Honor a Vet -- Ask Questions.

Sure it is good to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the country. But we need to be careful. Worshipping the military only leads to bad things. In addition to remembering those who have served, we would do well to think about why it is necessary. Reasonable people accept the argument of self-defense. I’m allowed to defend myself from some one who wants to do me harm. But when was the last war we fought for self-defense? Iraq? I don’t believe so. Granada? We needed the Marines and a carrier battle group to take down a fruit stand! The Gulf War? Was Kuwait a state I just never learned about? Vietnam? Was Uncle Ho a credible threat to California? Korea? We may have had a little more reason to be there than some of the others but it is a little stretch to say The North was a threat to the USA. World War II? I can accept this. How about Afghanistan? Yes but more… No. We have a legitimate goal of not wanting terrorist attacks originating from here but is keeping Karzai in power through hook and crook legitimate? Who dares to ask?

Yes, we do need a military but we owe it to them to ask questions. There are those out there who want to do us harm sure, but who gets to say who? In remembering “The Troops” we do them a great disservice by not asking hard questions about why, when and where they are sent. They go where they are told and leave it up to us to insure it is for legitimate reasons. I think we are failing our fellow citizens in the military miserably. We buy the spin of both parties while rarely asking any questions. Can anyone tell me what WMD’s were found in Iraq that was worth the life of a single army soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine? If this was indeed a big fat lie, who lost their job over it, much less went to prison? Have we learned anything?

It is painfully clear to anyone with more than two brain cells our involvement in Vietnam was based lies and falsehoods. Just google “False flag operations.” The suffering from this conflict forty plus years ago is still with us today. More US Vietnam Vets have now committed suicide than were lost in all the fighting. Vietnamese still suffer from unexploded bombs killing people, cancers related to chemicals used by the US and birth defects. We take no responsibility for these actions. Instead, a little time goes by and the whole cycle repeats itself. The names and tools change. Booby traps become IED’s. Vietcong are known as terrorists. Westmoreland has morphed into Petraeus, Nixon and Johnson are now played by two guys named Bush and Obama. Then as now, the military does as it is told.

Want to really honor the troops? Ask questions.