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Ventura criticizes use of National Guard in Iraq
August 24, 2004

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is serving as an advisory board member for a new group called Operation Truth, a nonprofit organization set up "to give voice to troops who served in Iraq." (2003 photo) (Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images)

St. Paul, Minn. — (AP) - Former Gov. Jesse Ventura, who during his time in office diligently avoided commenting on military decisions, joined the fray over the war in Iraq on Tuesday.

"Now that I'm a civilian, I'm here to speak out that I think the current use of the National Guard is wrong," Ventura said Tuesday.

Ventura is serving as an advisory board member for a new group called Operation Truth, a nonprofit organization set up "to give voice to troops who served in Iraq."

Emphasizing that he is an independent, not a Republican or Democrat, Ventura said the National Guard was designed to protect the homeland, not fight overseas.

"Having been in the military, I know what it's like to deploy overseas," said Ventura, a former Navy SEAL. "I did 17 months, two tours, when I was in. I also was the head of the Minnesota National Guard as governor. You're the commander in chief. At that point in time, I did my job. I didn't say anything because of the chain of command."

They are designed to protect us here in the United States of America and in our homeland - not to be occupying nations halfway around the world. That is not the role of the National Guard. - Jesse Ventura

Now that he no longer serves in that role, he said it was time to weigh in.

The National Guard and reserves have taken on an unusually important role in the Iraq war, making up about 40 percent of the total force.

"They are designed to protect us here in the United States of America and in our homeland - not to be occupying nations halfway around the world," Ventura said. "And that is not the role of the National Guard. And in many cases, many of these men are doing things they were never trained to do, which is dangerous for them and dangerous for the war itself."

Ventura said he wouldn't be on the speaking circuit or pushing for specific legislation, but rather that he planned "just to bring recognition to Operation Truth."

Operation Truth's founder, Army National Guard 1st Lt. Paul Rieckhoff, was a platoon leader in Iraq and has criticized President Bush in comments distributed by John Kerry's presidential campaign.

In May, Rieckhoff, of New York, expressed disappointment with Bush, saying the nation's leaders refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of continuing violence in Iraq.

"I don't expect our leaders to be free of mistakes. I expect our leaders to own up to them," he said.

But he was careful to point out Tuesday that the group he was heading was nonpartisan and welcomed thoughts and comments from all political stripes.

"We're not speaking out against the war," Rieckhoff said. "We're speaking out about the war."

And the group will continue to do that regardless of who's elected in November, he said. "They should know we're going to ... hold them accountable," Rieckhoff said.

Dave Chasteen of Muncie, Ind., a self-described conservative Republican, serves as a staff member and on the advisory board. The veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom served as a captain in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps in Iraq.

"This is not an anti-Bush campaign," he said.

When he was serving in Iraq, he said the intelligence he had seen indicated that Iraq probably had weapons of mass destruction, but was almost certainly not a threat to the United States.

He said he assumed the president had better intelligence than military folks like himself.

"We now know that wasn't the case," he said.

The New York-based Operation Truth planned to hold its official launch party and fund-raiser on Wednesday. So far, the group has been funded by donations and Rieckhoff's own money, he said.

A call to a Bush campaign spokeswoman for comment wasn't immediately returned.

Of the nine Minnesotans killed in Iraq, one - Spc. James Holmes of East Grand Forks - was a Guard member. He served in the North Dakota National Guard and was killed in May by a roadside bomb while on patrol in a vehicle.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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