Paul Rieckhoff at Brave New Films

IAVA Director: Faux Walter Reed Background "Was as Close as McCain Got to Veterans Issues" at RNC

2008-10-11T12:08:12Z

On Thursday night, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) formally accepted his party’s nomination for president at the Republican National Convention. During his speech, a mysterious image of a building appeared on the screen behind him, which TalkingPointsMemo identified as Walter Reed Middle School, in North Hollywood, CA. (The school did not grant permission to use its image.) Some suspect McCain had intended to show a photo of Walter Reed Medical Center; the McCain campaign has offered conflicting explanations for the bizarre use of the photo.

Appearing on MSNBC’s Countdown last night, Paul Riekhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, slammed McCain for completely ignoring Iraq and Afghanistan veterans during his speech, saying the mistaken background was “about as close as Sen. McCain got to veterans issues”:

RIECKHOFF: I think honestly that backdrop, whether it was Walter Reed medical center or Walter Reed middle school — that’s about as close as Sen. McCain got to veterans issues last night. He didn’t mention the word veteran once during his entire speech, didn’t talk about post-traumatic stress disorder, didn’t talk about veterans funding. I think he really forgot where he came from last night.

Paul Rieckhoff on McCain's Hypocrisy Toward Vets

2008-10-11T12:08:12Z

At the RNC, David Kurtz spoke with Paul Rieckhoff of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America about McCain's hypocrisy when it comes to caring for our country's veterans.

Watch the video

Bush Administration Still Screwing Veterans

2008-01-12T20:11:17Z

Shocker, I know. Paul Rieckhoff and his great organization, The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Of America (IAVA), is on the case. Here is their response to the damning Dole-Shalala report just released:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
CONTACT: Michael Houston, IAVA (212) 982-9699 michael@iava.org

IAVA Responds to Dole-Shalala Commission Report: Today's Draft Report Should be a Wake-up Call for All Americans

NEW YORK Following today's final public meeting of the Dole-Shalala Commission, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, released the following statement:

Today's draft report from the Dole-Shalala Commission has shown the American public that the Walter Reed fiasco is just the tip of the iceberg. Their findings should be a wake-up call for all Americans, said Paul Rieckhoff, Iraq veteran and Executive Director of IAVA. Last week the Secretary of the VA resigned. This week disabled Iraq veterans are suing the VA. Our veterans' healthcare system is facing tremendous challenges at every level and the Department of Defense and the VA are not ready to respond.

IAVA commends the Commission for their hard work and dedication, and we wholeheartedly endorse their call for fundamental changes and strong leadership to address the crisis facing veterans, said Rieckhoff. We urge the news media and American combat veterans of all generations to ensure that the recommendations of this report are implemented. Today's findings should not be buried in the back pages of our nation's newspapers beneath Lindsay Lohan's DUI.