As a patriotic disabled veteran, I am utterly dismayed by the willingness of fellow veterans, who by membership in some of the largest veterans groups to advocate for veterans health care and benefits, are allowing themselves to be tied to one party, the Republicans and President Bush.
I was always under the impression that the veterans service organizations were to be apolitical as they need both parties, Democtaic and Republican over the years to vote for issues that affect their membership. Also like any other groups of million plus members, some are Democratic and some are Republican and then again some are just plain independents. There is just something wrong with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion (AL), doing this for the past few years.
Last week President Bush brought up the bad analogy of comparing the current war in Iraq with Vietnam, a major mistake as far as most veterans are concerned, they are not alike, except for piss poor management by the Secretary of Defense, and the President, except in the Iraq war we have a very involved Vice President, who enjoys water boarding or implying that a good dunk of water never hurt anyone. I don't remember rendition being a tactic used during Vietnam.
August 22, 2007
President Bush's statement to the VFW
In fact, the war machines of Imperial Japan would be brought down -- brought down by good folks who only months before had been students and farmers and bank clerks and factory hands. Some are in the room today. Others here have been inspired by their fathers and grandfathers and uncles and cousins.
That generation of Americans taught the tyrants a telling lesson: There is no power like the power of freedom and no soldier as strong as a soldier who fights for a free future for his children. (Applause.) And when America's work on the battlefield was done, the victorious children of democracy would help our defeated enemies rebuild, and bring the taste of freedom to millions.
We can do the same for the Middle East. Today the violent Islamic extremists who fight us in Iraq are as certain of their cause as the Nazis, or the Imperial Japanese, or the Soviet communists were of theirs. They are destined for the same fate. (Applause.)
The greatest weapon in the arsenal of democracy is the desire for liberty written into the human heart by our Creator. So long as we remain true to our ideals, we will defeat the extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will help those countries' peoples stand up functioning democracies in the heart of the broader Middle East. And when that hard work is done and the critics of today recede from memory, the cause of freedom will be stronger, a vital region will be brighter, and the American people will be safer.
Thank you, and God bless. (Applause.)
This is a link to a
White House propaganda paper issued on August 22, 2007
These are the highlights of todays points in the speech to the American Legion convention in Reno today, from the WH website
Myself I am ashamed the veterans of our past wars are allowing this chickenhawk to use them in cheer leading his propaganda speeches to the American public, and helping to try and sell the idea of giving "our troops" enough time to complete their mission. The problem with this is, they completed their mission 4 years ago, when they overthrew the Saddam Hussein government, it is the State departments mission that has been screwed up, militarily our Marines and Army have no apologies to make, they did their job.
We have veterans that can not get treatment for their PTSD, TBI, we have WW2 veterans that can not get help for cancer that may have been caused by nuclear tests conducted in the 1950s and early 1960s, we have veterans that may have been harmed in Operation SHAD/112, the Cold War experiments program at Edgewood Arsenal from 1955 thru 1975 to chemical weapons and drugs, and then the men used in biological experiments at Fort Detrick. Last but not least we have tens of thousands of sick veterans from both periods of the Gulf Wars 1991 and 2001 Afghanitan and Iraq that may be related to Depleted Uranium dust.
Instead of cheerleading for a failed war, these veteran service organizations owe it to these veterans to demand assisatnce from the government, the same people they are playing footsie with, how can I expect them to fight with the administration for my family and I when they are more interested in getting photo ops to show family and friends how close to power they are.
I for one am not impressed and I want them to go back to what they are supposed to be doing non-partisian lobbying of democratic and republican office holders. They also need to remember the Service Organizations have members of all three political groups as members, independents, republicans and Democrats.
Quit kissing President Bush's ass and any future presidents and don't go hunting with Dick Cheney either, represent all your members, don't make me feel I am not getting full representation because I am a democratic voter, and my local VARO is shitting on me because of it.