Recent statements defending Junior's claim that the National Guard was not a haven for those who wished to avoid Vietnam is clearly false. According to the National Guard Association, only 9,000 Army Guardsmen and 9,343 Air Guardsmen served in Vietnam. Considering that 3 million from the active services did so, one begins to understand why so many of America's elites headed for the Gurad when their draft numbers were called.
Junior used his father's political influence to move past many on the Texas Guard's waiting list. He was not required to attend OCS to earn his commission. He lost his flight status after failing to show up for a required physical. These facts alone raise the eyebrows of those who took a different path in a war that the Marine Corps suffered more casualties than even WWII.
Junior's campaign now claims that these issues are largely moot and that Junior has proven himself as a competent and daring "war president". And yet his actions in Iraq, and the vicious attacks against anyone who disagrees with his administration's logic, give many veterans serious doubts.
Junior arguably has committed the greatest strategic blunder in modern military history. To put it mildly, he attacked the wrong target.
While he boasts of removing Saddam Hussein from power, he did more than that. He decapitated the government of a country that was not directly threatening the US and, in doing so, bogged down a huge percentage of our military in a region that has never known peace. Our military is being forced to trade away its maneuverability in the wider war against terrorism while being placed on the defensive in a single country that never will fully accept it's presence.
There is no historical precedent for taking such action when our country was not being directly threatened. The reckless course that Junior and his gang of neocon, draft-dodging chickenhawks have set will affect the economic and military health of our nation for decades. It is only the tactical competence of the military that, to this point, has protected him from the harsh judgement that he deserves.
At the same time, those around Junior, many of whom came to age during the Vietnam Era and almost none of whom served, have attempted to assassinate the character and insult the patriotism of anyone who disagrees with them. Some have impugned the culture, history and integrity of entire nations, particularly in Europe, that have been our country's allys for generations and, in some cases, for centuries.
Junior has yet to fire a single person responsible for this strategy. Nor has he reined in those who have made irresponsible comments while claiming to represent his administration. One can only conclude that he agrees with both their methods and their message.
More seriously, Junior has yet to explain the exact circumstances under which American troops will be withdrawn from Iraq.
Semper Fi,
Lt. Dan
Junior used his father's political influence to move past many on the Texas Guard's waiting list. He was not required to attend OCS to earn his commission. He lost his flight status after failing to show up for a required physical. These facts alone raise the eyebrows of those who took a different path in a war that the Marine Corps suffered more casualties than even WWII.
Junior's campaign now claims that these issues are largely moot and that Junior has proven himself as a competent and daring "war president". And yet his actions in Iraq, and the vicious attacks against anyone who disagrees with his administration's logic, give many veterans serious doubts.
Junior arguably has committed the greatest strategic blunder in modern military history. To put it mildly, he attacked the wrong target.
While he boasts of removing Saddam Hussein from power, he did more than that. He decapitated the government of a country that was not directly threatening the US and, in doing so, bogged down a huge percentage of our military in a region that has never known peace. Our military is being forced to trade away its maneuverability in the wider war against terrorism while being placed on the defensive in a single country that never will fully accept it's presence.
There is no historical precedent for taking such action when our country was not being directly threatened. The reckless course that Junior and his gang of neocon, draft-dodging chickenhawks have set will affect the economic and military health of our nation for decades. It is only the tactical competence of the military that, to this point, has protected him from the harsh judgement that he deserves.
At the same time, those around Junior, many of whom came to age during the Vietnam Era and almost none of whom served, have attempted to assassinate the character and insult the patriotism of anyone who disagrees with them. Some have impugned the culture, history and integrity of entire nations, particularly in Europe, that have been our country's allys for generations and, in some cases, for centuries.
Junior has yet to fire a single person responsible for this strategy. Nor has he reined in those who have made irresponsible comments while claiming to represent his administration. One can only conclude that he agrees with both their methods and their message.
More seriously, Junior has yet to explain the exact circumstances under which American troops will be withdrawn from Iraq.
Semper Fi,
Lt. Dan
