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American Legion to Congress: Support Petraeus and His Mission

WASHINGTON, Apr. 09 /PRNewswire/ --

WASHINGTON, April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congress should give Gen. David Petraeus the tools he needs to succeed in Iraq, the head of The American Legion said today.

"Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador (Ryan) Crocker both testified that the Coalition is making great progress in reducing violence in Iraq," National Commander Marty Conatser said. "I have been to Iraq and have met with Gen. Petraeus. He is a man of honor and is a widely respected expert on counter-insurgency. We will not be able to win a war on terror if we set aside the requests of our military experts in the name of partisan politics."

Conatser pointed out that delegates at the last three American Legion National Conventions have unanimously passed Resolution 169, a measure that supports the global war on terrorism, which includes Iraq.

"It would be unconscionable for Congress to have confirmed Gen. Petraeus as the commander in Iraq, authorized the operation there and then pull the rug from under him by not giving him the troops and funding that he needs," Conatser said. "More than 4,000 Americans have died there. Every life is precious but let us not diminish the cause that they died for by surrendering to terrorists who would ravage the country if we withdrew prematurely."

During his testimony before the Senate, Petraeus recommended that upon the withdrawal of the last surge brigade combat team in July, "a 45-day period of consolidation and evaluation" occur before further troop reductions. "This approach does not allow establishment of a set withdrawal timetable; however it does provide the flexibility those of us on the ground need to preserve the still-fragile security gains our troopers have fought so far and sacrifice so much to achieve," Petraeus said.

In spite of the significant progress, Petraeus warned that terrorists are still a threat in Iraq. "Al Qaeda is still capable of lethal attacks. And we must maintain a relentless pressure on the organization, on the networks outside of Iraq, that support it and on the resource flows that sustain it," Petraeus said.

When asked by Sen. John Warner if the mission in Iraq has provided greater security here in the United States, Crocker responded, "First, in the little over a year that I have been in Iraq, we have seen a significant degradation of al Qaeda's presence and its abilities. Al Qaeda is our moral and strategic enemy. So, to the extent that al Qaeda's capacities have been lessened in Iraq, and they have been significantly lessened, I do believe that makes America safer."

"Ambassador Crocker's testimony made it clear that our troops in Iraq have made us safer here at home," Conatser said. "We are fortunate enough to have outstanding men and women who are willing to put themselves in harm's way to protect us. Let's not jeopardize the safety of all Americans by not allowing our troops to do their jobs."

With a current membership of 2.7-million wartime veterans, The American Legion, www.legion.org, was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and patriotic youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.