Republican John McCain, who has made support for President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, is getting help from a veterans group that is launching a national TV ad campaign this week.

Vets for Freedom is spending $1.5 million on ads that will run on national cable television and in five states in July -- the first set of ads in a multimillion dollar campaign in coming months touting the troop buildup, Pete Hegseth, the group's chairman, said Saturday. The issue ads will feature veterans of the war describing the accomplishments they've seen since the buildup began in early 2007.

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