News & Public Affairs

Ex-Tampa Congressman revisits his vote on Iraq listen

03/09/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Politics, foreign policy, Iraq, Afghanistan, troop withdrawal

U.S. military officials said yesterday that the U.S. will reduce its military presence in Iraq by 12,000 troops over the next six months as part of the first major drawdown since President Barack Obama announced his plan to end combat operations in the country next year.

A week from next Thursday will mark the sixth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by U.S. and coalition forces.

When President Obama made his announcement of troop withdrawals from Iraq 10 days ago, WMNF contacted for...

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Sarasota-Manatee group gets grant to help returning war vets listen

02/27/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Iraq, Afghanistan, veterans, depression, stress

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation has awarded Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Sarasota-Manatee a grant of $300,000 over the next two years to assist families experiencing negative effects from military service in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Research shows that one in every five veterans who have served in either of those countries suffers from depression or a stress disorder.

Rose Chapman, president and CEO of the Jewish Family and Children’s Service (JFCS), said the grant will hel...

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Some critical of plans for troop withdrawal from Iraq listen

02/27/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Politics, foreign policy, Iraq, Afghanistan, troop withdrawal

President Barack Obama announced plans today to withdraw the bulk of U.S. forces from Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, and to pull out all remaining troops by the end of 2011, ending the war in Iraq and launching what he called an "era of American leadership and engagement in the Middle East."

Speaking to Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Obama said he wanted to talk about how the war in Iraq would end.

The president’s plan calls for withdrawing most of the 142,000 service members now in Iraq by the...

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How lessons of Vietnam can be applied to Afghanistan

12/23/08 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Vietnam, Afghanistan, McGeorge Bundy, JFK, escalation, LBJ

Good afternoon,

Welcome to WMNF ‘S Radioactivity…I'm Robert Lorei. Coming up: a new book says President John Kennedy was committed to stopping an escalation of combat troops in Vietnam -- and the implications that this new information has for incoming President Barack Obama and the calls for a troop increase in Afghanistan.

But first some listener comments about last week’s program on reforming health care in the U.S.

President-elect Barack Obama has made a commitment to ending the w...

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Tampa celebrates Veteran's Day early listen

11/07/08 Concetta DeLuco
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Tags: Veteran's Day, Pam Iorio, Iraq, Afghanistan

In recognition of Veteran’s Day, traditionally celebrated on Nov. 11, about a hundred people gathered at Joe Chillura Square in downtown Tampa today to honor those, living and dead, who served in the U.S. armed forces.

The event was sponsored in part by the Military Affairs Council for the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. Retired Army Major Gen. Fred Raymond, who serves on the council, said the affair was held to show appreciation to the veterans as well as pay homage to those currently...

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Nancy Soderberg on "The Prosperity Agenda"

08/05/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Afghanistan, foreign policy, Barack Obama, John McCain

Nancy Soderberg served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in President Bill Clinton’s second term in office. She’s also the co-author of the new book, The Prosperity Agenda: What the World Wants from America--and What We Need in Return.

WMNF spoke to her by telephone today from her home in Jacksonville. In the first of a two-part interview, we asked Soderburg what she makes of the renewed focus of attention on Afghanistan.

Barack Obama for years has argued that is the cent...

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Veterans and McCain supporters convene in Tampa listen

07/22/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Afghanistan, John McCain, Barack Obama

A group of local military veterans and Republicans gathered at John McCain’s local campaign office in Tampa this morning to watch his Town Hall Meeting in New Hampshire.

Although billed as a rally, organizer Chris Hart of Veterans For McCain, said it was also a way to discuss national security issues.

More than a dozen people were in attendance, including several vets with experience working at Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, considered the nerve center for the wars in Iraq a...

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Former POW says Iraq is like Vietnam listen

07/18/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: John McCain, Barack Obama, Afghanistan, Iraq

As Barack Obama prepares for his trip overseas, which is now becoming a major event in campaign 2008, the GOP continues to criticize him about it.

Today, the Republican Party of Florida held a conference call with Col. Bud Day, a member of the Swift Boat Vets for Truth campaign that attacked John Kerry during the 2004 campaign for his Vietnam record.

Day resides in Pensacola, home to many military veterans. He was asked how John McCain’s consistently strong support for the Iraq war has ...

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Marines to stay in Afghanistan a month longer listen

07/03/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: U.S. foreign policy, Afghanistan

The Pentagon has extended the tour of 2,200 U.S. Marines in Afghanistan, after insisting for months the unit would come home on time.

The Marines said the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is doing combat operations in the volatile south, will stay an extra 30 days and come home in early November rather than October.

The news comes a day after Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that more troops were needed in Afghanistan, but the Pentagon did not h...

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