Dear Editor,

I was quite surprised at the Boston Globe's Aug. 16 article, "VFW, American Legion back Iraq war," that says The American Legion has finally broken its "relative silence on the merits of the Iraq war."

We are not a "Johnny come lately" to this public debate. In fact, in June 2003, the Legion stated: "We must show our troops now that we stand behind them 100 percent. This is our duty."

The American Legion unanimously stated its support in Resolution No. 169 in 2005, as well as in countless press releases, public statements, media articles, and on our national website.

A simple Google search for "American Legion and Iraq war" produces 1,120,000 hits. Additionally, Resolution 169 was sent to your reporter, Bryan Bender, on August 13, at his request, (before he wrote the article). Now, for some unknown reason, he chooses to characterize our support as "recent."

Even those who disagree with our position on the Iraq war certainly do not accuse us of being silent on the matter. They just wish we were.

The American Legion believes that you cannot separate the war from the warrior. If you support the troops, support their mission. And we are on record as doing just that from the beginning.

Sincerely,
Paul A. Morin
National Commander
The American Legion

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VFW, American Legion back Iraq war
Groups urge patience to let 'surge' work
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | August 16, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the nation's oldest and most influential veterans' organizations, have broken their relative silence on the merits of the Iraq war, joining some of the staunchest war supporters to lobby Congress and the public to give the military "surge" more time to work.

This month, the American Legion issued an "action alert" to its three million members, declaring "the war in Iraq is not lost." Last week, the commander of the VFW, Gary Kurpius, reported that troops he met on a recent fact-finding trip to Iraq want "a little more time and patience" for the stepped-up US offensive to succeed.

"We owe them that much," he said.

Read the entire Boston Globe Story