Posted on 09/04/2009 9:01:17 AM PDT by Recovering_Democrat
When President Obama says Afghanistan is not a war of choice but of necessity, we shouldn't hesitate to point out that the emperor has no clothes, says William Astore.
I have a few confessions to make: After almost eight years of off-and-on war in Afghanistan and after more than six years of mayhem and death since "Mission Accomplished" was declared in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I'm tired of seeing simpleminded magnetic ribbons on vehicles telling me, a 20-year military veteran, to support or pray for our troops. As a Christian, I find it presumptuous to see ribbons shaped like fish, with an American flag as a tail, informing me that God blesses our troops. I'm underwhelmed by gigantic American flags -- up to 100 feet by 300 feet -- repeatedly being unfurled in our sports arenas, as if our love of country is greater when our flags are bigger. I'm disturbed by nuclear-strike bombers soaring over stadiums filled with children, as one did in July just as the National Anthem ended during this year's Major League Baseball All Star game. Instead of oohing and aahing at our destructive might, I was quietly horrified at its looming presence during a family event.
(Excerpt) Read more at middle-east-online.com ...
The end of the piece notes:
"William Astore, a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF), is a TomDispatch regular. He teaches History at the Pennsylvania College of Technology..."
So maybe being an academic has affected his pov...
I think you have the perspective correct.
Cindy Sheehan - is that you???
Tommy
I went into a public-’ouse to get a pint o’ beer,
The publican ‘e up an’ sez, “We serve no red-coats here.”
The girls be’ind the bar they laughed an’ giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an’ to myself sez I:
O it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, go away”;
But it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins”, when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins”, when the band begins to play.
I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but ‘adn’t none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-’alls,
But when it comes to fightin’, Lord! they’ll shove me in the stalls!
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, wait outside”;
But it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide,
The troopship’s on the tide, my boys, the troopship’s on the tide,
O it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide.
Yes, makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap;
An’ hustlin’ drunken soldiers when they’re goin’ large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit.
Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, ‘ow’s yer soul?”
But it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll.
We aren’t no thin red ‘eroes, nor we aren’t no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An’ if sometimes our conduck isn’t all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don’t grow into plaster saints;
While it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, fall be’ind”,
But it’s “Please to walk in front, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind,
There’s trouble in the wind, my boys, there’s trouble in the wind,
O it’s “Please to walk in front, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind.
You talk o’ better food for us, an’ schools, an’ fires, an’ all:
We’ll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don’t mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow’s Uniform is not the soldier-man’s disgrace.
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool — you bet that Tommy sees!
— Rudyard Kipling
Lol...Remind him that “War is hell...”
I think ol' Billy needs to get out more. Maybe we can get him to watch the upcoming Chinese parade where they will show off their latest nukes. Then again, being a writer for such a major daily as TomsDispatch, he may not have the time.
Just because you’re military does not automatically make you conservative, republican, pro-American, etc.
People go into the military for a variety of reasons and it has its groups, gangs, etc. Hell, there are parts of an air craft carrier you simply don’t go due to gangs...
I am never surprised when these people surface and we are suppose to be surprise or, give them some sort of additional credibility.
One of my all-time favorites.
Just because a person opposes Obama’s War doesn’t make him a “pacifist.”
True....One of the biggest lefties in congress is a retired vice admiral.
William Astore, a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF), is a TomDispatch regular. He teaches History at the Pennsylvania College of Technology and can be reached at:
Military force is necessary to maintain the peace through strength. Fly-overs are to illicit pride in America and fear in her eneimies. This guy is just trying too hard to fit in to his new environs!
Right you are!
Folks here rightly hold the military up to an almost mystical level of respect. If you have served however and seen as you alluded to some of the racial stuff that goes on (in my case the army) then you are less enamored. Yes their were parts of barracks you didn’t go into for the same reason you stated about the aircraft carrier. In addition a lot of my colleagues who served have a very high esteem for federal government power (naturally as that’s who signed their checks). A lifer in the military is also less constrained about taking government bene’s. Naturally.
Amen. There were alot in the Marine Corps that thought the govt should provide everything, military or civilian.
Everbody knows when you go to the show
You can’t take the kids along
You’ve gotta read the paper and know the code
of G, PG and R and X
You gotta know what the movie’s about
Before you even go
Tex Ritter’s gone and Disney’s dead
The screen is filled with sex.
CHORUS
Whatever happened to Randolph Scott
ridin’ the range alone
Whatever happened to Gene and Tex
And Roy and Rex, the Durango Kid
Whatever happened to Randolph Scott
His horse, plain as can be
Whatever happened to Randolph Scott
Has happened to the best of me.
Everbody’s tryin’ to make a comment
About our doubts and fears
True Grit’s the only movie
I’ve really understood in years
You gotta take your analyst along
To see if it’s fit to see
Whatever happened to Randolph Scott
Has happened to the best of me.
This is a classic case of a academic “serving” as an academic in the military. Happens all the time in the Navy and the Air Force.
Yah, he either:
1. Really hates America
OR
2. He got most of it right.
Poorly written article. I believe what he is trying to say is that we have exchanged God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth for the god of war.
When my husband was leaving for the Gulf War, I thought about a monster on the other side of the world, that I would never meet, snatching him away from me. Trying to taken in the number of lives that would be lost, I realized that regardless of where we are, or the circumstances, we enter God’s presence one at a time.
Only seeing the big picture: Big flags, big battles, big weapons, big victories, we lose sight of the individual cost of war. War is hell. I’m not a pacifist. General George Patton had it right...give the enemy hell!
I think the Colonel is afraid to say boldly, it’s time for our nation to seek the Lord, to put our trust in God.
This guy must think that he is the only person ever to have served in the military. His problem? He’s a know-it-all, holier than thou REMF who thinks he’s Ernie Pyle.
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