MESSENGER

My honorable lords, health to you all.

Sad tidings bring I to you out of France,

Of loss, of slaughter, and discomfiture.

[snip]

EXETER

How were they lost? What treachery was used?

MESSENGER

No treachery, but want of men and money.

Amongst the soldiers this is muttered,

That here you maintain several factions,

And whilst a field should be dispatched and fought

You are disputing of your generals.

One would have ling'ring wars, with little cost;

Another would fly swift but wanteth wings;

A third thinks, without expense at all,

By guileful fair words peace may be obtained.

---Henry VI, Part One

---Shakespeare

We may all be anonymous here, but we still 'exist' in this space. By creating a situation where someone may be unjustly branded a crank--that is a troll-- their access to this space becomes limited. AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SPACE. -omooex

I choose to read your use of this in a literal and specific way; to point directly to Glenn's UT threads. In that interpretation, you have paid everyone here a high compliment. Thank you!

Read that way, the compliment includes you, Settembrini. And, don't I know you from somewhere? A previous life, perhaps.

'The National Guard serves a lot more purposes than "killing machine"?'

As does the Army. As does the Air Force. So?

If you train to kill, do not be surprised when you are ordered to kill. The Coast Guard spent most of WWII in the pacific fighting the Japanese; no one can claim that they thought they would never fight when they made the bargain to take money from the National Guard.

If you train to kill, do not be surprised when you are ordered to kill.

-- bucky1

A great number of people who have over the years joined The National Guard were not "trained to kill" and never expected to be "trained to kill". But you be sure not to thank any of them for any of the service they have provided. Be sure to continue to self righteously condemn them all.

Goering's statement was on how to start a war.

-- bucky1

I know precisely what Goering said, and your take on it is myopic and simplistic.

-- Kitt

Well that is an interesting comment. The fact that historians have had that take on his words that I mentioned (and quoted) ever since the time of the trails means that you somehow think you have the "real knowledge" of what Goering was talking about while the historians are not up to your abilities. Imagine that.

I wonder if the difference in starting a war and maintaining an occupation of long duration has escaped your attention.

As most adults know, after a war is started it takes on a life of its own. Read Chris Hedges for details.

"A great number of people who have over the years joined The National Guard were not "trained to kill" and never expected to be "trained to kill". But you be sure not to thank any of them for any of the service they have provided. Be sure to continue to self righteously condemn them all." -- Kitt

If they did not know they were part of the American Military then they sure did fail to read any history on the use of the Guard. They sure did enter blindly.

I suspect that few did not know what they might be asked to do. I knew a young social studies teacher when the first Gulf War broke out and his Guard unit was slated to go. He said, "damn, I gambled that nothing would happen." At least he did not pretend ignorance.

A man who joins an organization that kills women and children must answer for that choice. Not to me; but he will answer.

This is an excerpt from an interview of Goering. You, Bucky1, have now claimed that all historians believe exactly as you have stated. You leave no doubt that the following interview excerpt can not possibly make evidence that Goering was well aware that it would take a lot more than just dragging us into war to keep us in war.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: The principles of the authoritarian government which you set up required, as I understand you, that there be tolerated no opposition by political parties which might defeat or obstruct the policy of the Nazi Party?

GOERING: You have understood this quite correctly. By that time we had lived long enough with opposition and we had had enough of it. Through opposition we had been completely ruined. It was now time to have done with it and to start building up.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: After you came to power, you regarded it necessary, in order to maintain power, to suppress all opposition parties?

GOERING: We found it necessary not to permit any more opposition, yes.

MR.JUSTICE JACKSON: And you also held it necessary that you should suppress all individual opposition lest it should develop intO a party of opposition?

GOERING: Insofar as opposition seriously hampered our work of building up, this opposition of individual persons was, of courSe not tolerated. Insofar as it was simply a matter of harmless talk it was considered to be of no consequence.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: Now, in order to make sure that You suppressed the parties, and individuals also, you found it necessary to have a secret political police to detect opposition?

GOERING: I have already stated that I considered that necessary just as previously the political police had existed, but on a firmer basis and larger scale.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: And upon coming to power you also considered it immediately necessary to establish concentration camps to take care of your incorrigible opponents?

http://tinyurl.com/yw3rtz

If they did not know they were part of the American Military then they sure did fail to read any history on the use of the Guard. They sure did enter blindly.

-- bucky1

Yes, well, you be sure to condemn all the computer techs, engineers, and all the regular every day war mongers in the Guard who have helped at hurricane disasters, floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and so forth.