Photo by Handout/Reuters
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I met this really fascinating guy the other morning, a retired attorney, Korean war veteran and very much opposed to Iraq. I was sharing with him that one of my big dilemmas was the fact that I did indeed support the troops as they are merely doing their jobs. But, I was troubled by the idea that on a wholesale basis, without fail, they are totally in support of their mission. And, that I understand: soldiers have to support what they are doing.
The Korean War Vet's comments took me aback-he said something like "I don't disagree with you but when something is based on a "lie" then everything associated with it is tainted." What he was referring too, of course, was the non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Think about Vietnam and what we now know about the Bay of Tonkin incident which propelled us into a wholesale involvement in that sorry war.
| Bay of Tonkin |
Washington Post Headline Aug 5. 1964: "President Johnson has ordered retaliatory action against gunboats and 'certain supporting facilities in North Vietnam' after renewed attacks against American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin."
The United States Military was actually working in conjunction with the South Vietnamese navy and the Laotian Airforce. The United States was gathering the intelligence. The South Vietnamese army and the Laotian airforce were making attacks on the North Vietnamese.
But on August 7 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution(which propelled the Vietnam War):Congress passed the resolution authorizing the president "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression."
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Also, my new acquaintance went on to say that he believes we have a civil war in Iraq. And, I will have to admit that there surely appears to be truth here.
Think about it: almost daily, Iraqis killed by Sunni Muslims it appears. One day sixty-eight were killed. A few days ago we have thirty-one police commandos killed by three separate bombs.
Yesterday, Thursday June 2, fifty people were killed: three suicide car bombs, two motorcycles exploded in Northern Iraq, and gunmen opened fire in a crowded market place in Baghdad. The "insurgents" are operating with impunity.
One of my good friends said this: " I am a veteran of two wars - Korea and VN. I am a patriot. I believe in serving our country when needed, but those guys dying in Iraq are not serving our country nor Iraq. They are dying because of very poor decisions. "
I hate the circumstances surrounding this war, but my motto has been and forever will be Always For the Troops.
KT
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