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LONGING FOR 'NAM
New York Post ^ | 5/04/04 | JOHN PODHORETZ

Posted on 05/04/2004 1:16:55 AM PDT by kattracks

Edited on 05/26/2004 5:21:37 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

May 4, 2004 -- FOR many of us, the words "Vietnam War" evoke only a sense of loss and a painful acknowledgement that this country suffered a dreadful defeat, with tens of thousands of lives snuffed out and tens of millions of Vietnamese consigned to life under the Stalinist jackboot.


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


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: abughraib; cbsnews; enemywithin; iraq; liberalmedia; podhoretz; sedition; seymourhersh; vietnamwar

1 posted on 05/04/2004 1:16:55 AM PDT by kattracks
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To: kattracks
bump. nice article.
2 posted on 05/04/2004 1:41:52 AM PDT by thedugal (I is a genious.)
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To: kattracks
Unfortunately there is a large proportion of Americans who despise the military. They are not all Marxists or liberals, but their numbers have grown appreciably since the sixties. It's one thing to legitimately criticize a particular government action like the war against terrorism which many Americans do, but it's another thing to slam the government for ideological purposes.

The fact is that libs have their ideological soulmates firmly ensconced in Big Media where they exaggerate incidents like the Iraqi prison foulup while ignoring all the good that is being done there much less emphasizing the importance of the whole mission. This makes hard leftists like Koppel as dangerous as the Islamo-fascists. One enemy is using guns and bombs, and the other is stabbing us in the back.

3 posted on 05/04/2004 1:48:41 AM PDT by driftless ( For life-long happiness, learn how to play the accordion.)
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To: kattracks
Slam dunk! I'm sick of this pathological, defeatism, anti-American, Vietnam nostalgia.
4 posted on 05/04/2004 2:07:07 AM PDT by lainde (Heads up...We're coming and we've got tongue blades!!)
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To: kattracks
The lesson we should have learned from Vietnam was twofold:

1) Don't get involved in the wrong war our of political expediency (Kennedy in Vietnam because he blew the Bay of Pigs, Clinton in Bosnia because Monica bl...errr...)

2) After getting involved in a war, no matter what, fight to win. Nothing less is an option. No matter what the Anti-American... errr. Anti-"War" left thinks.

The lesson we should not have learned were words like "quagmire" and phrases like "Give peace a chance".
5 posted on 05/04/2004 2:26:19 AM PDT by GmbyMan (John Kerry-America's first Flip Flopper Hip Hopper!)
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To: driftless
I disagree that there is a large proportion of Americans who despise the military. What there is, is a large proportion of what used to be called the elite Establishment, especially those professionals educated in elite universities and liberal arts colleges over the past 30 years, which includes a large percentage of leaders in industry, law, communications and government, who despise the military.

That much is crystal clear. Other than a very few upper class families with long traditions of career military (especially naval) service for one or more members in each generation, very few officers come from the elite colleges and univerities. The officer corps today is overwhelmingly middle and lower-middle class in origin, especially at the company grade level.

I remember when I first came to New York to practice law. As a reserve officer, I went looking around for units and had some interesting offers, from JAG to Civil Affairs (typical for lawyers) and even an offer of command of a battery in what was then the best artillery battalion in the NYNG. I was on the point of accepting the command, and went to discuss the matter with the firm (which shall remain nameless, but Cyrus Vance was a senior partner for those of you who know NY firms) managing partner. I didn't think there would be a problem since several senior partners had been WWII or Korean War officers, and one of the rising stars had flown fighters for the Navy in the early '60s. I was politely (and with a touch of sadness) told by the managing partner that Reserve or NG service would not be looked upon favorably, and that if I was serious about my legal career I would not remain active in the Reserves.

I think this was typical of the legal and financial world of the early '80s, and is even more true today. The old partners/executive mostly served as a matter of duty and looked upon it favorably, but the young partners (who would make or break one's career) were the ones who avoided Vietnam (either by lucky breaks, low draft numbers or "physical problems") and hated the military; who thought only suckers went to war. And this proportion only increased as more and more of the graduates of the elite law and business schools have been educated at the elite colleges and universities taught by increasingly leftwing and anti-military faculties.

When I was in college, most of the senior facutly had served in WWII or Korea. While (except at VMI) they were usually liberals, and not fans of Vietnam, they usually respected the need for the military and defense. They did not despise service or students who had served. The junior faculties hated the war and the military (and were damned glad to have avoided it). THey're the ones who are now senior professors and have been hiring nothing but their ilk for 35 year.

6 posted on 05/04/2004 3:58:21 AM PDT by CatoRenasci (Ceterum Censeo Arabiam Esse Delendam -- Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit)
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To: kattracks
E.D. Hill on Fox this morning reported that this incident has actually be under investigation by the military since December. I hadn't heard or read this, don't know if it's true.

Remarkable though, that CBS either didn't know or agreed to sit on the story until now.

Prairie
7 posted on 05/04/2004 5:53:02 AM PDT by prairiebreeze (Ted Rall is a waste of perfectly good oxygen.)
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To: kattracks
The leftists have unleashed a massive propaganda campaign to destroy the military, and by extension America.

It's no secret that these leftists in the media and academia want to impose Marxist socialism on the country.

It's way past time to fight back. Call these Marxists what they are - anti-Americans and traitors. Write letters to the editor. Print flyers. Post broadsheets on trees and telephone poles and community bulletin boards.

We're in a war against terrorists abroad and traitors within. Legally harrass them. If you own a business, refuse to deal with them. Point them out when they walk the streets as America-haters.

Their black propaganda campaign must be confronted. If not, we will lose.
8 posted on 05/04/2004 5:59:56 AM PDT by sergeantdave (Gen. Custer wore an Arrowsmith shirt to his last property owner convention.)
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To: kattracks
So when you hear journalists asking whether Iraq is the new Vietnam, what you may not realize is that many of them want it to be true...

Sing it, Brother!

9 posted on 05/04/2004 6:07:45 AM PDT by bondjamesbond (Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown)
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To: CatoRenasci
"(which shall remain nameless, but Cyrus Vance was a senior partner for those of you who know NY firms)"

Or can use google.
10 posted on 05/04/2004 9:08:46 AM PDT by jjackson
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To: jjackson
Well, ok......
11 posted on 05/04/2004 9:12:33 AM PDT by CatoRenasci (Ceterum Censeo Arabiam Esse Delendam -- Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit)
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