The USCBL sent the following cover letter and veterans sign-on letter to President Bush on Monday, November 26, 2001.

Cover letter

Nov. 26, 2001

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We hope you and your family enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday, despite the rigorous challenges you are facing.

Following, you will find a letter asking for your support for a U.S. ban on antipersonnel landmines. The letter is from more than 500 U.S. veterans who come from every U.S. state and who served in every major conflict fought by the United States since World World II.

While this letter began circulating before Operation Enduring Freedom began, we are sending it now because it has come to our attention that your Administration is currently finalizing a landmines policy review. When determining your policy, we hope you will take into account the views of these veterans and the many, many like them who believe that antipersonnel landmines pose a terrible danger to civilians and U.S. soldiers, in Afghanistan and throughout the world.

Thank you for your serious consideration.

Yours,

Lt. General Dave Palmer (Ret.) US Army
Vice- Chair, Veterans for Bush- Cheney National Coalition
Former Superintendent, West Point United States Military Academy
Belton, TX

SSg. Richard F. Schultz
Lost both legs to an antipersonnel landmine during service in Vietnam

Crofton, MD

Letter to President Bush from U.S. Veterans who Support a Ban on Antipersonnel Landmines

Dear President Bush:

U.S. soldiers have fallen to antipersonnel (AP) landmines in every American-fought conflict since World War II. Mines are friends to no one–they maim or kill upwards of 18,000 people each year, mostly innocent civilians. AP mines, most of them our own, were responsible for a third of U.S. casualties in the Vietnam Conflict and Gulf War.

As veterans, we ask you to send the Mine Ban Treaty to the Senate for ratification.

We are not alone in our support for this treaty and our belief in its humanitarian, military, and diplomatic necessity. On May 19, 2001, eight retired senior officers sent a letter asking you to join the Mine Ban Treaty. Signed by such respected leaders as Lt. General James Hollingsworth, former commander of U.S. troops in Korea and author of the U.S. battle plan for the defense of South Korea, this letter provides further military rationale for treaty accession.

The humanitarian reasons for supporting the Mine Ban Treaty are striking. The overwhelming majority of landmine victims are civilians in poor countries who have severely limited access to doctors, blood transfusions, and prosthetic limbs. One third of landmine victims are children. Fortunately, however, this treaty has already begun saving lives. Since 1997, more than two thirds of the world's nations have joined the Mine Ban Treaty, and AP mine exports and production have significantly decreased, while casualty rates have fallen. U.S. participation will help further stigmatize landmine use among the few remaining countries that deploy this indiscriminate and insidious weapon.

Nearly all of our NATO allies have ratified the Mine Ban Treaty, demonstrating that humanitarian concerns can be met without limiting their ability to complete their missions and protect their troops. So now, as citizens and veterans, we ask you to honor your commitment to protect U.S. troops and innocent civilians by sending the Mine Ban Treaty to the Senate for ratification. Thank you for giving your attention to this pressing matter.

Sincerely,

Signed by more than 500 veterans from all 50 states

Click here for complete list.