thedrifter
03-27-07, 10:49 AM
Vets groups oppose Iraq withdrawal deadline
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 27, 2007 9:48:53 EDT
The leaders of two major veterans’ groups are not pleased that Congress is poised to pass a timetable for withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq.
Gary Kurpius, commander in chief of Veterans of Foreign Wars, said setting a date and conditions for withdrawal “will precipitously endanger U.S. forces currently engaged in the war on terrorism.”
Kurpius, commenting on a bill the House passed Friday that would start pulling combat troops out of Iraq by as early as July 1 and by no later than March 2008, is urging the 2.4 million members of his organization of combat veterans to contact senators to oppose a withdrawal timetable. If the timetable is followed, all combat troops would be withdrawn by September 2008, just before the next presidential and congressional elections.
The Senate began debating its version of the bill Monday and expects a vote by the end of the week.
“The House wants short-term victories in a long-term war,” Kurpius said in a statement. “That is not going to happen with an enemy who only killed 3,000 innocent people [in] September 2001 because they didn’t have the means to kill 30,000 or 3 million people.”
Paul Morin, national commander of the American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans’ group, also opposes a withdrawal plan.
“This is a blueprint for disaster,” Morin said in a statement. “We strongly object to tying timelines for withdrawal to much-needed funding for our troops on the battlefield.”
“Nobody hates war more than the warrior, and nobody wants our troops home more than the American Legion family. Nobody wants to take care of our troops and their families more than we do. But mixing politics, pork-barrel spending and foreign policy is extremely dangerous.”
Morin, who heads a 2.7 million-member organization, called the House plan a “road map to failure.”
“Putting timelines on military operations is the equivalent to issuing battlefield strategies from the House floor for our troops fighting the good fight against terrorism,” Morin said. “Our enemies are not stupid. They know that their chance for victory depends on public opinion in opposition of the war.
“Members of Congress should not be armchair generals,” he said. “They need to understand that our deployed service members depend on this emergency funding to sustain and achieve their military missions.”
Ellie
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 27, 2007 9:48:53 EDT
The leaders of two major veterans’ groups are not pleased that Congress is poised to pass a timetable for withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq.
Gary Kurpius, commander in chief of Veterans of Foreign Wars, said setting a date and conditions for withdrawal “will precipitously endanger U.S. forces currently engaged in the war on terrorism.”
Kurpius, commenting on a bill the House passed Friday that would start pulling combat troops out of Iraq by as early as July 1 and by no later than March 2008, is urging the 2.4 million members of his organization of combat veterans to contact senators to oppose a withdrawal timetable. If the timetable is followed, all combat troops would be withdrawn by September 2008, just before the next presidential and congressional elections.
The Senate began debating its version of the bill Monday and expects a vote by the end of the week.
“The House wants short-term victories in a long-term war,” Kurpius said in a statement. “That is not going to happen with an enemy who only killed 3,000 innocent people [in] September 2001 because they didn’t have the means to kill 30,000 or 3 million people.”
Paul Morin, national commander of the American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans’ group, also opposes a withdrawal plan.
“This is a blueprint for disaster,” Morin said in a statement. “We strongly object to tying timelines for withdrawal to much-needed funding for our troops on the battlefield.”
“Nobody hates war more than the warrior, and nobody wants our troops home more than the American Legion family. Nobody wants to take care of our troops and their families more than we do. But mixing politics, pork-barrel spending and foreign policy is extremely dangerous.”
Morin, who heads a 2.7 million-member organization, called the House plan a “road map to failure.”
“Putting timelines on military operations is the equivalent to issuing battlefield strategies from the House floor for our troops fighting the good fight against terrorism,” Morin said. “Our enemies are not stupid. They know that their chance for victory depends on public opinion in opposition of the war.
“Members of Congress should not be armchair generals,” he said. “They need to understand that our deployed service members depend on this emergency funding to sustain and achieve their military missions.”
Ellie