The American Legion,
WASHINGTON: The top leaders of the two largest veterans' service organizations in America are telling congressional leaders to pass a clean war-funding bill as soon as possible for the sake of our troops serving in harm's way.
In a joint letter sent to House and Senate leaders yesterday, and delivered to every member of Congress, American Legion National Commander Paul Morin and Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander Gary Kurpius made their point crystal clear: “This critical funding request must be void of any language that directs the conduct of military operations or troop movements based on timelines established by Congress rather than the commanders on the ground, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or by the Commander in Chief.”
Morin and Kurpius told Congress they should consider and debate the President's FY 2007 Defense Emergency Supplemental Appropriations request and only amendments directly related to the ongoing cost of war. “The men and women of the armed forces in the theater of operation are dependent on this emergency funding to sustain and achieve their military missions,” they told congressional leadership.
“Everyone wants the war to end, but how it ends is just as important,” Kurpius said. “So with all due respect to the small majority in the new Congress who voted to withdraw the most of our 140,000 troops from Iraq next year … you are wrong.
“Congress' failure to fund the troops sends a clear message to them,” Morin said. “The Commander in Chief sent this bill to Congress over two months ago. I don't understand how some in Congress can play 'chicken' with troops' lives, training, equipment and unit deployments that affect all our military families too. I just don't get it and I'm not alone,” Morin added.
Morin and Kurpius also told Congress, “As leaders of our respective wartime veterans' service organizations, we strongly encourage the removal of all restrictive language designed to influence the conduct of military operations and troop movements,” Morin said. “Our knowledge about warfare and the evils of terrorism were learned in the hard school of experience. With all due respect to you and your colleagues — first things first — take care of the troops. They are the ones placed in harm's way,” Morin added.
“You were wrong to force a showdown with a president who vowed beforehand to veto any measure that contained artificial troop withdrawal language,” both commanders told Congress. “And you were wrong to add almost $20 billion — for programs unrelated to the war — on top of the $103 billion requested by the Defense Department.
In a nutshell, not funding direct combat operations is the same as having your hands tied in a knife fight, they said.
“Unrealistic restrictions and troop withdrawal timelines will tie the hands of our battlefield commanders to maneuver their forces, and that will break the morale of our troops in the field — and to those of us who have been there and done that, morale means everything in a war zone,” Kurpius added.
Morin and Kurpius agree that there are signs of hope and progress in Iraq, and it's all because of new leadership with a new plan of action, but it's a plan that is totally dependent on a funding package for the proper training, equipping and fielding of our forces. With it, the surge has a chance of succeeding; without it, the surge is doomed to failure, and it will be the common soldier and his or her family, not the politician, who will pay the price.
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue, the veteran leaders reiterated.
“This issue is about American men and women who we sent to war and now some want to pull back before they finish their job. The time to debate the war is not in the funding bill that keeps our troops alive. If they need funds, it is the responsibility of Congress to provide them the money so that they can accomplish their mission,” Morin and Kurpius said.
The sooner their job is done, the sooner they come home. That's how you “Support the Troops.”
Paul A. Morin, of Chicopee, Mass., is the national commander of The American Legion, the nation's largest veterans' service organization. Gary Kurpius, of Anchorage, Alaska, is the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., the largest organization of combat veterans in the country. Collectively, the VFW and Legion have 4.5 million members.
