He is one of those "Veterans for Peace" people. I have had some personal interactions with those people. The vast majority of them are scum. I met one older member who had fought in Korea and was taking part in an anti-war demonstration with the Veterans for Peace down in Washington, and I talked with him for about 15 min outside the White House fence.
He just saw terrible things and wanted others to avoid it. He was sincere, and I couldn't argue with him...I wouldn't. But the vast majority of them were 60's era wannabes wearing olive fatigue jackets with peace signs and doves on them. This guy wasn't one of those people, he was genuine, and sad. I felt bad for him, but also felt he was out of place with those people. He didn't seem to belong there. But the majority of those people were pretty clearly REMFS if they had served. And they were all ideological first and everything else second, IMO. As for this Jim Radford guy, he is against incarceration of terrorists in Guantanamo Bay. He is all for welcoming Muslims into the UK. He is all in on the Colonial shame, oppression by Europeans, oppression by Americans.
He thinks that wars can be avoided if people just sit down and talk with each other, work out their differences, compromise, etc.
Unbelievable.
He thinks we go to war so we can be "bullies".
He equates our actions in the war against TERRORISTS with the actions of the Nazis, saying we are doing the same thing.
I have a problem with this approach. Leftists believe that people are fundamentally good, aren't evil, their environment or life events makes them evil. After all, even "bad" people have children or dogs they care about, right? If we remove the bad environment, then people can be good.
Conservatives (including the founders) believed that man is flawed by default and capable of evil, and it must be guarded against and fought against when necessary. Conservatives believe that some people are just plain bad, and isn't because they are poverty stricken, were bullied growing up, or were abused by their parents or society. Some people who have had all the opportunities in life are just bad, greedy, sadistic, and evil. And negotiating with them won't work.
Check out this link where they interview him: Jim Radford at the Veterans for Peace conference in Los Angeles
One thing is certain...most Veterans (even Viet Nam and WWII veterans) will talk sensibly about their experiences... if you ask respectfully.
I learned that lesson when I spoke to my dad. He didn’t offer it, but I asked and he answered. I was glad I asked and in the end I think he was glad I did.
However, I will say-I have never met a Korean war vet who will speak about it. My cousin served in Korea and if you even mention that fight, he gets up and walks out of the room.