American Legion Declares War on Protestors – Media Next?
Editor and Publisher
NEW YORK – The American Legion,
which has 2.7 million members, has declared war on antiwar protestors,
and the media could be next. Speaking at its national convention in
Honolulu, the group's national commander called for an end to all
“public protests” and “media events” against the war.
“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.
The delegates voted to use whatever means necessary to “ensure the united backing of the American people to support our troops and the global war on terrorism.”
In his
speech, Cadmus declared: “It would be tragic if the freedoms our
veterans fought so valiantly to protect would be used against their
successors today as they battle terrorists bent on our destruction.”
He
explained, “No one respects the right to protest more than one who has
fought for it, but we hope that Americans will present their views in
correspondence to their elected officials rather than by public media
events guaranteed to be picked up and used as tools of encouragement by
our enemies.” This might suggest to some, however, that American
freedoms are worth dying for but not exercising.
Without
mentioning any current protestor, such as Cindy Sheehan, by name,
Cadmus recalled: “For many of us, the visions of Jane Fonda glibly
spouting anti-American messages with the North Vietnamese and
protestors denouncing our own forces four decades ago is forever etched
in our memories. We must never let that happen again….
“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.”
Resolution 3, which was passed unanimously by
4,000 delegates to the annual event, states: “The American Legion fully
supports the president of the United States, the United States Congress
and the men, women and leadership of our armed forces as they are
engaged in the global war on terrorism and the troops who are engaged
in protecting our values and way of life.”
Cadmus
advised: “Let's not repeat the mistakes of our past. I urge all
Americans to rally around our armed forces and remember our fellow
Americans who were viciously murdered on Sept. 11, 2001.”
Blog For Iowa 
The commentary from certain quarters is beginning to reflect one view of the Vietnam war — the war isn't wrong, we are losing or have lost merely because people protested it. They seem willing to blame anyone for the consequences of a bad decision except the persons who made the decision in the first place. Denial must be cold comfort to those who can't accept the tragedy of the war on Iraq.
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