Critics use website to recruit troops against war in Iraq

WASHINGTON -- Anti war groups are trying to rally active troops to speak out against the war in Iraq, a political tactic they hope will sway voters Nov. 7.

A small group of active-duty members opposed to the war created a website last month intended to collect thousands of signatures of other service members. People can submit their name, rank, and duty station if they support statements denouncing the US invasion.

The electronic grievances are then passed along to members of Congress, according to the website .

"Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for US troops to come home," the website says.

Jonathan Hutto, a Navy seaman based in Norfolk, Va., who set up the website a month ago, said the group has collected 118 names and is trying to verify that they are legitimate service members.

There are 1.4 million troops on active duty, including members of the National Guard and Reserve.

Retired veterans have long waded into politics, including the 2004 presidential campaign, when a group of veterans challenged Senator John F. Kerry's war record. More recently, several retired military generals have called on Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to resign, contending he botched the war and put troops at risk.

Hearing publicly from active-duty troops is rare. Military laws bar officers from denouncing the president and other US leaders, and regulations typically prevent service members from lobbying for a particular cause while on duty or wearing the uniform.

Legal specialists who reviewed the website said the effort probably would not violate any rules because the site is not a personal attack on members of the administration and service members can raise their concerns to Congress in their free time.

Backers of the website also cite a "whistle-blower protection" law, under which service members can file complaints to Congress without reprisal.

But at least two senators, both critical of the administration's handling of the war in Iraq, said they were concerned that service members speaking out against the president may undermine the military's apolitical status.

"We expect our soldiers to follow ... the legitimate orders of their commanders," said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, who is helping lead Democratic opposition to the war this election season.

"And if you feel a course of action is inappropriate, your choice is just getting out of the service, basically, if you can and making your comments as a civilian," said Reed, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger and paratrooper.

Senator Lindsey O. Graham, a former reserve judge for the Air Force, said vocal complaints by active-duty members represented a "disturbing trend" that threatened to erode the cohesiveness of the military.

"We've had a long tradition making sure the military doesn't engage in political debate," said Graham, a South Carolina Republican. "We don't need a Democratic Army and a Republican Army."

Hutto and supporters of his website said they see no problem with active-duty military personnel weighing into politics.

"We're doing this on our own time," Hutto said, and "We're speaking as American citizens," rather than service members.

Scott Silliman, director of Duke University's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, said he sees the increasing political noise from active and retired military members as a relatively new product of an unpopular war. "Fifteen, 20 years ago you wouldn't have seen it happen," Silliman said.