Russell says Iraq war isn't lost

The war in Iraq isn’t lost, a veteran of the campaign told Cleveland County Republicans Tuesday.

Retired Lt. Col. Steve Russell, commander of the forces that captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, said America should continue to fight for the Iraqi people and continue its war against terror.

Russell, now a resident of south Oklahoma City, spoke Tuesday to about 60 members of the Cleveland County GOP during the group’s monthly luncheon at Coaches Restaurant.

Russell spoke briefly about the war, his capture of Hussein and about his displeasure with MoveOn.org’s recent full-page newspaper advertisement blasting U.S. General David Petraeus. The veteran then answered questions from the audience.

“(The war) it’s not lost,” Russell said, “only in the mind of some legislators and groups like MoveOn.org.”

In fact, Russell said, the war is actually getting better.

“There has been an interesting development in the last year,” he said. “A year ago you didn’t hear any of our national leaders — Republican or Democrat — saying the word ‘victory.’”

However, Russell said the recently issued Iraq Study Group report used the same word. “The Iraq Study Group report came out and guess how many times the word ‘victory’ was used in the report?” he said. “Three, three times.”

Facts which show, Russell said, the war is improving.

Russell also had harsh words for the political organization MoveOn.org.

“Who would have thought we would have seen full-page articles against our military? I’m trying to imagine 1942 when we had security setback after security setback to see a full-page ad expressing that General Marhsall was a traitor to the country. Or, on the anniversary of Dec. 7, 1942, you go to the theater the Movitone newsreel said, ‘and now a word of Emperor Hirohito.’”

When the country starts “doing things like that” Russell said, “we’ve lost our way.”

He said he was pleased by “the universal condemnation” of the MoveOn ad.

Now retired from the military, Russell serves as chairman of Vets for Victory, a group that says it wants to engage and change public sentiment to achieve victory in the war on terror.

However, Russell’s tenure with that group could be short-lived.

Tuesday afternoon he said he will seek the state Senate District 45 seat, being vacated by state Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson, who is retiring due to term limits.

“I haven’t officially announced,” he said. “But I have filed paperwork with the state Ethics Commission and I’ve started fundraising.”