Most bloggers write and give their political opinions about foreign countries without having an actual idea of what it is to live overseas during war times, for example. That is to say, there is no first hand experience on what they write about. Yet, political blogs as having unquestionably shaped the political leadership and voter behavior, especially in the United States. These political bloggers have never left home and have never gone into the trenches to live and witness a life of war, or the poverty of foreign countries, much less having gone through an actual combat field. Enter into the scene John Ubaldi. A 30 year retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps with three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his time in the Marine Corps, John became a foremost authority on Civil Affairs as it relates to Counterinsurgency and Irregular Warfare.
John Ubaldi got a Master’s Degree in National Security Studies from the American Military University with a concentration in Middle Eastern studies and also a Bachelor’s degree in Government from California State University in Sacramento. Having all these years of actual involvement and experience on all of the above operations under his belt, Ubaldi established an independent website that is now challenging the conventional wisdom in Washington regarding domestic and global issues.
His tactical strategy is working: he is providing an independent voice which gives both sides of an argument, but at the same time reporting or asking the tough questions that Washington is not addressing. “Through my blog reports,” he says, “The public is getting both sides of an argument, instead of only one side. This way, I’m giving the public a chance to understand the issues and be able to take action on their own choice.”
As of right now, Ubaldi is writing all the content himself. As his website grows, his next move is for all staff writers to be veterans of the U.S. military. “They could have either served in Iraq, Afghanistan or just complete one enlistment. The important aspect is for them to have an expertise on a given subject such as economics, health care, budgeting etc.”
Certainly, a unique idea on blogging about serious matters like this. “I want the staff writers to have experience in the subject area as they actually have done something in there chosen field,” he said. When asked what experiences he had in the past that compelled him to create his own political website, he promptly answered: “I worked for a political consulting firm and we only received one aspect of an argument. This also carried over into my education when I was perusing my Master’s degree; you had to go to one site to get one point of view and then go to another to get a different point of view. In each case they were only seeing one aspect of the argument. “I wanted to make it easier for the public to see both sides of an argument and let them make up their own minds without pundits telling them how to think.”
As for the question: Why military veterans? He proudly came up with his military way of looking at life that is also reflected in his blog: “Because they gave something of themselves that was greater than themselves by serving in the military, or, as President John Kennedy stated, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country’,” he concluded.