WASHINGTON (CNN) - A prominent anti-war group launched a new advertisement Thursday showing children in army uniforms. The ad is being used to attack politically vulnerable pro-war Republican senators in their home states.
"How long will Republican Senators keep us stuck in Iraq?" asks an announcer in the ad. "Should we start training our children now?"
By showing children in fatigues, the Campaign to Defend America, associated with the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org, is aiming to illustrate the consequences of staying in what it calls "an endless civil war."
The ad is now being used to target Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico - all of whom voted for the war in Iraq and are up for reelection in 2008. The ad will air in both the senators’ home states and in Washington, DC.
"Mitch McConnell needs to put his vote where his mouth is," MoveOn.org Washington Director Tom Matzzie said. "It's September and the surge has failed. No more six-month free passes for Bush. The ad reminds people that McConnell and other Republicans are pushing an endless war in Iraq - somebody else's civil war."
The ads will air for the next ten days. As for the amount of money being spent to air it, the group said it is spending $279,000 to air the ad in Maine, Washington, DC and Kentucky and another $230,000 in Minnesota and New Mexico.
- CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich