Bilirakis: Ad Defaming General is Outrageous and Reprehensible
September 9, 2007
WASHINGTON (10 Sep.) -- U.S. Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-Fla.), member of the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Veterans' Affairs, today issued the following statement in response to a full-page advertisement placed in today's New York Times by anti-war organization MoveOn.org depicting General David Petraeus as a traitor:
"This ad is another attempt at what has been a pattern over the past week to impugn the character and career of a decorated military commander in order to fit a backwards political agenda.
"Our nation's greatest asset is the men and women who serve this country with honor and integrity. For an organization to use such a public forum to launch a baseless attack against General Petraeus, a man who has been entrusted to lead our military forces in Iraq, is a new low even for Moveon.org. This action is simply outrageous and reprehensible.
"I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to publicly denounce this ad and to abandon this kind of unjustifiable and shameful rhetoric. This does not help our nation's war effort, nor does it lend the kind of respect our troops deserve."
"This ad is another attempt at what has been a pattern over the past week to impugn the character and career of a decorated military commander in order to fit a backwards political agenda.
"Our nation's greatest asset is the men and women who serve this country with honor and integrity. For an organization to use such a public forum to launch a baseless attack against General Petraeus, a man who has been entrusted to lead our military forces in Iraq, is a new low even for Moveon.org. This action is simply outrageous and reprehensible.
"I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to publicly denounce this ad and to abandon this kind of unjustifiable and shameful rhetoric. This does not help our nation's war effort, nor does it lend the kind of respect our troops deserve."