June 26, 2007 - Dear VCS Supporter:

The Washington Post newspaper woke up this week. Many Americans strongly suspected there was rampant unconstitutional and illegal activity in the White House. Thanks to to our Constitutionally protected freedom of the press we now have a glimpse behind the curtain at Oz.

According to The Washington Post , Vice President Richard Cheney supported terrible acts of heinous torture -- burying citizens and enemy prisoners of war alive in order to extract confessions. Did 9/11 unleash an inquisition by Dick "Torquemada" Cheney? These disturbing revelations confirm a tragic concern: Is the greatest risk to our Constitution from within?

Here is a news article describing how the military wants to send us into a tornado of spin by improperly linking casualties in Iraq to terrorist groups. The facts prove otherwise. Sadly, the Pentagon is engaged in deceptive propaganda to distract us from the fact the war is lost.

Iraq suffers from a deadly combination of violent criminal activity, religious genocide, nationalist insurgency, tribal warfare, and suicidal terrorists taking advantage of the U.S. - induced anarchy.

Here's another news article about how one misguided senator is preventing you and me from knowing about the Administration's torture policies, our battlefield casualties, and financial impact of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

U.S. Senator Jon Kyl , Republican from Arizona, is blocking a bill to improve and update our coveted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This critical law requires our Federal Government to release information to citizens - that's the "We the People" part of our Constitution.

Citizens must have accurate, timely, and complete facts so we can vote and share our informed views with elected officials. Without FOIA, the public is blind, and unchecked government tyranny festers and reigns.

FOIA is critical to VCS. We obtained a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) report confirming 180,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans filing disability compensation claims against VA as of November 2006. VCS is fighting VA to obtain complete mental health disability claim statistics, and VCS sent in ten new FOIAs to VA this month.

Senator Hiram Johnson lucidly observed that the first casualty of war is truth. The current Administration's use of torture, propaganda, and concealing facts is setting a troubling new standard in how low our government will sink to grab power and to perpetuate the war they started and lost.

In closing, here are two quick requests. Would you like to serve on our Board of Directors? Do you want to raise money and expand our work? If the answer is yes, please send us a short note at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will contact you.

We seek to expand our board with dedicated veterans, including more women and minority veterans who want to inject common sense into the policy debates on national security, civil liberties, and veterans issues.

VCS is close to our June fundraising goal of $10,000. Please consider a one-time tax-deductible gift of $25, $50, or $100 so we can begin hiring new staff and continue making a difference on issues that matter to you on issues such as facts and FOIAs. You are making a difference.

In the past few months, VCS testified before Congress, VCS secured $1.8 billion in new money for desperately needed VA doctors and claims processors, and VCS was mentioned in more than 30 press articles. Your continued support makes our successful efforts possible .

Sincerley,

Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense

P.S.: The response to last week's update describing how President Bush lost the Iraq War was a major success. The feedback was overwhelming and positive. Thanks to all of you who posted or sent in private comments. Even Republican Senator Richard Lugar confirms that President Bush lost his Iraq War.