Brave Men

I don’t know if everybody has seen this ad, but it’s devastating. I was with a group of people when it came on a few minutes ago and it silenced the room.

Here’s the rundown from Salon:

It’s the obvious political ad that has just been waiting to be made — a young Iraq war veteran, missing a body part, talking simply and directly to the camera about the sacrifice he made in the service of official lies. The idea didn’t come from the Democratic Party, or MoveOn.org, or the Kerry campaign.

The new ad is the creation of a group of Iraq war veterans, most in their 20s, operating on a shoestring budget. Their organization, Operation Truth, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group of 150 members, is dedicated to elevating the perspective of soldiers and holding elected officials accountable for their policy decisions.

“I was called to serve in Iraq because the government said there were weapons of mass destruction — but they weren’t there,” Spc. Robert Acosta, 21, who was an ammunitions specialist with the 1st Armored Division in Iraq, says in the thought-provoking ad. “They said Iraq had something to do with 9/11 — but the connection wasn’t there … So when people ask me where my arm went, I try to find the words, but they’re not there.” The ad ends with a shot of Acosta removing his prosthesis, revealing a stub where his right hand should be.

If you have any left, send these guys some money. They are the bravest group of young people in America — for what they are facing physically and for having the cojones to speak out politically. It’s never easy for soldiers to face the truth when their government lies to them.

Bravo.