Talk:Wade Zirkle

Untitled

Wade Zirkle is a decorated American military veteran of the Iraq War. He is the cofounder and former executive director of the Vets For Freedom Action Fund, a Political Action Committee (PAC) that advocates against the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. [1]

Zirkle spent two tours in Iraq as a U.S. Marine infantryman, first during the invasion of 2003, and next for the Battle of Fallujah in 2004. He is a recipient of the Purple Heart Medal. [2]

Zirkle returned to Iraq for the third time as a civilian freelance journalist in 2006, where he imbedded himself with the Iraqi Army in Ramadi. He was the first American journalist to report that the new counter-insurgency strategy being implemented in Anbar Province was working, and wrote contraversial editorials in the [3] Philadelphia Inquirer and The Weekly Standard claiming the “oilspot strategy” was seeing signs of success in Iraq. It was not until three months later, the Los Angeles Times was the next newspaper to report such news, as it stated "tribal leaders in Anbar province were turning against the Al Qaeda resistance." [4]. It was not until 11 month after Zirkle's initial report that the New York Times aknowledged that Anbar was "undergoing a surprising transformation" .

CRITICISM

In October of 2006, Zirkle was criticized for being given free airtime on the CBS Evening News to promote a force increase in Iraq of 30,000 troops. Four months later, President Bush announced the increase of 24,000 troops, leading many to speculate that Vets for Freedom Action Fund was coordinating a GOP orchestrated PR campaign. [5]

Zirkle has also been criticized for other blatantly Republican ties [6], and excessive funding from special interest groups including Pro-Israel, Jewish, and Neoconservative donors. [7] Zirkle recieved more criticism in 2007 for meeting with President Bush three times at the White House to promote increased defense spending. [8] [9] [10]