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1. Michelle Malkin » The anti-recruiter movement: Bombs, vandalism, assassination threats, and now a call to “cage” the troops
2. DPGI v.3 » And they casted out the idiots….
3. A NEWT ONE
4. IVAW Weenies Smacked Down | Euphoric Reality
5. IVAW Apologizes for Threats to GOE and Others : Gathering of Eagles
6. March to Washington Eagles UP
7. This ain’t Hell, but you can see it from here » Blog Archive » Busy week planned
8. This ain’t Hell, but you can see it from here » Blog Archive » Poor victimized IVAW member
9. Michelle Malkin » The return of an unhinged IVAW member

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Comments

1. #1
   On March 12th, 2008 at 12:54 pm, ArmoredCAV said:

   In my best “Simpson’s” kid’s voice: “Ha Ha.”

2. #2
   On March 12th, 2008 at 12:58 pm, radio relay said:

   At least somebody over there has some sense.

3. #3
   On March 12th, 2008 at 12:59 pm, terrig said:

   I hope they get the help the need too but they also need to be checked out by law enforcement.

4. #4
   On March 12th, 2008 at 1:02 pm, willie peter said:

   How did that work out for you, Evan and Jonathan?

   Now, absolutely everyone thinks you’re A-holes.

5. #5
   On March 12th, 2008 at 1:07 pm, englishqueen01 said:

   Good. Still should be checked out by law enforcement, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

6. #6
   On March 12th, 2008 at 1:07 pm, Chuck said:

   A hat tip to them. While I disagree with their premise concerning the Iraq war, this was the high road response to a nasty situation. Imagine truthers or pinkos doing this… NOT.

7. #7
   On March 12th, 2008 at 1:12 pm, in_awe said:

   Kudos to the IVAW director for taking a forceful stand in rejecting the calls for violence and intolerance. His sense of personal integrity and responsibility are also evident from his commitment to provide a safe and secure environment for people who he clearly diasgrees with politically, but defends their right to hold opposing opinions and be present at the event.

   His actions could serve as a model for other organizers. We need to permit voices to be heard from both sides of the political spectrum if we are ever to bind the wounds of the nation.

8. #8
   On March 12th, 2008 at 1:13 pm, ajmontana said:

   kudos for taking the proper course of action…..

9. #9
   On March 12th, 2008 at 1:14 pm, trailortrash said:

   nice to see someone take responsibility, :salute:
   maybe these guys can get the mental help they need now.

10. #10
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:14 pm, Rogue said:

    He just doesn’t like it when the rug is pulled back and all the slime that makes up groups like IVAW is exposed. Just like the Twoofers, Paulians and other liberal groups.

11. #11
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:14 pm, ajmontana said:

    lol in awe, i guess i could have typed ditto….

12. #12
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:25 pm, TheOtherSide said:

    As a lefty who quite often disagrees with MM and her commenters, let me applaud you for your actions in bringing this nutjob down a peg.

13. #13
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:29 pm, jfish said:

    Those of you who have served in the military know that you accept responsibility for all under your command, even actions specifically against your wishes or orders.

    So, let me get this straight: they’re complaining (which they have a right to do) about the military and what it does to ‘innocent kids’ or whatever. Yet within their little cadre, they still organize and recognize the militaristic structures? That’s got to be quite the rarity for any left-leaning group, doesn’t it?

    Just strikes me as odd for some reason. Still, glad to see one adult stand up in the crowd and say ‘No!’

14. #14
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:35 pm, Bob69 said:

    As an NCO (E7) and an Officer (Maj) I admire and applaud the rectitude, honest approach and acceptance of responsibility for his site and their actions. While I may disagree with his approach, it is with some gratitude that he disavows and responds to these personal attacks.

    … from all enemies foreign and domestic.

15. #15
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:37 pm, babbledabble said:

    He has given his word of honor as a guarantor for the safety of his bloggers. There still needs to be an investivation by the Federal authorities of a couple of them. (If there are any who care about assasination threats, that is).
    What about the safety of Michelle & the veterans who are NOT against the was?? There may be others who suffer from PTSD, does that give them all license to go around threatening people?

16. #16
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:38 pm, John Ansell said:

    Wow, I guess a broken clock is right 2 times a day. Good call on their part in pulling the losers.

17. #17
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:42 pm, jimC said:

    Good for him for handling this. Those two should still be checked out by the FBI etc. In addition to that, I hope GOE and Eagles up will still be calling for proof and specifics from those who are “testifying” at IVAW’s little get together.

    Jim C

18. #18
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:44 pm, Sergeant Tim said:

    Interesting. The apologist claims to be an Army Sergeant on active duty. He also claims “command” status with at least two (now one) subordinates (Jonathan De Wald an Evan Knappenberger).

    I wonder if Army Captain (USAR) Jon Stolz will attend Winter Soldiers II and confront all the self-describing IVAWs, active, inactive, or discharged, wearing partial military uniforms at an obviously political event and dissing apologist’s Commander-in-Chief.

19. #19
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:46 pm, ACHefty said:

    Kudos also to Michelle for posting the apology here. A. That took guts. and B. It helps me calm my anger over a few [fill-in-the-blanks].

20. #20
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:47 pm, Defector01 said:

    At least IVAW, for all its crap, did the right thing here

21. #21
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:49 pm, tre said:

    Good to see that at least one of those anti-war groups still has a sense of integrity.
    Now if only Code Stink and Moron.Org would show that kind of guts.

22. #22
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:52 pm, Sergeant Tim said:

    “Good to see that at least one of those anti-war groups still has a sense of integrity.”

    I’d hold off on assuming anyone at IAVW has “intergrity.” The revocation and suspension seems like damage control to me, nothing more.

23. #23
    On March 12th, 2008 at 1:56 pm, Boomer said:

    We are currently working on getting these people the peer support and assistance that they need to preclude future incidents from occuring.

    These folks need more than peer support if in fact they are real veterans they need to spend quite a few hours in mandatory anger management with a complete psychiatric evaluation from the VA to determine if they should be running around loose.

24. #24
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:00 pm, JHSII said:

    I don’t believe it.

    Three things I noticed right off:

    1)peer support

    To me that says “attaboy” especially with the anti-war crowd of “peers”.

    2) PTSD or anger-related issues which are surfacing or worsening through this intense process.

    It’s only “intense” because they’re making it “intense”.

    3) …Jonathan De Wald’s membership has been terminated, and he is no longer a member of IVAW.

    Evan Knappenberger’s membership has been indefinitely suspended.

    Given how they’ve slandered and defamed the troops - why should I believe tham? When I see them tell the truth about the troops - and that’s never going to happen! - then they’ll have earned a tiny shred of credibility.

25. #25
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:08 pm, twoninerkilo said:

    So what are you Bob69, an SFC, or a Major? You can’t be both, at least not in the US military.

26. #26
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:13 pm, tommad said:

    Trying to lay the blame on PTSD…I call BS.

    How about it’s because they are CrapWeasels?

27. #27
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:19 pm, Echo5Sierra said:

    While the apology is acceptable, as is the acceptance of responsibility, I am still a bit leery of the “getting them the help they need” statement.

    I understand that this is perhaps splitting hairs, however my inference is that the blame for Evan Knappenberger posts are being placed in a PTSD scenario.

    With the information that we have learned in the past couple of days, it doesn’t seem as if young Mr. Knappenberger has experienced any psychological trauma that would be consistent with PTSD and by making the inference the argument would be that he is not accountable for his actions but the Bush Administration bears the brunt of the responsibility.

    To me, if this is the case, it is completely unacceptable. My experience back in September completely steeled my impression that a good amount of these IVAW goons are disgruntled service members that are bitter from their experience and never were able to fit in the “Band of Brothers” mentality that allows one to bloom in the military culture.

    Mr. Knappenberger seemingly acts like the poster boy of what we referred to as “Shitbirds” or “Dirtbags” when I was in the Marine Corps (1984-1990). I always explained to subordinates that we will always have our 10% that will try to pull us down. If Mr. Knappenberger disagrees with my assessment he can always feel free to post his DD214 and let us examine the nature of his service, and if it contradicts my assessment I will offer a full and complete apology.

    Until then he is in that 10%.

    E5S

28. #28
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:26 pm, BobUSMC said:

    I’m kinda saddened that these miscreants won’t be around for Friday and Saturday’s festivities as it would have been tons of fun to watch them squirm when they got confronted on their BS.

29. #29
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:27 pm, Echo5Sierra said:

    “So what are you Bob69, an SFC, or a Major? You can’t be both, at least not in the US military.”

    Actually you can be both. For example, One Marine I know served in Vietnam for multiple tours (1965, 1967-70, 3 Purple Hearts), after 13 years and a Master Sergeant was chosen to attend OCS, appointed a WO, later commissioned and retired a Captain of Marines and spent time in Beirut.

    My CO was originally my Gunny, and similar to the above story became a WO, later commissioned a Captain after I left the Corps.

    Perhaps not common, but it does happen.

    E5S

30. #30
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:31 pm, sfcmac said:

    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:08 pm, twoninerkilo said:
    So what are you Bob69, an SFC, or a Major? You can’t be both, at least not in the US military.

    Please, allow me:
    What he means is that he was a SFC, then went to OCS and got a Commission.
    I’ve seen it happen. Sometimes they go Warrant, other times regular Officer.

    Make sense?

31. #31
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:33 pm, sfcmac said:

    Echo5Sierra, ya beat me to it….

32. #32
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:38 pm, sfcmac said:

    I’m with jfish:
    It’s very strange how this menagerie of malcontents opine about this country, the military, and the war against Islamofascism, yet they portend to practice military decorum within their own ranks….

    Regardless, this group and those like it, need to be under constant scrutiny.

    Lots of war veterans suffer from “PTSD”, but that doesn’t give them a license to take their anarchistic animosity out on those who still understand that we, as a civilization, are in a fight for survival against Islamofascism, and that Iraq and Afghanistan are just two battlegrounds in that fight.

    The IVAW fits the description by Echo5Sierra: a bunch of disgruntled misfits.

33. #33
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:44 pm, Jaded said:

    I am impressed by the stand up way they are approaching this….really.

    I believe we all have have to do what we feel is right. I applaud them for discontinuing that nutbags account and membership.

34. #34
    On March 12th, 2008 at 2:59 pm, Paul Green said:

    “I, too, hope they get the help they need.”

    To wit, a straitjacket and some thorazine.

35. #35
    On March 12th, 2008 at 3:21 pm, right_on said:

    … veterans who may be suffering from PTSD or anger-related issues…

    Indeed…! Maybe he should have included BDS, as well.

36. #36
    On March 12th, 2008 at 4:35 pm, sfrvn said:

    Re: SFC/MAJ

    Bob69 can explain his circumstances himself, but I have seen it happen too. In my particular case there was an E8 on another team on Okinawa. We were doing some training thing. One day he left with his e8 stripes and came back the next day with O4 insignia. I recall one nervous 2LT in particular.

37. #37
    On March 12th, 2008 at 5:03 pm, GaijinBob said:

    jfish said:
    

    Yet within their little cadre, they still organize and recognize the militaristic structures? That’s got to be quite the rarity for any left-leaning group, doesn’t it?

    Just strikes me as odd for some reason.

    That, and what is to me particularly odd for a leftie group is their vow to protect those who wish to present a differing opinion in a structured environment. Allowing freedom of speech dissent is something you never see among the loony-left. But then you gotta remember, among all anti-war groups, these are the only ones who have ever taken a vow to defend and uphold the constitution. Good for them.

38. #38
    On March 12th, 2008 at 5:50 pm, Boomer said:

    We just had a Lt Col (O-5) retire at Mountain Home AFB that earned his commission after making MSgt (E-7) by going to OTS. You rarely see this type of career progression past Capt (O-3) in the Air Force. He was a fast burner that made MSgt in record time. We had a saying that the best or worst Officer you could serve with would be prior Enlisted. He was one of the best that was very popular with the Enlisted force including this retired SMSgt (E-8).

39. #39
    On March 12th, 2008 at 5:55 pm, hadsil said:

    Iraq Veterans Against The War

    Key word: Veterans

    Definition: US Military

    Corollary: Leader of said group is a Veteran

    Conclusion: Ideological difference is no excuse to dishonor the being a member of the US Military.

    Good response from Iraq Veterans Against The War.

    Ideological standpoint: Apology accepted.

40. #40
    On March 12th, 2008 at 7:41 pm, Just A Grunt said:

    I don’t agree with the IVAW and what they do, but in this case they stepped forward and while the measures may seem punitive by our standards, being cut off from the one veterans’ organization you could fit into is far more devastating then most would think. They have now gone from being in a band of outcasts to just being outcasts.
    These guys have issues, whether service related or just merely a part of the group that bristles at any sort of authority figure, they do need some help and it is going to take more then peer counseling. Some wall to wall counseling might help.
    I still wish to commend army sgt for standing up and issuing the apology. Just don’t expect me go running around talking about what a great group you have. Too many other members have been outed for outlandish actions to ever make me think of them as anything more then a fringe group of malcontents who have found solace in their misery by banding together.

41. #41
    On March 12th, 2008 at 8:22 pm, Right is right said:

    Thank you IVAW.

42. #42
    On March 12th, 2008 at 8:45 pm, JConrad999 said:

    The Iraq Veterans Against the War zealot who threatened to bomb the Gathering of Eagles and who issued an assassination threat against me has had his membership suspended.

    Anyone besides me concerned that this retard was only suspended?

    Is this really the best they can do?

43. #43
    On March 12th, 2008 at 9:29 pm, skye said:

    I would like to put my official hat on and make the following statement on behalf of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

    ArmySergeant is an official spokeswoman for IVAW.

    Interesting.

    In a previous conversation over at MidnightBlue, she admitted she was unable to enumerate the number of registered members of IVAW. Yet claimed to have access to the membership records.

    I look forward to meeting her, I’ve a SF-180 for her to fill out.

44. #44
    On March 12th, 2008 at 10:47 pm, ammo john said:

    right_on,
    “…anger related issues…” IS BDS!

45. #45
    On March 13th, 2008 at 2:25 am, derel3433 said:

    these “vets” sicken me.

    i wore a yellow ribbon for three years for this?

46. #46
    On March 13th, 2008 at 8:33 am, Kevin K. said:

    derel3433–No, you wore a yellow ribbon for the 90+% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who did their duty honorably, and have come home to contribute to society and/or continue to defend our country. On their behalf (I was only on the fringes of the efforts there), thank you for your support.

47. #47
    On March 13th, 2008 at 10:16 am, emjem24 said:

    Ah, darn, no whining to get back in? Where’s he gonna wear his uniform and ribbons to now?

48. #48
    On March 13th, 2008 at 2:34 pm, Army said:

    Horse apples.

    This loose knit wad of phlegm has done nothing but perpetrate lies and hoist other liars on their petards, for no other reason than to cause hate and discontent among real Veterans, and those dirtbags who are of the disposition more closely related to cowardice.

    I call BS on this “apology” from a proven liar among liars.

    SSG Dave

49. #49
    On March 14th, 2008 at 6:10 am, herself said:

    So they have graduated to the illegal underground terrorist group that IVAW does not admit exists, right? It’s the tradition. Every such advocacy group must
    have its underground mechanics.

    {^_^}