Updated 10 Jan 2014
Newsletter comment: America’s brave Iraq & Afghanistan vets are now asking themselves the very same questions we who fought in Vietnam have done all these many years after the fall of South Vietnam; what was it all for, why did my fellow Troopers perish, what did we actually accomplish? In the end, we fought for one another, not for some grand global cause that our politicians squandered.
It breaks my heart to see this happen again… Roger “Bear” Young, co-editor
Why We Died: Political Validation for Veterans by Thomas Gibbons-Neff – 8 Jan 14
‘Nam comes to Iraq: Losing to al Qaeda, after winning By Seth Lipsky – 9 Jan 14
Commentary: Iraq: The New Liberal Killing Field by Allen West – 9 Jan 14
Opinion: The Worst Defeat for the United States Since 9/11 by John Ransom – 8 Jan 14
“…A Navy veteran of Enduring Freedom, who walked the sand in Iraq, told me that he had been watching the situation ‘unfold for a while now. It’s incomprehensible to me,’ he said ‘that we lost so much there and these guys just threw it all away’…”
Robert Gates, former defense secretary, offers harsh critique of Obama’s leadership in ‘Duty’ by Bob Woodward – 7 Jan 14
Rep. Hunter: Obama has abandoned everything US fought for in Iraq – FoxNews – 7 Jan 14
Al Qaeda-linked militants capture Fallujah during violent outbreak, report says – FoxNews – 4 Jan 14
I have no idea how we answer that “why” to another generation of warriors that are being betrayed. It is a question I’ve never been able to answer myself despite all the positive spin articles on how we helped to win the Cold War and all that nonsense.
The facts show that in theaters we’ve fought and left troops deployed after the “victory” that it has worked out well for that country and us. Such as Germany, Japan, South Korea. Those we have abandoned have slipped back into chaos. That’s not a difficult concept for our a-hole politicians to grasp when beating the drums of war.
I had deep reservation about going into Iraq. It’s easy for our great military to kick down doors, we do that very well. Winning the peace is another issue in our fickle society. I believe we should no longer put forces on the ground without a declaration of war by Congress. And the frank understanding that it will be a very long term commitment, and without that long term commitment by the people, Congress and subsequent administrations, we stay home and protect our borders, period.
And to this very day, those who opposed the VN war and cutoff all military backing – including ammo – to SVN have NEVER taken any personal responsibility for the aftermath that the good people of Vietnam & Cambodia faced, alone. That to me is unforgivable as it will be in Iraq & Afghanistan.
And by taking the course in Iraq & Afghanistan as they did in SVN, they once again drag us all back into our own personal hell and the feelings of betrayal by an ungrateful nation.
As for our younger veterans, I have only one recommendation. Stay connected because you will need each other in the coming years.
Scouts out!
Clearly, just as our VN era Veterans were blind-sided by unconscionable betrayals, so have those Veterans serving after us have had to bear witness to the same unconscionable betrayals. I truly did not want Post-VN era Veterans to have to endure the same betrayals we did. God bless them. Yes, these Veterans must remain connected with each other…it will be their only saving grace. I salute you my fellow Veterans!
Interesting historical video…not surprising this happened….attitudes haven’t changed much in the succeeding administrations. (Same song, next verse, chorus remains the same.) And I have no doubt this can and will happen again, most probably in more sinister ways…the magnitude of betrayal will be even more devastating. God help us.
Pam and Bear,
How sad that all this blood and treasure could be lost due to the apathy of the American People. I do understand that our people are tired of being the only members of the World Community that seem to be willing to confront brutal, aggressive, and hate demented groups. It seems that we are the only ones that care for the beaten down, helpless souls around the World. Many countries just ignore the uncivilized actions of these tyrants, hoping they will be the last eaten. We are alone in the wilderness and since the end of WWI our leaders and sad to say many of our people have abandoned those they promised a better future. The Vietnamese that spent decades in prison camps and were executed as we left them to their fate, the Iraqis now being killed and mistreated, now the women and girls of Afghanistan face death by stoning for believing that we would protect them if they went to school and took on work to feed their families. The Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Baha’is are murdered and persecuted throughout the Moslem Countries of the World. I know we can’t do it all alone so maybe we should only take on a task that we will not abandon when the going is hard and painful. We are teaching our enemies that we are weak, and lack ethics. Finally, how can we answer another generation of forgotten, and depressed Soldiers when they ask Why? Al, Rifles
Al, thanks once again for your comments. As I’ve stated, I have no idea on how to answer “why” to our brave warriors that served in Iraq. I guess it was all predictable and why I had personal reservations about invading Iraq and voiced my concerns at the time.
From our personal experiences in Vietnam it is clear that neither the American public nor our political elites have the stomach for a long, protractred deployment.
I believe in the Powell doctrine, that when you break it, you own it. That doesn’t mean for 10-15 years, that could well mean indefinitely. Where we’ve left troops in place after military victories such as Germany, Japan and South Korea, we’ve seen good results. Where we pulled out such as Vietnam, Iraq & Libya, chaos and carnage return.
It appears to me that little has been learned, and that absolutely disgusts this Vietnam vet!
Bear and Pam, Thanks for all you do and especially your respect and concern for our Troops, past, present, and future. I am disgusted with our leaders and with those that don’t hold them accountable. Maybe, like Rome we have to see our civilization crumble? I hope it is not too late. Al, Rifles
Al, you are too kind. Our young warriors will need to band together to survive the coming personal trials they will face for the rest of their lives. Our days of supporting and helping them are drawing to a close. Despite our collective best efforts to provide a better outcome, history is sadly repeating.
Be well my Brother-in-Arms! .
My e-mail to the White House this day:
Mr. President,
One thing all of us learned from our service in Vietnam, when America pulls all the troops out of a country after a military engagement, chaos usually follows.
We Vietnam veterans had hoped our country had learned that lesson the hard way. But we’re seeing a very unstable condition in Iraq as Fallujah and other areas our brave young warriors paid in blood to secure, are now falling to our enemies. Again, another generation of brave, patriotic Americans are being betrayed by poor foreign policy decisions. It was our profound hope that this would never happen again. Nor that today’s veterans would ever question what their sacrifice had ultimately been for, but history is repeating.
Where our military has won hard fought military victories and we’ve kept a contingency of forces in after the peace has been secured, such as in Germany, Japan & South Korea, the longterm results have been good for both the countries involved and for the U.S.
Where we have just pulled-up stakes and come home, such as South Vietnam, Libya and now Iraq, those countries have reverted shortly back to chaos claiming the lives of many innocents caught up in such wars.
It greatly saddens me that the U.S. and Iraq could not have agreed on a SOFA, so that we could have had some highly specialized forces and air assets in the country to help maintain the peace. But domestic politics appear to have been a higher priority than sound foreign policy, just as the case was in South Vietnam when Congress cutoff all military funding and material for our allies. That action cost the lives of many good South Vietnamese and untold scores of those bludgeoned in Cambodia.
Clearly, you have learned nothing!