The Military Order of the World Wars
2006 Resolutions
Policy
on
WHEREAS, the
destabilizing effects, both regionally and globally, of North Korea’s sales
and testing of weapons, including missiles, has continued to threaten global
peace and stability; and,
WHEREAS, the government
of North Korea has also attempted to destabilize world economics and foreign
governments through the counterfeiting and illegal distribution of United States
currency, and by using North Korean-flagged ships to distribute illegal drugs in
other countries, and,
WHEREAS, the world
condemnation of North Korea’s continuing production and testing of long-range
missiles has generated the belief that a non-nuclear Korean peninsula is in the
vital interests of countries in the region and the United States; now,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
that The Military Order of the World Wars in National Convention assembled in
Adopted by the Military Order of the World Wars at its 86th Annual Convention,
on August 4, 2006, in Warwick, Rhode Island
Policy on North Korea
Recalling the flagrant 1970s violation by North Korea of accepted international norms of behavior in kidnapping and holding Japanese citizens for the purpose of improving the language and cultural skills of North Korean spies; and,
Remembering the 1983 terrorist bombing by North Korean agents in Rangoon, Burma, in which most of the members of the South Korean cabinet were killed; and,
Disturbed over reports that humanitarian assistance from the international community was reportedly diverted from the North Korean people, whose suffering the aid was intended to relieve, and was used instead to support a military establishment, the size of which greatly exceeds any force reasonably intended solely for the defense of the nation; and,
Troubled by North Korean sales of weapons, including missiles, to unstable countries, and the potential sale of nuclear materials to governments and groups seeking to attack United States interests; and,
Concerned that the government of North Korea has attempted to destabilize world economies and foreign governments through the counterfeiting and illegal distribution of United States currency, and by using North Korean-flagged ships to distribute illegal drugs in other countries; and,
Noting the destabilizing effects, both regionally and globally, of North Korea’s unilateral abrogation of the 1994 Agreed Framework, which was to provide North Korea certain incentives for dismantling its plutonium production program at Yongbyon, and for ending a separate, widely-distributed uranium enrichment program; and,
Reiterating the belief that a non-nuclear Korean peninsula is primarily an interest of the countries in the region, while also being important to others outside the region; and,
Observing the global condemnation of North Korea’s continuing production and testing of long-range missiles it had agreed to halt; and,
Recognizing with regret North Korea’s unwillingness to comply with the recent UN Security Council resolution condemning this pattern of behavior; and,
Mindful of the destabilizing effect of North Korean threats to its neighbors within the region and across the globe, The Military Order of the World Wars:
1. Calls upon the administration to work toward securing a resolution by the United Nations Security Council, calling upon member nations to cease all commercial transactions with North Korea, other than those involving the verifiable distribution of relief materials to the Korean people, and that a protocol be established to verify compliance;
2. Calls upon the administration to freeze all future incentives unless a process is established for the positive verification of compliance by North Korea in all its bilateral, multilateral and international responsibilities;
3. Calls upon the administration to continue to reject North Korean demands for one-on-one talks with the United States on the matter of halting and dismantling the North Korean nuclear program;
4. Calls upon the Congress of the United States of America to issue a resolution condemning the concept of supplanting the multilateral negotiations dealing with the vital regional interests of North Korea’s neighbors with bilateral discussions that exclude those nations most directly concerned, and supporting the position taken by the administration;
5. Calls upon the administration to continue to encourage the governments of Japan, South Korea, Russia and China to use their good offices and political, commercial and financial leverage to press North Korea toward an acceptance of the basic fundamentals of international conduct and responsible behavior; and,
6. Calls upon the administration to ready military plans to remove, by force if necessary, North Korea’s nuclear threat; to prepare support from our allies for such a necessity; and to consult with Congress to establish joint guidelines under which such action should be taken without partisan political debate.
Support for the War on Terrorism
WHEREAS, the United States of America was suddenly, and without provocation, attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001; and,
WHEREAS, and in response to these despicable acts of cowardice, the President and a united Congress authorized military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq; and,
WHEREAS, the Global War on Terrorism is as deadly as any war in which the United States has been previously engaged; and,
WHEREAS, The Military Order of the World Wars agrees with our Commander-in-Chief that these acts of terrorism were aimed at “the heart and soul of the civilized world, and the world has come together to fight a new and different war, the first, and we hope the only one, of the 21st century—a long war against all those who seek to export terror, and a war against those governments that support or shelter them;” now,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The Military Order of the World Wars in National Convention assembled in Warwick, Rhode Island, August 2–6, 2006, 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 thereby protecting our values and way of life.