Letters to the Editor
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Won`t vote for McCain...
but, I am struck by the fact that he is the only remaining candidate who actually has a record, a resume, solid opinions on a variety of controversial subjects. He is the only one who has taken decisions and acted on them, has been physically involved in something, anything real. The others are poseurs and pontificators. They`ve met no test, have no accomplishments. In Texan, they are all hat and no cattle.
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ANYONE who's been in a war
knows it affects you forever. How much MORE so for someone who was a POW?
BTW, many people support the war for different reasons. One of the ones for those in the military is, they don't want those who have died to have died for nothing. That's a big one that those who fought in Viet Nam felt. What was worse was, we could have won Viet Nam but were held back. After a long time, we then left and surrendered the war to the Viet Cong. Many vets have never forgiven America for not supporting them when they needed the support most.
While you may or may not disagree with this assessment, this is how many Viet Nam Vets feel about it and could also explain McCain's attitude as well.
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Frozen in the Past
As a Vietnam veteran, who served during the Tet Offensive of 1968, I find McCain's campaign stand of allowing American troops to indefintely prop up the puppet regime of President Nouri al-Maliki very disturbing. He's clearly failed my benchmark for Presidential leadership. As Obama once said in defense of voting against the war resolution for the invasion of Iraq: "I'm not against wars, just stupid wars." Now that is real leadership that this country needs.
Unfortunately, McCain believes he can misuse his experiences in the Vietnam War to justify winning the support of the adamant hawks within his party. So: Has he really learned anything from his past? Or is he just frozen in the past?
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Just wait until....
....that microchip the Hanoi government planted in his head kicks in!
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McCain is a man in love
McCain deeply believes that war is honorable and that war defines a man's honor and character. Even worst, he believes that war should be the preferred method of resolving disputes between nations. He believes that the US is a warrior state, chosen and exceptional and cannot be judged by the standards and conventions all other nations are required to adhere to. To McCain, the USA is the new crusader state. He is devious and inseincere on many fronts, but he's completely sincere in his admiration of war and America as a warrior state fighting evil. McCain is probably the most dangerous politician in US history, backed by the adoring, ignorant and obedient corporate media.
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Vietnam and Iraq
Hey Mark, it is really simple. There is no connection between the two fights. Vietnam was a local war where Lyndon(sp?) Johnson (Democrat) definitely screwed up and intervened. I ought to know, I was there getting my posterior shot off. Iraq is one part of a global war about international Islamic Jihad against the West. Did George W. Bush (Republican) screw up by intervening to change the dynamics and culture of the Middle East? We will know in a couple years. The two wars are as different as the cliche of night and day. We did not need to win in Vietnam. But the entire West does need to win in Iraq and Afghanistan by defeating Al-Qeada(sp?). The stakes are infinitely greater.
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A complete Vietnam War history
Whatever has been said, one item remains, these naval aviators, of which McCain was a member, were in charge of the political aspects of the Vietnam war, and they actively bombed the North even after the Congress prohibited that action. Someone should ask McCain that question, did you ever volunteer for a mission which circumvented U.S. policy restrictions?
That covers point one and possible two points of his summation of our failure in Vietnam. Certainly the Executive branch has gotten a free pass in Iraq, on that issue, since there is no effective control over the handling of the war. Second question to the Senator would address that issue. The President has had a free hand to run the war, and things are still going badly. Now what would you do? What would you do if Congress put restrictions on the war? What would you do if it was evident we were losing? (Any veteran of the Vietnam war should have an exit strategy in mind)
Thirdly the political animus of the war in Vietnam was driven by the notion of international Communism. That was deflated when North Vietnam and China fought a war after America pulled out. Is there a chance that you have misjudged the threat of Islamo Fascism? Is there a regional solution the problem?
Thirdly, I would ask John McCain; did it effect your more being a political prisoner? You were paraded through the streets, photographed. Enlisted men and ground soldiers were not put in prison camps, they were executed. Does that effect your personal view of that war?
Did America do the right thing once it was evident we could not win? Should we have tried to maintain a military prescence in Vietnam, and how would that look today?
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forty years ago, McCain was called "Baby Burner"
and who can forget those two million innocent villagers blown up and burnt by people like him. it's bad enough the fascists in arizona sent him to the senate, if america rewards him with the presidency in order to REPEAT OUR SIN i will not know what to think.
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Which McCain?
"I would hope that chaos would not ensue if we left because I believe there's other United Nations forces which would take our place and, hopefully, carry out their responsibilities. But frankly, it's eerily reminiscent of the Vietnam rationale for remaining in there, and when we left Beirut after a disaster along the lines which we have now, we did not suffer from some kind of a serious loss of our prestige. There's so many holes in this argument for remaining there it's difficult in a short period of time to identify them all, but I can tell you right now, Bob, the American people are not c -- are not deceived by this. They want our troops out. They think we've completed our mission and I agree with them."
There's nothing I need to add to this.