Veteran Day

[Colonel Taylor]

Thank You to all of our American service men and women!

[Wneglia]

Thanks to all the men and women who have fought for our freedom.

Veterans Day Tribute

Freedom Isn't Free

[Bungalow Bill]

Yeah, they stopped those invasions by the Koreans, Vietnamese, Grenadians Iraqis, and
Afghans. Close calls all.

[rip]

I'll thank a WWII vet, but other than that, they're all just hired guns fighting for evil Kings.

[rstrong]

Yeah, they stopped those invasions by the Koreans, Vietnamese, Grenadians Iraqis, and
Afghans. Close calls all.

The communists (Korea, Vietnam, Grenada) were no less evil than Hitler. Russia's stated plan WAS to take over the world one small state at a time.

Nor were Saddam or the Taliban/Al Qaeda any less evil. Both committed genocide, and both had a record of attacking the US and those around them.

Incompetence by Washington politicians in how they directed the wars, should not reflect badly on those who fought them.

[Reality]

So Bungalow, you do not vote and your disdain for the US Military is quite evident by your post. Have you ever thought about moving elsewhere.

Very intelligent rip, very intelligent.

[Bungalow Bill]

The Korean government might have come close to Hitler in terms of evil, but the Vietnamese and
the Grenadians didn't. The invasion of Grenada was one of those we can do it so we will do it
military moves. Did anybody really think there was some danger to the U.S. from that tiny island?
The Soviet Union may have had a vague pipe dream of taking over the world, if even that, but
obviously they never came close. No one can take over the world. Saddam and Al-Qaeda were
mostly local actors and posed no long term threat to the U.S. Al-Qaeda may blow up the odd
building from time to time, but their day has come and gone. The question isn't really about evil,
but about how much of a threat to our freedom these mostly third-rate nations posed. Very little,
which is why the old freedom is not free thing is just political rhetoric without much relation to
how the real world now works.

[rip]

Very intelligent rip, very intelligent.

More so than sending your children to die for the vendettas of a millionaire.

[Stinger]

I'll thank a WWII vet, but other than that, they're all just hired guns fighting for evil Kings.

A lot of good men and women died believing that they were fighting for their country, regardless of what any evil kings were doing.

They and their sacrifices deserve respect, . . . regardless of what any evil kings were doing.

[rstrong]

The Korean government might have come close to Hitler in terms of evil, but the Vietnamese and
the Grenadians didn't. The invasion of Grenada was one of those we can do it so we will do it
military moves.

The Russian empire WAS that bad, and the only debate is on *how many times* they committed genocide. One could not expect any better of Russia's client states. North Vietnam was a Russian client. (Washington backed a dictator rather than someone who would have been democratically elected. As I said, there were some failures among the Washington politicians.)

Grenada... was a bit more complicated. The country was a democracy until Maurice Bishop seized power in a coup in 1979. Bishop was a Marxist-Leninist - he even named his son Vladimir Lenin.

But he was not very pro-Soviet. He wasn't commie enough for others in his government, so in 1983 they deposed him, and later lined him and other members of his government up against the wall and shot them. The new regime became a full Soviet client state, with a Soviet-Cuban military build-up.

The problem was, Bishop had been a popular commie, and internal fighting broke out. The new regime announced a total curfew under which anyone who left their home without authorization for any reason would be subject to summary execution.

And so many in Grenada called for outside help. Barbados, Jamaica and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, appealed to the United States for assistance. And so America invaded.

Grenada wasn't just descending into the worst of Soviet client-state darkness; it had already landed there. Kudos to America for stepping in and putting a stop to it.

[Bungalow Bill]

You just mentioned Korea, Vietnam, and Grenada as being as evil as Hitler. That's pretty much
of a stretch. None of the Eastern European client states of the Soviet Union engaged in the
mass killings that the Soviet Union did. Grenada was engaged in the usual coup and counter
coup that was so familiar in that part of the world. The paranoid U.S. imperialistas saw an
opportunity for an invasion against the weak government of a tiny island (population 95,000)
and took it. That's what imperialists do, and they always have some excuse for their actions.

Every country has the right to defend itself with its own armed forces, but the idea that the U.S.
is somehow defending its own freedom in places like Grenada or Iraq or Afghanistan is just
so much jingoistic claptrap that can be rolled out on holidays.

[mike]

Regardless of what one might think about our armed forces, I salute all who are serving or who have served.

Respect!

[Leo Lyons]

The rest of the story: We bombed a a Grenadian mental hospital.

But patients Vrede and Bungalow Bill, the most knowledgeable of ones possessing classified military information, escaped unscathed. They eventually settled in North Carolina where they continually spew their hate and wrath towards tthe US military as well as past and present leaders.

Regardless of what one might think about our armed forces, I salute all who are serving or who have served. Respect!

Well said. Thank you.
That's what this thread subject started out as being; respect for those who have served. Vrede, rip, and the Bill chose this thread to vent their personal vendettas against the US military, thus dishonoring all our brave men and women who chose to serve their country despite their personal opinions.

I'll thank a WWII vet, but other than that, they're all just hired guns fighting for evil Kings.

A lot of good men and women died believing that they were fighting for their country, regardless of what any evil kings were doing. They and their sacrifices deserve respect . . . regardless of what any evil kings were doing.

Well said. Thank you.[/color]

[rip]

A lot of good men and women died believing that they were fighting for their country, regardless of what any evil kings were doing.

They and their sacrifices deserve respect, . . . regardless of what any evil kings were doing.

I'm sure many service men and women do think they are, or were serving their country, just like many of the posters here do. That doesn't make it so. They were simply serving the man that sent them into war, that's all. Going into another country and killing and forcing your views on others in no way deserves "respect".
All the wars since WWII had absolutly nothing to do with our freedom here in America.

[Supsalemgr]

rip is one sad human being. To not respect our service people is pathetic.

[Supsalemgr]

Just curious what Vrede thinks I have done to indicate I hate America?

[Supsalemgr]

Vrede is certainly entitled to a personal opinion. In my view that example post Vrede posted does not at all indicate hate for America.

[neoplacebo]

I saw a story a few days ago about a US Marine sergeant who was awarded the Navy Cross (this is one level below receipt of the Medal of Honor) for, among other things, engaging in hand to hand combat in which he took the rifle from a Taliban / Afghan fighter and beat him to death with it..... Happy Veterans Day!

[neoplacebo]

Vrede is certainly entitled to a personal opinion. In my view that example post Vrede posted does not at all indicate hate for America.

I think you're an America hater, too. One of the more literate ones, but still............

[Supsalemgr]

Vrede is certainly entitled to a personal opinion. In my view that example post Vrede posted does not at all indicate hate for America.

I think you're an America hater, too. One of the more literate ones, but still............

I am grateful we do not agree.