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Established in August 2007, Freedom's Watch (FW) is a well-funded pro-Iraq War advocacy group that was set up by prominent conservatives to, in their words, "protect America's interests at home and abroad, foster economic prosperity, and strengthen families." Supported by a number of major Republican Party figures, including supermarket magnate Melvin Sembler, Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Adelson, and former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, Freedom’s Watch is also closely linked to an assortment of hardline, pro-Israel groups, including the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC). (For more on the supporters and origins of Freedom’s Watch, see New York Times, September 20, 2007; and Washington Post, January 20, 2008.) Among the group's core agenda items are supporting the surge in Iraq and advocating for U.S. intervention in Iran. Pointing to the strong ties between the RJC and Freedom's Watch, reporter Jim Lobe wrote that "the chief motivation behind the participation of the RJC's bigwigs ... in FW is all about their notions of how best to secure Israel against any and all possible threats" (LobeLog.com, September 30, 2007).

Despite garnering attention as the “conservative answer to MoveOn,” as a January 2008 Washington Post article dubbed it, Freedom’s Watch faced a number of controversies and internal problems during its first year of operation. In September 2007, Larry Klayman—a conservative lawyer who made a name for himself with the numerous lawsuits brought by his group, Judicial Watch, against the Bill Clinton administration—filed a lawsuit in which he claims to have been using the “Freedom’s Watch” name since 2004. An erstwhile supporter of the Iraq War who eventually turned against many Bush administration policies, Klayman told the Washington Post (September 18, 2007), “These arrogant political lobbyists and rich Bush 'yes men' … are not furthering freedom, but in fact harming it.”

In March 2008, Freedom’s Watch made headlines again when its president, Bradley Blakeman, resigned. In a statement posted on the group’s website, Blakeman said that although he would continue to support the group’s work, he had decided to “transition from [his] current responsibilities.” Citing a string of purported successes during the group’s first eight months, including fighting “liberal” efforts to end the war in Iraq, Blakely wrote, “In short, I accomplished what I set out to do, and now it is time to pass the torch.”

According to the March 9, 2008 Washington Post, Blakeman’s resignation “follow[ed] hard on several other senior-level departures from the group, including those of Matt David and Robert Terra. Both men were veterans of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, leaving as part of a huge staff shake-up in August. After stints at Freedom's Watch, both have moved on to work for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Asked by the Post if he had been forced to resign because of donor displeasure with the direction of the group, Blakeman said, "I resigned. They didn't ask for my resignation.” Commenting on the resignation, an unnamed Republican Party strategist told the newspaper that, “Freedom's Watch has not figured out its role in the conservative/Republican universe. Organizations like this have to fit in, but so far it's either been so ambitious it could not possibly accomplish its goals or too timid to actually do anything."

Advocacy Agenda

FW's introductory act was the unveiling in August 2007 of a $15 million ad campaign. According to information collected by the left-leaning MoveOn.org, in its initial ad buy Freedom's Watch spent nearly $6 million in ads targeting some 41 congressional districts, of which 37 were represented by Republicans. In an open letter to Ari Fleischer, MoveOn.org's Tom Matzzie wrote, "The revival of your role as salesman-in-chief for the White House's failed war policy is ... welcome. We were looking for a way to connect this mysterious 'Freedom Watch' outfit to the White House Iraq PR machine. And then it turned out that you made our job very simple—you are in charge. This is the 'White House Ad campaign'" (AmericaBlog.com, August 22, 2007).Republican politicians who had soured in their support for the Iraq War were prime targets of these early Freedom’s Watch television and radio ads. In an August 22, 2007 press release, Freedom's Watch said that it was "launching a nationwide grassroots campaign aimed at ensuring Congress continues to fully fund the troops with the ultimate goal of victory in the War on Terror." In one ad, a woman who lost family members in Iraq and the 9/11 attacks urged viewers to call their congressional representatives and say that withdrawing from Iraq would lead to more terrorist attacks in the United States. She concluded, "Surrender is not an option. Victory is America's only choice."

The ads, which ran on CNN and Fox, were reportedly rejected by CNBC and MSNBC. Writing for the right-wing PowerLine blog, John Hinderaker claimed, "Ari Fleischer wrote this morning on behalf of Freedom's Watch to let us know that CNBC and MSNBC have stubbornly refused to air the pro-war ads, even though they have run issue ads on other controversial topics." He added that Freedom's Watch's Blakeman "has written to CNBC and MSNBC to protest their decision."

Describing the group's initial motivations, Fleischer, who left the Bush administration in 2003, told the Washington Post, "The notion we could lose this war in Iraq because Congress pulled out scared me. That's why I got back involved. That's the only issue that could draw me back in. It's fair to say that since 2004 this debate has been dominated by one side. All the passion, all the organization, all the energy has been on one side. Now the cavalry is coming. My side will get a chance to get its say. That's really what drove us" (Washington Post, August 24, 2007).

Freedom's Watch has also focused its efforts on Iran, sponsoring a conference in October 2007 on “radical Islam” and the direction of Bush administration policy toward Iran. According to the New York Times, among those invited to the conference were several "experts" from AEI, whose neoconservative writers have consistently argued that success in Iraq depends on whether the United States takes tough action against Tehran. The New York Times also reported that one of the group's TV ads called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "a terrorist."

Citing a New York Times report that Freedom's Watch hoped to raise some $200 million by November 2007, reporter Lobe concluded that the group was in a position to play an influential role in the debate on Iran policy. He wrote, "While peace groups like MoveOn.org have pooh-poohed FW's appearance as unlikely to make much of an impact on public opinion regarding the Iraq War, its almost-certain efforts to rally support for attacking Iran should be taken very seriously, particularly given the extraordinarily deep pockets of its funders and the fact that the future of the Surge—which was FW's initial raison d'etre—has, for all practical purposes, been settled, at least until next March. With that battle behind it, FW can now focus its potentially vast resources on the Iranian threat, amplifying the hawks' charges, as it did in last week's ad, that Tehran is killing U.S. soldiers and marines in Iraq" (LobeLog.com, September 30, 2007).

Funders and Supporters

Freedom's Watch has been supported by a number of other pro-war advocacy groups, including Vets for Freedom and the Center for Vigilant Freedom, which have helped distribute the group’s video ads on the web (see, for example, the Gateway Pundit blog, August 22, 2007; and Pete Hegseth, "Powerful New Pro-Mission Ads," Vets for Freedom, August 22, 2007).

Other hardline nationalist groups have also helped promote Freedom's Watch, including the group Move America Forward, which is chaired by right-wing pundit Melanie Morgan. Morgan once argued on MSNBC's Hardball that journalists reporting on the government's program to track terrorist bank transactions "should be tried for treason. If they were found guilty of treason, I would have no problem with them being executed"; a year later, she defended her comments (Media Matters, July 20, 2007). Regarding Freedom's Watch, Morgan wrote in WorldNetDaily, "I've been working with a broad array of pro-troop advocates to help make such efforts as the 'Freedom's Watch' ad buy a reality. As the chairman of Move America Forward, the nation's largest pro-troop organization, I've been honored to work (conspire, if you are an anti-war liberal reading this column) with a coalition of pro-troop and veterans organizations that believe in peace through strength, and who also support victory for our troops" (WorldNetDaily, August 24, 2007).

According to blogger Mike Allen (Politico.com), Freedom's Watch funders have included: "Anthony Gioia, a Buffalo businessman who was Bush's ambassador to Malta; Kevin Moley, who was Bush's ambassador to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva; Howard Leach, a former Republican National Committee finance chairman who was Bush's ambassador to France; Dr. John Templeton of Pennsylvania, chairman and president of the John Templeton Foundation; Ed Snider, chairman of Comcast Spectacor, the huge Philadelphia sports and entertainment firm; Sheldon Adelson, chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and ranked by Forbes magazine as the third-wealthiest American; and Richard Fox, who is chairman of the Jewish Policy Center and was Pennsylvania State Chairman of the Reagan/Bush campaign in 1980."

One of Freedom's Watch's financial backers, Adelson, has been touted as the right's answer to George Soros, the billionaire financier who has funded a number of Democratic Party-aligned groups. Reported a White House Bulletin (August 24, 2007): "Adelson is one of the richest men in the world; in 2007, only Warren Buffett and Bill Gates were higher on the list of rich Americans. While Republicans have out-raised Democrats in virtually all the recent election cycles, one area where they fell short was in the ultra-big money donations from people like George Soros, who was able to finance massive independent operations like MoveOn.org that heavily favored Democrats. Adelson's reported net worth of $26 billion could neutralize the Democrats' advantage in this area” (see also Right Web Profile: Sheldon Adelson).