At least six Democratic Iraq war veterans will challenge incumbent Republicans in the 2006 Congressional elections, the Associated Press reports.
Some of them, however, may disappoint the “out now” wing of the antiwar movement.
According to Charles Sheehan-Miles, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, “They really want to help the Iraqi people and see the mission through, and they think we’re losing because of stupid mistakes made at the senior leadership level.”
Among the candidates is Bryan Lentz, a Pennsylvania attorney who volunteered to go to Iraq with a civil affairs unit in the Army reserves.
According to the AP, he was “so disillusioned by the lack of a plan in Iraq that he decided while he was in Iraq to run for Congress.”
He is trying to unseat 10-term GOP Rep. Curt Weldon, who is vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
“I’m not anti-war, I’m anti-failure,” Lentz said. “We need to define what victory is and we need to set a plan to get there. You cannot stay the course if you do not set a course.”
