John Bruhns

John Bruhns was the legislative representative for Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEI) between May and October 2007.

In October 2007 Bruhns left the organization over disagreeing with AAEI's anti-Republican and pro-Democrat strategy. In a November 2007 opinion column Bruhns wrote that "We watched as legislation that had no substantial impact on ending the war was debated. There ARE anti-war resolutions still floating out there that call for a real end to the war, but the groups I worked for wouldn't spend one dime to promote legislation considered out of the mainstream of the Democratic Party."[

John Bruhns, was announced as a lobbyist for United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) in March, 2008. According to the news release announcing his hiring, "John Bruhns served as an infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 and returned strongly opposed to the occupation that he had been a part of, believing the Bush administration had misused his patriotism. Bruhns began speaking out at peace events and in April 2007 was named the winner of a Video Vets contest created by MoveOn." Bruhns resigned from United For Peace and Justice in May, 2008. Bruhns enjoyed a good working relationship with the UFPJ staff in the organization's New York headquarters. However, there were many individual members at the organization's grass-roots level that were extremely intolerant of Bruhns' moderate political and social views.

Background
Bruhns joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve while earning his BA at DeSales University. After graduating from college and as his time in the reserves was coming to an end, 9/11 occurred and he reenlisted in the Army for active duty as an Infantryman. He invaded Iraq on day one the invasion and served there for one year. He was stationed in West Baghdad with the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. John Bruhns was awarded the combat infantry badge and was honorably discharged in 2005." He has appeared as a guest on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, CNN, Fox News, BBC, Democracy Now, and MSNBC. He is a freelance writer focusing on politics and the war in Iraq.

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