Military wives speak out about war.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

A group of military wives and mothers joined the brother of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry at the Eugene Veterans Club on Tuesday morning, urging replacement of President George W. Bush as commander-in-chief.

The public session, sponsored by a local Veterans for Kerry-Edwards group, was among a flurry of events planned by both parties in swing-state Oregon during the last days of the campaign.

Six "Military Moms on a Mission" joined Cameron Kerry to speak to a dozen veterans and Kerry supporters. Members of the national group have traveled more than 10,000 miles to express their view that the Bush administration rushed to war in Iraq without adequate reason, planning or equipment, endangering the lives of U.S. soldiers.

"My husband was never in an armored vehicle," said Laura Betsch of Ohio. Her husband, U.S. Marine Corps Reserves Cpl. Jeff Mussman, has served two tours of duty in Iraq.

"What stood between my husband and Iraqi artillery fire, Iraqi improvised explosive devices and Iraqi rifle fire was canvas. If we'd given our military time to prepare for this mission, I know they never would have sent their fellow soldiers into this situation with equipment like that," she said.

Lisa Leitz of Florida said she wants her husband to go to war only for "a real reason," charging that there was no connection between Iraq and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

"Now we have people in Iraq with ties to al-Qaeda," she said. "George Bush has created this. And when you kill thousands of civilians, you are creating more terrorists."

Portland military wife Kristin Rein said her husband, Dylan, who attended the University of Oregon on an ROTC scholarship, was sent to Iraq about five weeks ago. Now a major in the Army Reserves, he re-entered the military after the 2001 terrorist attacks, expecting to join the fight against terrorists in Afghanistan, she said.

"He is a civil affairs officer," she said. "His job is to oversee reconstruction and contacts with civilians. But he's become seriously disheartened by the situation on the ground where he is in Northern Iraq. He expressed to me that he doesn't know what what they are doing and why they are there. He said basically, they're just trying to stay alive."

Rein said John Kerry, as a combat veteran, would do a better job looking out for soldiers.

Cameron Kerry agreed, saying he recently saw his brother greet a just-returned soldier with "Welcome home, brother."

"That is the bond that John has with others who've fought and served," he said. "And that is a bond that George Bush and those in the White House do not understand, and you can see that in their callous disregard for the men and women who serve by rushing to war without a plan for the peace or a grasp of the reality of the situation on the ground."