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When will they ever learn?
American Thinker ^ | 24 Aug, 2021 | James Poplar

Posted on 08/24/2021 3:48:03 AM PDT by MtnClimber

With the debacle of the Afghanistan retreat before us, it’s important to remember that, no matter how badly managed a war, our troops gave their all.

Growing up in the 1960s, no one could miss the plaintiff refrain of “Where have the young men gone?” Now, some sixty years later, I too wonder where many of my friends and comrades in arms have gone. I’ve realized that, as the old Peter, Paul and Mary song indicates, they have “Gone to graveyards, every one”—or at least, almost every one.

Over 50,000 men and women died in Vietnam. Today, many veterans still struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We experienced over 1,000 deaths in Operation Desert Storm. Most recently, America lost over 2,400 troops and sent home almost 20,000 wounded men and women in Afghanistan, thanks to the ongoing debacle formerly known as the Afghanistan theater in Operation Enduring Freedom.

In all these conflicts many young American men and women willingly served and, without question, followed our political leadership, only to have those politicians in office cut and run when the going got tough. In addition, we’ve learned that these conflicts were initiated based upon either deliberately false or contrived information that Democrats’ generated. The Tonkin Gulf “incident” was the pretext for our disastrous involvement in Vietnam. We only learned later that the State Department and other government personnel ignored concerns about the veracity of aspects of that incident to justify escalating American involvement in Vietnam.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans; Society
KEYWORDS: communism

1 posted on 08/24/2021 3:48:03 AM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

How can we let our young soldiers be led (and indoctrinated) by the leftist fools in their command structure?


2 posted on 08/24/2021 3:48:16 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

We can’t. So starve the beast. No more volunteering. Make them have to inflict a draft on the populace. This will make these leftist in government even more unpopular.


3 posted on 08/24/2021 3:56:15 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: MtnClimber

“How can we let our young soldiers be led (and indoctrinated) by the leftist fools in their command structure?”

It takes money and time to ‘keep up with the Jones’, which was OBVIOUSLY a higher priority for several generations now, starting with the ‘Greatest Generation’, pretty much the moment they returned from the war.


4 posted on 08/24/2021 4:07:26 AM PDT by BobL (I shop at Walmart and eat at McDonald's, I just don't tell anyone, like most here.)
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To: MtnClimber

bkmk


5 posted on 08/24/2021 4:17:20 AM PDT by sauropod (Time is like quicksilver, smearing the years... - Bill Nelson)
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To: sauropod

BTT


6 posted on 08/24/2021 5:03:06 AM PDT by GailA (Constitution vs evil Treasonous political Apparatchiks, Constitutional Conservative.)
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To: MtnClimber
Growing up in the 1960s, no one could miss the plaintiff refrain of “Where have the young men gone?”

Apparently, the sound filled courtrooms across the land.

Others seem to recall a plaintive refrain that could be heard in more open environments.

7 posted on 08/24/2021 5:36:30 AM PDT by Captain Walker ("The side that has Truth gets Humor as a bonus.")
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To: central_va

* We can’t. So starve the beast. No more volunteering. Make them have to inflict a draft on the populace. This will make these leftist in government even more unpopular.”
*************

I’m a Vietnam vet, served in Vietnam 1965 ~ 1966, completed my three enlistment in the army 1968. Enrolled in college in 1969 by using the GI Bill and working night shift at a truck stop. During the time I was in college the war was going hot and heavy and I got to observe first hand how the draft worked. Needless to say the process was corrupt and heavily skewed to the disadvantage of those who had no political financial or other advantages to avoid the draft. Bottom line; I would not be in favor of reactivating the draft unless it was a straight up non biased procedure that showed no favoritism. If your number is drawn the you go serve, no exemptions no exceptions - period.


8 posted on 08/24/2021 5:40:45 AM PDT by snoringbear (,W,E.oGovernment is the Pimp, )
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To: central_va

* We can’t. So starve the beast. No more volunteering. Make them have to inflict a draft on the populace. This will make these leftist in government even more unpopular.”
*************

I’m a Vietnam vet, served in Vietnam 1965 ~ 1966, completed my three enlistment in the army 1968. Enrolled in college in 1969 by using the GI Bill and working night shift at a truck stop. During the time I was in college the war was going hot and heavy and I got to observe first hand how the draft worked. Needless to say the process was corrupt and heavily skewed to the disadvantage of those who had no political financial or other advantages to avoid the draft. Bottom line; I would not be in favor of reactivating the draft unless it was a straight up non biased procedure that showed no favoritism. If your number is drawn the you go serve, no exemptions no exceptions - period.


9 posted on 08/24/2021 5:40:54 AM PDT by snoringbear (,W,E.oGovernment is the Pimp, )
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To: snoringbear

You don’t get it. The draft will be pinned to the Dems. The citizenry will hate it.


10 posted on 08/24/2021 6:26:02 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: central_va

“ You don’t get it. The draft will be pinned to the Dems. The citizenry will hate it.”

If it should be pinned on the Dems it will be a first…


11 posted on 08/24/2021 6:30:08 AM PDT by snoringbear (,W,E.oGovernment is the Pimp, )
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To: MtnClimber
George Washington once said that the willingness of one generation to serve it's country will be judged on how a previous generations sacrifice was respected. Good luck trying to get young men and women to serve this nation if they see there's a real possibility they'll be left stranded in some s**thole and their own government won't have their back.
12 posted on 08/24/2021 10:23:10 AM PDT by jmacusa (America. Founded by geniuses . Now governed by idiots.)
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