It's time for the American public to know about the prisoner of war/missing in action issue.
For years the National Alliance of Families of POWs/MIAs, Rolling Thunder Inc. and many other veteran organizations have been pressing our federal government for full disclosure about our POW/MIAs - not just those in Iraq but those from the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Cold War/Korea Conflict and even World War II.
As late as 1979, U.S. officials became convinced that there still were live POWs in Southeast Asia. In his book "An Enormous Crime" published in 2007, former Rep. Bill Hendon, R-N.C., chronicled the fact that when the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam, it knowingly left behind hundreds of POWs. Hendon used thousands of pages of public and previously classified documents to make his case.
There is enough evidence to warrant further investigation. Almost 18 months ago, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., introduced House Resolution 111 to establish a House select committee on POW/MIA affairs. The committee would "conduct a full investigation of all unresolved matters relating to any United States personnel unaccounted for from the Vietnam era, the Korean conflict, World War II, Cold War missions, or Gulf War, including MIAs and POWs."
In June 2007 the resolution had more than 60 co-sponsors. Rolling Thunder decided to aggressively pursue the remaining co-sponsors needed to move the resolution out of the House Rules Committee and onto the floor for debate and a vote. By last month we had 279 co-sponsors representing more than 60 percent of the House membership who, in turn, represent more than 200 million Americans. Almost 50 percent of the 50 states have 100 percent co-sponsorship. Yet the measure is stalled in the Rules Committee. Why? Because of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reluctance to allow any additional select committees.
We would like to know, along with the American public, for whom does Pelosi work? We believe it's the American people and all veterans who serve this country.
Despite her public rhetoric about restoring accountability to the Congress, Pelosi has ignored the obvious will of more than 60 percent of her peers in Congress. It is unheard of for a measure to have this many co-sponsors and be stuck in the Rules Committee.
If this resolution is not enacted within two years after its initiation, which would be March 14, 2009, it will die. So, please, I ask you, the American people who vote, to stand up and voice your concerns to Congress about this issue.
Our POW/MIAs and the families left behind deserve nothing less.
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