Posted on 02/25/2007 2:17:06 PM PST by Palladin
Reflections of a Green Beret
LTC Daniel Marvin is the author of "Victory Edition - Expendable Elite - One Soldier's Journey Into Covert Warfare" and a Veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars
The Psyche of a Trained Military Assassin
By Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Marvin, U.S. Army Special Forces (Retired) Watcher Magazine Contributer November 30, 2006
PEOPLE should know who and where I was when, like a human robot, I eagerly and without question participated directly as an "operative" in government sponsored illegal activities perpetrated by certain powers against any individual, government or activity who would attempt to disrupt the absolute rule of our "hierarchy."
Documented and corroborated testimony of what I had done during 21 years of military service that was of an evil or illegal nature now serve as the foundation of my crusades against evil in our government. I care because the truth matters. Those of us who have the will to must act courageously and with integrity to communicate what we have experienced. We must include direct first-hand knowledge of what happened in Dallas on 22 November 1963 and in succeeding days, months and years, as those same forces within our government who conspired to kill our president continue to do what is "necessary" to silence those who would bring forth evidence to prove the who, what, when and where of the conspiracy and to judiciously disrupt actions taken to cover them up.
Read the rest of the story > The conspiracy must be brought to light, the perpetrators punished, and justice meted out. I believe if another decade passes without full disclosure of the facts it will render the potential for justice in this matter practically impossible. As time drags on it will be outright fear that silences witnesses who are aging and who may desire to voluntarily withdraw from the fray so as to shield loved ones from danger. Caution may very well prevail against the integrity and courage of witnesses now willing to come forward such as Dennis David, Jerry Willsey and myself. We may one day in the not too distant future reach an age when we desire to steer clear of any involvement in such an awesome controversy, knowing what forces can be brought to bear to silence us.
That fact alone continues to light the fire of promise and the need for action in my being. The reader must know what resides within the heart, soul, and psyche of a man who is a trained military assassin and terrorist. I now search for a way to inform the world of the truth of certain heinous deeds and evil actions perpetrated by powerful men (even within the military hierarchy) whose drive for power and hunger for influence and monetary gain direct their ways. It will cause them to turn on honorable people and to foster, even develop and direct, illegal, even murderous actions, which deny the citizens of this once great nation their constitutional rights and safeguards.
Those who know me as a born-again Christian can readily appreciate and understand why, within hours of John F. Kennedy's assassination, I volunteered for U.S. Army Special Forces training and was drawn into circumstances and forces that molded my warrior-like psyche and compelled me to strive to be one of those who JFK admired: the men who wore the Green Beret!
Within five months of his death I graduated from the Special Forces Officer's Course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. By mid-April 64 I had absorbed the basic fundamentals of unconventional warfare, civic action, special demolitions, martial-law, assassination techniques, and terror tactics. I had earned the right to wear the coveted Army Green Beret. Unknown to my wife, family, or friends outside Special Forces, I would soon be involved in clandestine missions which often included doing what most rational human beings believe to be unacceptable, even despicable. My penchant for danger was not the product of the school at Fort Bragg. It began much earlier in life
***snip***
The U.S. Army Special Forces - the elite "Green Berets" - were that "real one" and each and every one of us knew our place in the scheme of things. If the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - the "Company" as we commonly referred to it - needed people for some dirty or dangerous covert mission - it would likely look to us for volunteers. The uninformed or uninitiated think of the typical CIA operative as being one who risks his life daily in the clandestine pursuit of intelligence from those evil forces in the world who would want to do us harm. Not so - In actuality the combined risk to the entire agency only resulted in a total of fifty agency personnel being killed in the line of duty in the first half-century they'd been in business. Hardly characteristic of extreme danger, but it's true. Why is the honor roll so small? I suggest to you that it is because the people on the ground who do the really dangerous stuff - the killing, the terrorizing, and sabotage - are people from outside the agency.
***snip***
These men would be the assassins, the persuaders, the terrorists for the intelligence "community." A Green Beret, trained to function in these roles, may be philosophically more akin to a Mafia enforcer or a brother clandestine operative than would be the educated CIA "handlers," conventional military personnel, or civilians.
Each of the former is in a sense a cold-blooded killer. Does it matter who gives the order or whether the "hit" is for territorial control by the Mob or a call to duty to preserve "national security," if that killing is indeed illegal? Assassinations and other deadly clandestine activities are not legal. They should never be used to "defend the national interests" or for any other so-called "political necessity." Each and every man in my Special Forces operational "A" Team in Vietnam was a kindred spirit. Each was strong, brave, resourceful, and a loyal team player who would let nothing interfere with the conduct of the mission.
***snip***
Fiction often is. This guy's stories are just a little too slick to be real. I don't believe him. And unless and until I see some pretty convincing collaborating evidence for anything that he has to stay, I will treat this just like the fascinating stuff from the New York Times.
It's okay to kill a soldier drafted into the service of a tyrant, but not okay to assassinate the tyrant? Somehow that doesn't make sense.
This guy has a whiff of the tin foil about him.
I knew this would be a bit controversial. Marvin was sued in an effort to label his book as fiction. He would not back down. He spent tens of thousands defending against the suit. Would he do that when he could just as easily have sold it as fiction?
I don't know.
I knew the man years ago, and he seemed very normal then. He was my neighbor.
I don't doubt that there's strange going's on in the dark corners of the world, but these folks never seem to be able to backup their stories. It's almost like they buy into conspiracy theories and then reframe their experiences in light of the new belief system.
I'm not a great believer in huge conspiracies, things leak out too easily. I don't doubt this gent's service, but there's just somethings that put the flags up for me.
I don't doubt that there's strange going's on in the dark corners of the world, but these folks never seem to be able to backup their stories. It's almost like they buy into conspiracy theories and then reframe their experiences in light of the new belief system.
I'm not a great believer in huge conspiracies, things leak out too easily. I don't doubt this gent's service, but there's just somethings that put the flags up for me.
OOPS, sorry for the double.
I went to the trouble to ask a family member who was involved in the same Special Forces services and who would also be around the same age. His categorical position is that he's "an absolute liar and full of sh5t". I'll believe my cousin and dismiss this guy. For me, that's "case closed".
Bump
Some folks who have rode the elephant in their younger days start to reflect on the 'morality' of their actions later in life. The reasons can be varied ad the answers can be hard to find. Penitence and absolution can be elusive in a troubled soul.
Who really knows? Time goes on, memories fade, realities of war become diminished after decades.
Was your relative serving on the Cambodian border, where Marvin's unit was located?
I don't know a lot of specifics, except that he speaks Vietnamese and worked extensively with the Montgnards (sp?). I've known the guy since the day I was born, would trust him with my life and his opinion on this guy is good enough for me. Combining that admittedly personal view with the fact that a large group of his former comrades-in-arms joined in a lawsuit against him just tells me something is seriously wrong.
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