Operation Truth

Operation Truth is a non-profit (501c4) veterans' organization that seeks to "amplify the soldiers' voice in the American public dialogue" in order to "educate the American public about the truth of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the perspective of the soldiers who have experienced them first-hand. Many of our government's policies and approaches to military operations have manifested themselves as problems on the front lines and back at home. Whether the subject is the role of private contractors in military operations, the lack of body armor for troops, the closing of V.A. hospitals, or the effects of 'Stop-loss', the men and women who have served and who have returned to civilian life truly have a unique and politically valuable perspective. ... American servicemen and women have a voice that deserves to be heard; the issues and hardships troops face merit attention. Additionally, American servicemen and women have a distinct and important perspective that can influence the American political scene in a powerful way."

History
The organization was founded in August 2004 by former Iraq war veteran Paul Rieckhoff. Although Operation Truth is nonpartisan, during the U.S. presidential election, 2004 its message was sharply critical of President George W. Bush.

One TV ad sponsored by the organization featured Robert Acosta, a soldier who lost his hand in combat in Iraq. "I was called to serve in Iraq because the government said there were weapons of mass destruction – but they weren't there," Acosta said. "They said Iraq had something to do with 9/11 – but the connection wasn't there&hellip; So when people ask me where my arm went, I try to find the words, but they're not there." The ad ends with a shot of Acosta removing his prosthesis, revealing a stub where his right hand should be. 

"The Voice of the Troops"
Issued March 20, 2005, by Operation Truth on the two-year anniversary of the war in Iraq, the After Action Review: The Voice of the Troops provides "a closer look at what our troops think about this war." OT's new survey, The Voice of the Troops, created from "responses -- submitted directly by active service members in Iraq to OpTruth's website -- directly contradict the spin from the top echelons of Washington and the fortified compounds inside the Green Zone," according to The Nation's Ari Berman. 

Categories in the survey include comments made by the Bush administration, followed by those submitted by members of the military actually serving in Iraq:


 * Armor Shortages
 * Guard and Reserve Deployment
 * Poor Training
 * Private Contractors
 * Assistance for Returning Troops
 * Reconstruction

Read the survey.

Criticisms of Operation Truth
Stan Goff, a former US Special Forces officer, socialist writer, anti-war activist and "member of the coordinating committee of Bring Them Home Now!," has been critical of Operation Truth, accusing its executive director Paul Rieckhoff of being "a plant for the Democratic Party, using his outfit's non-profit status to give him plausible deniability." 

OT dismisses Goff's criticism that it is not an anti-war organisation on the grounds that it has never sought to describe itself as this.

Staff

 * Paul Rieckhoff – executive director

Former Staff

 * Yannick Marchal – associate director
 * David Chasteen

Former Board of Advisors

 * Paul Bucha
 * David Chasteen
 * Kevin Kjellerup
 * Bobby Muller
 * Steve Robinson
 * Jesse Ventura
 * Ann Wright
 * Andrew M. Borene

Affiliations

 * Free Range Graphics provided website design services to Operation Truth
 * Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura has publicly supported the organization.

Contact information
Website: www.optruth.org

SourceWatch Resources

 * Iraq Veterans Against the War
 * Military Families Speak Out
 * Operation Enduring Freedom
 * Operation Iraqi Freedom
 * Paul Rieckhoff: External Links
 * peace movement
 * Veterans For Peace
 * Education for Peace in Iraq Center

2004

 * lakshmi, "Operation Truth," AlterNet, August 4, 2004.
 * "Operation Truth," channel 29, Fox News, August 2004.
 * Jennifer Barrett Ozols, "‘We Were There’. An Iraq veteran hopes his new group will generate a grassroots effort to examine what went wrong with Washington’s post-war plans," Newsweek, August 6, 2004.
 * Joe Galloway, "Soldiers Use Web to Make Voices Heard," military.com, August 11, 2004.
 * Bob Geiger, "Northwoods teams with Ventura again in Operation Truth," Finance and Commerce, August 21, 2004: "Northwoods Advertising, the Minneapolis ad agency that helped former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura win a three-way election for Minnesota governor in 1998, again is teaming with Ventura to generate a national public dialogue about challenges facing U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. ... Called Operation Truth, the organization is being set up by Paul Rieckhoff, a New Yorker who served 10 months in Iraq as an infantry platoon leader."
 * "Ventura disagrees with sending National Guard to Iraq," channel 5 kstp (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN), August 24, 2004.
 * Ashley H. Grant, "Jesse Ventura Helps Launch Organization 'Operation Truth'," AP, August 25, 2004.
 * Melanie Hunter, "Vets Group Calls on Both Campaigns to Drop Swift Boat Vets Controversy," Cybercast News Service, August 26, 2004.
 * Mark Egan, "Iraq War Veterans Want Debate on Iraq, Not Vietnam," Reuters, September 2, 2004.
 * Vince Crawley, "Recent vets focus on troops’ plight. Worry about today, not Vietnam, says Operation Truth," Army Times, September 6, 2004.
 * Susan Aschoff, "War stories, from those who know. Two veterans back from Iraq create a Web site so soldiers can share their experiences directly with the American public," St. Petersburg Times, September 11, 2004.
 * Janine Jacquet, "Operation Truth," The Nation Blog Radio, October 6, 2004.
 * Tai Moses, "Soldiers Once ... And Young. Iraq combat veterans offer raw, compelling testimony to the horrors of war and the anguish of returning home," AlterNet, October 12, 2004.
 * Mary Jacoby, "Maimed but Not Mute," Salon.com, October 13, 2004.
 * Joe Rogers, "Organization Gives Voice to Everyday Soldiers," kpix.com, October 17, 2004.
 * Paige Stein, "Soldiers’ stories. Operation Truth, a nonprofit started by Iraqi veteran hopes to make the soldier’s voice heard loud and clear," Boca Raton News, October 17, 2004.
 * Sarah Littman, "Soldiers' Views Are Essential for America," sarahlittman.com, October 19, 2004.
 * Neela Banerjee and John Kifner, "Along with Prayers, Families send Armor," New York Times, October 30, 2004.
 * Alexandra Marks, "Vets return, but not always with healthcare. As the nation honors its veterans Thursday, some advocates say too many are falling through the cracks," Christian Science Monitor, November 10, 2004.
 * "Blogging From the Front Lines," PR Watch Forum entry, November 18, 2004.
 * Tom Brokaw, "Blogging from the front lines. How soldiers are using the Internet to share their stories," MSNBC, November 19, 2004.
 * Brita Brundage, "Commando Correspondents. Armed with computers, cell phones and digital cameras, today's soldiers are the real embedded journalists," Fairfield County Weekly, December 2, 2004.

2005

 * Laura Williams, "Vets panel on mission for truth. Tells of peril Iraq G.I.s face," New York Daily News, February 15, 2005.
 * Susan Jones, "Anti-War Groups Protesting US Troops Instead of Decision-Makers," Cybercast News Service, March 17, 2005. Posted on the GOPUSA website.
 * Dennis Rogers, "Take war protests to D.C.," The News & Observer Publishing Company, March 19, 2005.
 * "Rieckhoff responds to Kyne's diary," Guerrilla News Network, March 23, 2005; re Dennis Kyne, "Fayetteville Diary," Guerrilla News Network, March 23, 2005: "A veteran confronts charges Fort Bragg was the wrong place to protest."
 * Brian Orloff, "In Iraq War, The 'Truth' Sometimes Hurts," Editor & Publisher, April 1, 2005.
 * Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, "Veterans Evaluate War Experiences," Fox News, April 1, 2005.
 * Stan Goff, "A Trojan Jackass for the Anti-War Movement", CounterPunch, April 2, 2005.