PolitiFact.com
Statements about Military
Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann

False

Four has been the consistent minimum since 1993

"We saw the president of the United States engage American troops in a fourth conflict in a foreign land. This is historic."

John Fleming

John Fleming

False

There's a case for an Obama apology, but not over drones

Says Barack Obama is a "hypocrite" for criticizing President George W. Bush’s "drone attack program," then using it aggressively as president.

Alan Grayson

Alan Grayson

Mostly True

Fraudulent contract spending is kind of his thing

"$360 million of our tax dollars went straight to ... the Taliban."

Ron Paul

Ron Paul

Mostly True

A plausible number, though coverage is thinner than it seems

The U.S. military "is in 130 countries. We have 900 bases around the world."

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Half-True

Winning the battles but losing the war?

The United States "won every major battle" of the Vietnam War. "Every single one."

Bob Casey

Bob Casey

Mostly False

IEDs are easily the biggest killer, but they account for 50-60 percent of U.S. deaths

In Afghanistan, "it is very, very rare that someone who is killed in action is not killed by an" improvised explosive device, or IED.

Jack Conners

Jack Conners

Mostly True

Number of unaccounted-for from WWII recently lowered

"Almost 88,000 United States service members are still missing and unaccounted for, dating back to World War II."

Randy Forbes

Randy Forbes

Mostly True

But other measures show U.S. defense spending high

"As a percentage of our gross domestic product, the defense budget remains just 3.6 percent. This figure is low by all historical standards."

Cliff Stearns

Cliff Stearns

Mostly True

Study examines diagnosis rates, doesn't explain cause

"Active duty males in the military are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer than their civilian counterparts."

Victoria Jackson

Victoria Jackson

Pants on Fire!

Only if they fight with tongue depressors

"A clause hidden in the Obamacare bill, which is now law, gives Obama the right to form a private army."

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

True

Most veterans have lower-than-average unemployment. Not so for post-9/11 vets

"Young veterans have a higher unemployment rate than people who didn’t serve."

Chain email

Chain email

Pants on Fire!

Chain e-mail lies to vets

Says that President Obama said, "Nobody made these guys go to war. ... Now they whine about bearing the costs of their choice?" 

Marcy Kaptur

Marcy Kaptur

True

Budget share has been climbing for the last decade

"Creeping defense commitments in (the Middle East) and globally now consume over half the U.S. discretionary budget annually."

A yard sign

A yard sign

True

Correct, none fired by the Dalai Lama

Says President Obama "has fired more cruise missiles than all other Peace Prize winners combined."

Allen West

Allen West

Mostly True

The missiles cost about $1.1 million apiece

In the first 24 to 36 hours of the operation in Libya, "you saw $115 million go downrange because a Tomahawk cruise missile is a little over $1 million each."

Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman

True

Afghanistan is costly

The U.S. is spending "one out of every six Defense Department dollars on Afghanistan."

Chain email

Chain email

Pants on Fire!

E-mail is based on six fabricated quotes

Accuses President Barack Obama of making contradictory claims about efforts to kill Osama bin Laden in 2008 and 2011.

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin

False

There were hundreds of combat deaths as Ike wound down the Korean War

During the Eisenhower Administration, "not a single soldier … died in combat."

Bloggers

Bloggers

Half-True

She said it, though the contrast with 2011 is oversold

Wrote that in 2006, Nancy Pelosi said she didn’t think capturing Osama bin Laden "makes us any safer," but in 2011 called his killing "historic."

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Half-True

Bin Laden declared holy war against its then-president

"Bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan."

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