which Milligan said further terrorist attacks on American soil would convince detractors of the wisdom of President Bush’s Iraq war policy and the sacrifice of American fighting men and women.
Jon Soltz, chairman and cofounder of VoteVets. org, said Wednesday that the newly installed GOP chief had used the death of American civilians to bolster support for a failed foreign policy.
“Normally, I would ask somebody to apologize, but this is so ridiculous that this guy just needs to go away,” said Soltz, who said he is a retired Army captain and served in Iraq and Kosovo. “Is that really the policy of the Republican Party, that they’re inviting another terrorist attack on this country ?”
Milligan, a Saline County businessman elected Republican Party chairman last month, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a recent interview that “I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001 ], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country.”
He made his remarks in response to a question about the war’s potential impact on the 2008 elections.
Since the publication, Milligan’s comments have provoked criticism among some online bloggers and pundits.
But Milligan said his remarks have been misinterpreted and their intent misrepresented.
“The notion that I am calling for more terrorist attacks is non-sensical,” Milligan wrote in an e-mail statement. “I stand behind the president. September 11 was one of the most horrific, tragic days in our nation’s history. No one, Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, ever wants to live through another September 11.”
The Democratic Party chairman, former Sen. Bill Gwatney of Little Rock, said he thought Milligan’s remarks were “inappropriate” but said it was for the Republican Party to decide whether to oust Milligan.
“It would make no sense for me to say he should resign,” he said.
VoteVets. org, which claims 196 members in Arkansas and roughly 40, 000 nationwide, is a nonpartisan organization of veterans, including of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and military families. The nonprofit New York City-based group counts among its board members Democrats retired Gen. Wesley Clark of Little Rock and former U. S. Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, a Navy vet- eran of Vietnam.
The group lists as a senior adviser Indiana National Guardsman and Iraq veteran Sam Schultz, who last year ran an unsuccessful campaign as a Republican for U. S. Congress.
The group’s stated goal is to support Iraq and Afghanistan veterans “who are critical of the execution of the war in Iraq” in races for the U. S. Congress. The group funds campaigns and trains candidates.
Soltz said in an interview that the war in Iraq is “a distraction from the war on terror.” He said the year-old VoteVets. org calls for “a diplomatic surge,” in which American political leaders would pursue a diplomatic end to the war in Iraq through a regional “framework agreement” that would stabilize the region.
When told that Milligan claimed to have been misinterpreted, Soltz, 30, declined to back away from his criticism.
“His words are his words; he said it. I just don’t think he understands the first thing about national security policy,” he said. “It’s a flawed idea anyway to connect Iraq to 9 / 11. Those us who fought there know the truth.”
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