American Legion Commander urges strong U.N. pushback against North Korean threats

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC - The leader of the country's largest military veterans organization is calling upon the United Nations to take a strong stand against the increasingly belligerent government of North Korea. "With his May 27th withdrawal from the armistice that halted the original Korean conflict, Kim Jong Il has effectively turned the clock back to 1950." said David K. Rehbein. National Commander of the American Legion. "Now, as then, North Korea's warlike actions must be resisted strongly and, now as then, the United Nations, is the appropriate party to erect that wall of resistance."

‘The American Legion played a significant role in the establishment of the U.N.," continued Rehbein, "and we continue to support the lofty principles upon which the organization was founded: the guardianship of international peace and the promotion of human betterment. Unfortunately, in the intervening years the U.N. has too often answered acts of war and aggression against innocents with mere rhetoric and ineffectual sanctions," said the Commander. "This time, the U.N. must be prepared to respond more forcefully and tangibly, if necessary. Members of the United Nations are indeed united in their condemnation of Kim Jong Il's aggressive policies and actions and, so, this is an opportune time for the organization to re-establish itself, in real terms, as the world's keeper of peace and human rights.

"President Harry Truman led the way in free nations' strong response to the dark purposes of the North Korean government sixty years ago," concluded the Commander. "Today, we urge President Obama to follow in his predecessor's commanding footsteps."

At its annual convention last year, the 2.6-million-member American Legion adopted a resolution anticipating a continued pattern of bad behavior from the Communist country. It reads, in part, "Resolved: That the government of the United States render prompt and effective assistance to the Republic of Korea to repel any external armed attack against the Republic of Korea...; and, "that the government of the United States increase its efforts to reduce the North Korean threat of weapons of mass destruction...."