American Legion contradiction: they did not support troops under Clinton

[Generic Other]

Someone sent me this in an email:

Aid and Comfort
"The American Legion will stand against anyone and any group that would
demoralize our troops, or worse, endanger their lives by encouraging
terrorists to continue their cowardly attacks against freedom-loving
peoples," Thomas Cadmus, national commander, told delegates at the
group's national convention in Honolulu" . . . "We had hoped that the
lessons learned from the Vietnam War would be clear to our fellow
citizens. Public protests against the war here at home while our young
men and women are in harm's way on the other side of the globe only
provide aid and comfort to our enemies."

Editor & Publisher
American Legion Declares War on Protestors
August 24, 2005

(via Atrios)
______________________
Dear Mr. President:

The American Legion, a wartime veterans organization of nearly
three-million members, urges the immediate withdrawal of American
troops participating in "Operation Allied Force.''

The National Executive Committee of The American Legion, meeting in
Indianapolis today, adopted Resolution 44, titled "The American
Legion's Statement on Yugoslavia.'' This resolution was debated and
adopted unanimously.

Mr. President, the United States Armed Forces should never be committed
to wartime operations unless the following conditions are fulfilled:

• That there be a clear statement by the President of why it is in
our vital national interests to be engaged in hostilities;

• Guidelines be established for the mission, including a clear exit
strategy;

• That there be support of the mission by the U.S. Congress and the
American people; and

• That it be made clear that U.S. Forces will be commanded only by
U.S. officers whom we acknowledge are superior military leaders.

It is the opinion of The American Legion, which I am sure is shared by
the majority of Americans, that three of the above listed conditions
have not been met in the current joint operation with NATO ("Operation
Allied Force'').

In no case should America commit its Armed Forces in the absence of
clearly defined objectives agreed upon by the U.S. Congress in
accordance with Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution of the United
States.

Sincerely,
Harold L. "Butch'' Miller,
National Commander

American Legion
Letter to President Clinton
May 5, 1999

[moc]

1. Bunch of damn hypocrites.

:grr:

[ewagner]

2. Great find!

I'm printing that out and saving it........

[achtung_circus]

3. So, what is the Legion?

I know what the Legion is here in Canada, but I'm sure there are differences.

Why do they seem to vote unanimously?

[Generic Other]

7. The kind of veterans like Bush who kept Texas safe from the Vietcong

In other words they marched around a lot and didn't get shot at.

Isn't that what distinguishes them from the VFW?

[tabasco]

4. Yeah, what's up with that?

Of course, 9-11 changed everything blah, blah, blah.

AFAIC, if 9-11 changed everything like Bush says, the terrorists won! :mad:

Fucking Legion. Obviously a bunch of fucking retards running it right now. This type of leadership will hurt the Legion just like it has hurt the USA.

[walldude]

5. Yeah, this was posted earlier, check out this from..

Crooks and Liars if you haven't seen it before.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/stories/2005/08/17/heresWhatRepublicansSaidAboutClintonAndKosovo.html

They are all hypocrites...

[DefenseLawyer]

6. Did anyone else go to American Legion "Boys State" as a kid?

I did back in the early 80's in Indiana. It was utterly fascist. We had to march in formation everywhere we went and worship the flag like a god. And for some reason, as a demonstration of the awesome power of the police I suppose, they took us all by bus out to a field and had the state police shoot tear gas at us (I kid you not). I always had kind of an issue with authority as a kid, so needless to say I wasn't a big hit with the Boys State guys.