Florida Veterans
for Common Sense
FLORIDA VETERANS FOR COMMON SENSE, INC.
RESOLUTION
TRY ACCUSED TERRORISTS IN FEDERAL COURT
Whereas, consistent with the Constitution of the United States and the rule of law, the Justice Department has announced its intention to prosecute the Christmas bomber and other accused terrorists in federal court.
Whereas, some argue that suspected terrorists be tried only before military commissions and that the use of criminal court procedures to try terrorist suspects demonstrates that the Administration is weak on national security.
Whereas, the Justice Department has successfully prosecuted more than 300 terrorists since 2001 in Federal Court and there is no reason to sacrifice normal due process and criminal justice principles in cases involving terrorism.
Whereas, our values as a nation are reflected in our system of justice including reliance on an independent judiciary under the Constitution.
Whereas, the abdication of normal criminal justice procedures in the face of terrorist threats and for political expediency gives victory to those who seek to destroy those values.
Now, therefore, it is resolved that Florida Veterans for Common Sense demands that suspected terrorists be charged with crimes by the Justice Department and tried in Federal Court using traditional criminal justice procedures and not by military commissions.
Adopted this 18th Day of February, 2010
________________________________
Harvey Gochberg,
Secretary,
A Resolution in Opposition to the Troop Escalation for
Whereas, the
Whereas, home foreclosures are at record highs and unless the economy improves more Americans will become homeless and forced to live in tent cities.
Whereas, President Obama has decided to escalate the number troops in
Whereas, the cost of the escalation alone in
Whereas, the
Whereas, many military functions are contracted to private mercenary companies that often results in waste and corruption.
Whereas, National Security Advisor Retired General James L. Jones estimates less than 100 Al Qaeda operate in Afghanistan and he doesn’t foresee an immediate danger of Afghanistan falling to the Taliban.
Whereas, many Afghans, perhaps the majority, do not want American troops in their country.
Whereas, the American presence in
Whereas,
Whereas, Congress has the sole Constitutional authority to declare war and fund military operations.
Wherefore, it is resolved that Florida Veterans for Common Sense Inc. calls on Congress:
Adopted this 14th Day of January, 2010
S/ Harvey Gochberg
Secretary,
LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
October 29, 2009
President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
VIA FAX: (202) 456-2461
Dear President Obama,
The members of Florida Veterans for Common Sense thank you for showing your respect for the soldiers recently killed in Afghanistan when their bodies arrived home in America. We know that you are heartsick for the personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice and for their families and loved ones.
As you are acutely aware, our soldiers are doing their best to carry out your orders. With that knowledge, and the awesome responsibility to send soldiers into harms way, we applaud your efforts to weigh all factors before sending more soldiers to Afghanistan as recommended by General McChrystal and others.
Our members recognize that your administration inherited two wars from the previous administration, but we beseech you not to be constrained by its failed strategy for Afghanistan. A new strategy must be forged.
In our view, our troops should be brought home from Afghanistan before more lives are wasted in misadventure. No cogent national security interest exists that justifies the costs in both lives and treasure to maintain combat troops in Afghanistan. As the Pentagon acknowledges, Al Qaeda in Afghanistan has been decimated. And, Al Qaeda doesn’t need to use Afghanistan to plan and execute operations against American and our allies.
Please find with this letter the position statement of Florida Veterans for Common Sense in respect to troop levels in Afghanistan. If you, or your staff, have any questions, please contact us.
Thank you for your consideration of our viewpoint from the perspective of veterans.
Sincerely,
Gene Jones
President, Florida Veterans for Common Sense, Inc. __________________________________
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IRAQ WAR POSITION PAPER
Florida Veterans for Common Sense: Withdraw from Iraq (Sept. 2009)
A new Iraqi government was established in 2005. We have given the Iraqi government more than adequate time and resources to train personnel sufficient to maintain the peace.
What is the mission in Iraq now? Are United States armed forces in Iraq to avoid civil war between Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds? If so, should our soldiers be forced to stay in perpetuity because Iraqis cannot reconcile their differences?
Reconstruction efforts have failed. Billions of dollars are unaccounted for. Corruption is rampant by both Iraqis and Americans. Basic services are still not back to pre-invasion levels. Reconstruction should be transferred to the United Nations, or other international agencies. The American military should not be used for reconstruction in Iraq.
Maintaining troops in Iraq jeopardizes our national security. Every dollar wasted could be spent at home to stabilize our economy. What is gained by saving the Iraq’s economy if we weaken our own by continuing to spend $12 billion per month in Iraq? Nobel winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has calculated the cost of the Iraq operation alone at three trillion dollars.
Over 4,324 Americans have been killed and 69,659 have become ill or wounded, and the carnage continues. Many returning soldiers suffer from injuries, post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury that will haunt them forever.
Our military is stretched and our personnel deserve a lengthy tour at home. In WWII, combat soldiers averaged six months in a combat zone. In Viet Nam, they averaged eleven to twelve months. In Iraq, many have deployed to Iraq for several years.
Keeping troops in Iraq lends credence to the beliefs that we invaded Iraq to occupy a Middle Eastern, Muslim country, or to control Iraqi oil. These beliefs are fertile recruiting tools for our enemies. We can’t successfully combat terrorism with tactics that create terrorists as fast, or faster, than our soldiers can kill them. Maintaining troops in Iraq diminishes our capacity to combat terrorists.
If the Iraqis need more help, it should be under the aegis of the United Nations or some other umbrella group with soldiers from Muslim countries.
An 18-year-old kid off the streets of New York or a farm in Georgia can be trained as a Marine in 13 weeks, so why don't the Iraqis have robust military and police forces in Iraq after so many years? The Marine knows who his government is and what he is fighting for. Does the Iraqi? Our troops have done their duty to stabilize Iraq and should be withdrawn from Iraq immediately on a timetable consistent with their safety.
__________________________________________________________________
Florida Veterans for Common Sense, Inc., a 501 (c) (4) corporation. FLVeterans@aol.com
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Veterans Benefits
We have a simple contract with the members of our armed forces: You fight for us; we will take care of you. At times, that contract has taken a beating. Ask just about any veteran. So, when my friend, a retired Army captain, told me recently that his health care co-payments were going up, I knew it was happening again. And, this time it is happening in the middle of a war in Iraq, and while we are facing perhaps decades of a struggle against terrorism. And, my friend’s increased payments are just a small part of it. The Florida Sun Vets magazine points to reports that the Department of Defense is going to raise TRICARE premiums for military retirees under the age of 65. At the same time, the Veterans Administration backlog of disability claims, which had improved dramatically in recent years, now is back up to more than 368,000, says the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Two different funding sources are involved, the DOD and the VA, but both involve veterans. The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) puts a fine point on all of this: The Joint Chiefs of Staff are having to choose between weapons and health care at a time of hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts and billions of dollars more in budget pork. MOAA believes this is only the first round of cost-shifting and that this is the most serious threat to military benefits in years. And, those aren't the only problems. Our warriors of today are being affected by glitches in the system.
Sgt. Edward Wade of the 82nd Airborne Division, lost an arm and suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, but he has had to battle the Army to obtain care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the loss of his right arm.
Capt. Troy O’Donley, Army National Guard, had to insist on remaining on active duty to receive care at WRAMC, showing the need for providing equal access to care for wounded members of the Guard and Reserve.
We must have improved services for our military, active, honorably discharged and retired. Much has been accomplished in the Veterans Administration in recent years, but much more needs to be done.
And, it must be done on a continuing, transparent, sensible basis. Neither the DOD nor the VA can solve the biggest overriding problem. Only Congress can move veterans health care from a discretionary to a mandatory funding source. This would eliminate the year-to-year uncertainty about funding levels that have prevented the VA from adequately planning and meeting the needs of veterans, the same uncertainty that puts our military leaders in a no-win situation with the DOD.
In addition to the humanitarian reasons to do this, there is a very practical one. We need our finest young men and women to continue enlisting to help in the struggle against terrorism. Ensuring them the best possible health care is a big incentive to do so.
More importantly, Our senior military leaders would not be put in the dishonorable position of choosing between money for weapons and money to help veterans. __________________________________
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Our fiscal year starts October 1 and dues for those who wish to be voting members are only $25.
Checks should be made payable to Florida Veterans for Common Sense and brought to the meeting or mailed to treasurer, Dennis Plews, at 27 Fletcher Ave., Sarasota, FL 34237.
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Florida Veterans for Common Sense
100 Wallace Street, Suite 255
Sarasota, FL 34237
phone: 941 349-5131
email:FLveterans@aol.com