The New Road

Respect for my Dad

I have a certain respect for those folks, like my Dad, who didn't oppose the war in Vietnam. It was our first real loss. It was tough to see how we couldn't win against a tiny little country when we had overwhelming firepower and troop strength, and when we had won the war against Japan and Germany.

In hindsight, it was not a war we could win. It was a civil war. There was support in the populace for the insurgency. Even if we had crushed them on the battlefield we would have had the type of quicksand quagmire we now have in Iraq. McNamara says so. And the few war histories that I have read that have covered the Vietnam war say the same.

In hindsight this is why people like Bush and Cheney talk about having a clear mission and exit strategy, and having the support of the populace. That's referencing Vietnam. Vietnam was clearly a failure by the leadership of this country. And that is well accepted.

So I have little respect for people that, given a basic understanding of the importance of clear competent leadership grounded in what we learned from Vietnam, fail to apply that to Iraq. The parallels are obvious on their face. We need to replace our faulty leadership. The ones who made the mistake by getting us in there in the first place; George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Then we need to wrap it up and get out.

And for those who think that Bush and Cheney are doing that, your wrong. They are playing this war out of the political pocket. That should be obvious by now. And what's more scary is that the next stops are Syria and Iran. If you don't believe me just read up what their neocon backers have to say about the five act play they have for world domination.

For those who think that being anti-war is un-American, like O'Reilly. You clearly don't understand the intentions of the founding fathers who knew all too well that absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's why we are so fiercely protective of the role of the fourth estate. An informed populace who is willing to speak out and change our leaders when necessary is fundamental to the survival of America.

Being American isn't about what car you drive, what shops you buy at, or your accent. It's about using your brain to make informed choices and to take an active role in our participatory Democracy. It's a pain in the ass, but it's the duty of every patriotic American to question our leaders and to decide for ourselves what is in the best interests of our country.