| American Legion response to Berkeley City Council "Marines Not Welcome" |
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| Written by Melanie Morgan | |
| Thursday, 31 January 2008 | |
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"Osama bin Laden couldn't have said it better," American Legion National Commander Marty Conatser said of the Berkeley City Council Resolution, which tells the Marines that they are not welcome there. "Disgraceful, disloyal, ungrateful. These words are too kind in describing the actions of the public officials in Berkeley, who voted for this disgrace. Nonetheless, our Marines continue to bravely serve and in so doing, allow Americans to spout such foolishness. The American Legion not only strongly condemns this action by the City Council but also believes that a sincere apology is in order to all Marines, past and present." Conatser, the leader of the nation's largest veterans organization, was referring to a measure passed by the Council 8-1 Tuesday, that tells the U.S. Marine Corps that one of its recruiting stations is "not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do as uninvited and unwelcome intruders." "I have been a recruiter in the National Guard and I know that it's tough duty, with long hours," Conatser said. "What these recruiters do is essential to our national security. Without recruiters we have no military. And I don't think we can count on the flower children from Berkeley to protect this nation when it comes under attack. They have to remember that Marines are not the enemy; the terrorists are." 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. More here: http://www.legion.org/vision/currentevents/2008/01/american_legion_commander_to_b.html |
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