Military Brass Ask Senate to Pull ANWR

Senate Republicans Jeopardize Resources for Troops and Families

Yesterday, Sen. John Kerry released a letter from five top retired Generals and a retired Navy Admiral urging Senators Frist and Reid not to let Sen. Ted Stevens get away with his latest scheme to open the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve to drilling.

Stevens has attached his drilling plan to the otherwise noncontroversial Defense funding bill in open violation of the Senate Rules, a move that bogged down its passage and could postpone final action sending the much-needed funding bill to President Bush’s desk until after the first of the year.

In the letter, Generals John M. Shalikashvili, Joseph Hoar, Anthony Zinni, Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn and Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney urge Congress to

“finish its work and provide them the resources they need to do their job. … It is not helpful to attach such a controversial non-defense legislative issue to a defense appropriations bill. It only invites delay for our troops.”

ANWR would not produce a single drop of oil for 7 years. Troops and families need resources today. The choice would seem clear, but clearly not for Ted Stevens.

Download the letter here (pdf)