April 9, 2008 -- TODAY, New York City will host a handful of America's 21st century patriots - bona fide combat heroes of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They'll be visiting TV and talk-radio outlets and a Bronx school - to share the facts about what they've seen.
These men and women reject the title "hero" - but in a country that fawns over Hollywood "baby bumps" and Madison Avenue models, they're the true heroes.
Over the last three weeks, the National Heroes Tour, sponsored by Vets for Freedom, has crisscrossed the country - letting highly decorated veterans tell firsthand stories to audiences large and small. They've reached more than 20 million Americans in their local TV and radio markets.
With only 3 percent of national media coverage focused on Iraq today, we flanked into regional markets and found a public hungry for "ground truth" - the facts from men and women who've seen the reality for themselves.
On the bus at various times were the commander of the battalion responsible for the hunt and capture of Saddam Hussein; a Navy SEAL, the sole survivor of the deadliest mission for Navy special operations since World War II; a soldier nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor for acts of sheer courage in the battle of Fallujah - and a Marine sergeant who repeatedly rushed a building to save his guys, despite being severely wounded himself.
These heroes are ambassadors of the new greatest generation of warriors. And all understand two critically important facts: The radical Islamic enemy we face in Iraq and Afghanistan must be defeated - and the counter-insurgency strategy we are employing in Iraq today has turned the tide of the war.
Their "talking points" are not political or hypothetical, but experiential.
Contrast their perspective with that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who last week trumpeted her Iraq expertise at a press conference on Capitol Hill. Talking about the situation in Basra, Pelosi referenced Gen. David Petraeus' upcoming hearings, saying "We have to know the real ground truth of what is happening there, not put a shine on events . . ."
This "ground truth" she so adamantly seeks, where should it come from? Certainly not from Petraeus, who she accuses of "glorifying" things. And not the 45 Iraq War veterans from Vets for Freedom's California chapter - whom she refused to meet with yesterday in Washington.
Instead, she'll continue to draw on the latest Move- On.org political talking points - which haven't been updated since 2006.
She and other reflexively anti-war members of Congress have spent barely enough time in Iraq to find the swimming pool inside the Green Zone in Baghdad. The anti-war crowd's "ground truth" is a fictional Iraq - one where a religious civil war still rages, Iraqi security forces perpetually flounder and Iraqi political progress is impossible.
Don't try telling that to the troops who are living the progress in Iraq.
The real "ground truth" is what Petraeus is reporting and what America's heroes in uniform have witnessed firsthand. Since June, sectarian violence is down over 90 percent throughout Iraq, and 95 percent in Baghdad. Iraqi security forces have added over 110,000 to their rolls in the past 16 months, and another 91,000 have joined local neighborhood- and village-security groups. And Iraq politicians have bravely stepped up to the plate, passing key "benchmark" legislation on a monthly basis.
This dramatic progress - purchased in American and Iraqi blood - has sent a clear signal to al Qaeda and Iranian-backed militias: America won't retreat from the battlefield, and will adapt its strategy to defeat even the most ruthless and conniving enemy.
The "surge" sent this signal loud and clear. But if we'd listened to Pelosi & Co. last year, and pulled back from Iraq, things would have been much different.
Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan understand what's at stake in our generation's fight, and will continue to hold our leaders in Washington accountable.
"Ground truth" is a precious commodity, sought by many and possessed by few. All we ask is that politicians and pundits seek council from those who actually possess it, rather than guidance from groups who value short-term partisan gain over long-term national security.
Pete Hegseth served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division. He's now a captain in New York City's Fighting 69th Infantry and executive director of Vets for Freedom (VetsforFreedom.org)
