What’s the problem?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Sounds like a freedom fighter to me.
But only for one weekend a month a two weeks in the summer...
ping
Crazy, once we did stand up to Communist countries, now we trade with them.
I agree. An overthrow of the communist government of Laos would predictably have repercussions for the whole continent.
Shouldn't that read, "When the Democrats withdrew funding for our allies and threw them to the wolves?"
I’ll be surprised if Bo Gritz’ name doesn’t surface in this
The overthrow of the Communist Laotian Government should be the stated public policy of the U.S. Government, and encouragement and financing should be supplied.
Locking up opponents of totalitarian dictatorships is bad policy.
Yep, let’s put a knife in the back for true ‘Freedom Fighters’ and give amnesty to illegals.
Silliness.....
I agree with you completely. I have to wonder if our founding fathers were still alive; would they be charged as terrorists. Just a thought.
“State Sen. Mee Moua, DFL-St. Paul, said she never had the impression Vang Pao backed a violent overthrow of the Laotian government.”
Being a bit “diplomatic.” Vang Pao’s been attempting to overthrow the communist Lao government since 1975, and has made no secret of the fact.
Remember the ‘silly’ domino theory? It astounds me that liberals still criticize the moral legitimacy of the Vietnam War in the face of the Cambodian genocide and the fall of Laos.
Odd that we stop these guys who could do good even if they get slaughtered by the Commies in Laos yet allow illegals, Islamo terrorists to waltz into our nation almost with out stop to overthrow our type of democracy!
Bush’s remarks in 2002 in Prague speaking about Czech President:
http://www.nato.int/docu/speech/2002/s021120b.htm
“And speaking about character, your life has shown that a person who dedicates himself to freedom can literally change the course of a nation and change the course of history. And I’m honored to be in your presence again.
“The people of the Czech Republic must understand that your President is greatly admired in America. I’m proud to call you friend.”
If bush walked the walk he’d lend the same report to Gen. Vang Pao.
Wow, where do I begin...
I can’t even begin to imagine what the effect of a full scale civil war or coup in Laos would have upon the SE Asian region, particularly China, India, and Pakistan. If this thing spirals out of control, we are going to end up cleaning up the mess. And how much credibility and respect will we lose if the world knows that we let this happen? And I’m not talking about the perfidious Chirac and Schroeder types. I mean allies like Thailand, Japan and South Korea. “Oh, Uncle Sam, you actually know about this coup and didn’t intervene? Well thanks so very much for the bloodshed that is generating millions of refugees and is rapidly spilling into Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Oh, hey, China called. They say that they will knock Laos out of the planet if the two sides don’t stop using their territory to stage attacks on one another.”
And there is no guarantee that a) the Laotians will flock to this guy’s side or b) he won’t become one of the people we have to deal with in the future. History is filled with guys who wanted to do good but end up becoming the very evil they abhor.
I highly doubt the average Laotian yearn for freedom or change as strongly as the Iraqis or the Afghanis. Laos isn’t exactly Iran, Sudan, or Burma. In the event of a conflict, they might even flock to support the government, prolonging the war, instability, and bloodshed. Not to mention all the fun human rights abuses each side will gleefully inflict upon one another.
This is not even to mention that all the Jihadists in the area would love to have an unstable nation awashed in weapons and armor to stage their little playgorund in.
If the government of Laos still emerges the victor, let’s just say “miffed” will be an understatement when it comes to US foreign relations. This will negatively effect such important issues as the WOT (again), law enforcemnet in regards to narcotics, prostitution, human terafficking, child-sex trade, and trade. Do I even need to mention that not only will Laos hate us, the other countries in the region will be less trusting and willing to coperate with us for letting such a situation go out of hand?
People, this isn’t a Tom Clancy novel where this man and his compatriots will kill the big bad Commies and all the Laotians will flock to his side as we celebrate the birth of another free nation. This will make Iraq look like a playground. We are fighting less than 5% over there. A Laotian civil war will alienate the entire region and if we end up going in there I can guaratntee you we will not be fighting less than 5% of the Laotian population. Imagine an entire country that contains hundreds of cities like 1993 Mogadishu, entire areas where “Yankees” are persnona non grata.
The comments in this thread display a profound shortsighted ness. I’m pretty sure the last thing the President, America, or the world needs right now is a bloody coup that could destabilize the entire SE Asian region.
Bush clearly wants the Hmong to come to America and do the jobs Americans just won’t do.