Pro-war group spends millions on ad campaign

A new group formed to pressure members of Congress to continue supporting U.S. military efforts in Iraq launched a $15 million ad campaign Wednesday that mostly targets members of both parties who have voted or spoken out against continued operations in that country.

{mosads}Freedom's Watch, which counts former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer among its supporters, is targeting several Republicans who are deemed vulnerable in 2008, including Reps. Heather Wilson (N.M.), Jon Porter (Nev.) and Jim Gerlach (Pa.).

The group says it is “dedicated to fighting to protect the ideals and issues that keep America strong and prosperous” and wants to refocus the Iraq debate on the threat to U.S. security.

Among the ads is a clip of a young former soldier speaking directly to the camera about fighting in the Iraq war. When the camera zooms back, viewers can see that he has two prosthetic legs. The man urges viewers to call members of Congress and tell them not to vote to limit or stop the war so his sacrifice will not be in vain.

The ad campaign will also run in the district of Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.), who received an avalanche of criticism after his vote against President Bush’s plan to add thousands of additional combat troops to Iraq.

Among the GOP senators targeted are war critics Olympia Snowe (Maine), Richard Lugar (Ind.), George Voinovich (Ohio) and John Warner (Va.).

An attack from a conservative-leaning group on GOP incumbents is not unheard of.

In 2006, the conservative Club for Growth played a large role in unseating Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-Mich.), who was defeated in his primary by Rep. Tim Walberg.