HACKWORTH TO SHARE HIS INSIGHT ON NORTH KOREA ON YOUR WORLD IN A FEW MINUTES!!!

Fox News

[Sparta]

The self-proclaimed "America's most decorated soldier" is about to share his insights on the current situation in North Korea.

[wtc911]

Exactly. btw...Bradley's "A Soldier's Story" is excellent reading and full of surprising insight about why we did things the way we did. Example, the invasion of Italy was opposed by Churchill and Ike as being unnecessary. But, in 1943 we were not ready for a cross channel move and Russia was in danger of falling. We invaded Sicily and Italy to tie up the German Divisions there and force Hitler to divert manpower and supplies from the Russian front. Had we not, Stalin might have sought a separate peace which would have enabled Hitler to almost double the size of his western armies in 1944, making the outcome of Operation Overlord far less certain than it was, and it was always in doubt anyway.

[Intimidator]

Then what? We leave the South Koreans defenseless?? Now that would be a memorable point in history for the U.S.

The ROK army is almost as large as the NK army and much better trained and equipped. Its highly possible they could whip the NK pretty handily. What makes you think they are defenseless. South Korea also has a pretty good industrial base and economy which is much better than Nk.

[tet68]

. After that logistics and exhaustion would tip the scales.




Don't forget the looting and pillage.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Vets Husband had a tit for tat with Hackworth this weekend.

He does not serve this country and our military well when he is out in the public stating our military cannot handle two wars!! He wrote back stating that he "knew Dustoff Pilots, he had 8 purple hearts!!"

We honor him for serving our country and for being wounded. We'll give him that.

But his cowardly remarks, remarks that only encourage Americas enemies to kill our troops or percieve them as weak, and worst yet, to make our troops feel vulnerable (Esprit d' Cour) are traitorous. Hackworth invoked my husbands e-mail when he said Jimmy Carter should be brought into the N. Korean situation, and then said our troops could not handle Iraq AND North Korea!!!!!

He is a publicity hound (whore), and nothing more.

Then Fox News had a Marine that used to be a "warrior" and now is a "peacenik".

I would like to tell that young man, that many other young men who served came home and didn't bad mouth their country!! And yes,..some of them had and faced FEAR!!

I would like to see FOX news, and others have the majority veiw on tv/cable. The views of our brave men and women who KNOW they can prevail and win.

To every COWARD (including the likes of Hackworth) I leave them with this:

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

~~ John Stuart Mill ~~

[wingnuts'nbolts]

When we need to gear up to manufacture arms no doubt we will, the same with any other thing we have to do. We are still a nation of can do will do people, no matter how many overpaid under informed loud mouth advocates say nay.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Hackworth was in Korea during the mess in 94, and got an interview with some of their high KDoD officials (he wanted to inspect some ROK divisions). They had told him that even the placement of buildings at historical invasion choke points was planned so that the debris would stop a DPRK heavy force. Since Hackworth fought at some of those same choke points during Korean Mistake I, he took a look, and realised that with the modern construction (it was pretty much all Hooches in his day), there was no way that the tank formations were going to get through. The DPRK simply did not have to deal with precision munitions back then, and their formations would be severely savaged today. If it is in the open and massed, it's a target today, and toast a few minutes later.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Funny, Hackworth has the same John Stuart Mill comment on his web site. i really can't call that man coward, because a lot of guys that both served under him, and came back home because he fought smart who are (everyone here would agree, courageous and heroes), would STRONGLY disagree with that assertion. Pompous ass, yes, but no coward.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Sorry guy, thought you were asking about US Divisions. Not all 10 i gave you were infantry, i didn't read close enough.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Might even boost our ecenomy (he said cynically), just like it saved FDR's a$$ when we had to gear up to supply Britian and Russia from 39 on. BTW, i'd personally like to see the economy recover some (any)other way than on the bodies of our kids. If i wasn't too old for them to take me...

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Ok.. I'll give you that he wasn't a COWARD when he served in Nam.. but he is one now!!

Like I said.. we will ALWAYS honor him for his service. Always appreciate it.

But when he gives fuel to our enemies.. when he doubts the will and courage of our fighting men and our women who serve, then he has lost our support.

I judge him by the comments he makes NOW. I liken him these days, to the "Benedict Arnold" category.

After my husbands e-mail exchange with him Saturday,... he went on Fox News later that day,..and sounded much more PRO American.

My point being.. we cannot let him speak for all of us, if he speaks cowardly. If he cannot see the ramifications for his words, understand that our enemies are listening to him and other cowards closely.. then that is a huge personality error in our humble opinion.

I think he should be supportive of the troops, and realize that these wars are different than when he fought. Our troops are WELL trained, and can do the job. He is out there saying they cannot.

We bought two of his books for our Dad who was a B-17 Bomber pilot during WWII. My husband who has had this dialogue with him, did so respectfully and with intelligence. The response was arrogant and ignorant.

It was written retired Battallion Commander to retired Battalion Commander. Vet to Vet.

He no longer speaks for us. I suggest with all due respect, that you listen closely to what Hackworth is saying these days.

Hopefully,.. he will find once again, the FIRE and STEEL that he so strongly advocated in troops when speaking about them in the past. To say that the fine, well abled, strong young men and women of todays military is not capable of handling their job, is a disservice to them, and to America as a WHOLE.

If he can take a close look at how damaging his recent words have been and are,.. then perhaps he can garner respect from us once again. But our current troops come first.

IOHO

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

In any publication of Hackworth's that i have ever read, including his Newsweek, and Defending America pieces, i have never seen a bad word concerning the individual soldier who he advocates for. He does have strong words for the leadership who sold out their military common sense for promotion and DoD Contractor $. Oddly enough, he has praised Gen. Westmoreland for his integredy in this respect, and that he uterlly HATES Westmoreland is beyond dispute. Even the critique of the operation in Afghanistan in his most recent book was right on target. The DoD didn't make certain that Spec Ops personell got all of their equipment (some of it was pilliaged by REMFs), and as a result Sgt. Chapman died, because some REMF pilliaged body armour. Waking up the public about screw ups that have been happening since the "monkeys learned to throw rocks" may demoralise people who were responsible for the screw ups, but it keeps the kids alive when these now public screw ups are corrected. Hack's whole focus has been to eliminate needless deaths and abuse of our combat soldiers, no more "meals on wheels" missions, dumb a$$ rules of engagement, and politicians picking bombing targets and loads (as LBJ did), for political purposes rather than military advantage.

[jeremiah]

I'll go along with that

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

i forgot the most important comment: Thank you (both?)for your service and dedication to our nation.

[Man of the Right]

Has anyone ever actually looked at his service record or what he's done since to become a defense expert?

He was a field grade officer in the worst Army the U.S. has ever fielded. His service ended more than 30 years ago. Now, he's a "journalist."

[Man of the Right]

Our people -- the Second Infantry Division and Seventh Air Force -- would be the targets for those one or two nukes.

[Man of the Right]

I question whether the North Koreans could make it to the Han River but the casualties and prop damage from their arty, tac missiles and "one or two" nukes would be horrendous. Nightly, I pray for the 2nd Inf. Div. & 7th Air Force and their families.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Col Hackworth's service record is a matter of public record, and his over 110 awards can be seen at his website. in a nutshell:
1. Hackworth enlisted in the army as a private at age 15
2. He fought in Korea, earning a battle field commission at age 20.
3. In Korea, he earned numerous citations for valor, and 4 purple hearts.
4. Served three tours (two combat) in Vietnam, in the 101st Airborne, and the 9th infantry division.
5. While in the 9th Division, Hackworth commanded 4/39 infantry, a draftee unit. He managed in four months to make the worst batallion in the army into what Gen. Abrams called the best batallion in the army. The 4/39 under Hackworth had the highest ememy/American causalty rate for a leg infantry unit in Vietnam (over 100 enemy killed to every American)
6. In those four months, he recieved another four purple hearts, prompting Gen. Abrams to relieve him before his tour of command was up. (probably saved his life)
7. He became the youngest combat arms full Col in the US Army (at that time) in 1970.
8. He killed his own carrear in 1971 when he blew the whistle on the war effort on national television, and has become a pariah to many in the military/industrial/congressional machine since.
9. All of this is recorded in his autobiography ABOUT FACE.
10. Paperwork put in for his Medal of Honor has been recently discovered (after being "disappeared" by 9th Division staff), and he is under consideration (don't hold your breath in anticipation, they still hate him).
11. Since becoming a civillian he has crusaded for reform of the Military for the benefit of the guys in the mud. Many abuses and corruption have been exposed.
12. i am certain that sneakypete, Always_a_Marine, and others might take exception of your comment about the worst army in US (history?). i certainly take exception, because i served in the worst army in history, the POST Vietnam army of Pres. Ford and Pres. Carter.

[wtc911]

I have recently been to the DMZ (Camp Bonifas in the JSA). The old road south has anti-tank berms every few clicks all the way back to Seoul. They extend across the country and the thru-passes are rigged to come down in minutes. Every structure is essentially a defensive position. A tank driver I talked with kind of hoped that he'd get a chance to go one on one with his opposite. The tech difference added to the stubbornly anti-armor terrain would lead to a turkey shoot.

The forces for invasion are already massed within 15 clicks of the MDL. Most of them are underground but, as you said, they've gotta come out to fight.

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

There's enough bombs and bombers (B-52 and B-2) in Deago garcia to turn North Korea into a great big pond. They don't want a fight with us. The first move they make at the DMZ and that's their a$$. It'll take about 20 minutes for the bombers to arrive from the Indian Ocean.

OK, I keep seeing all of these predictions that we will nuke North Korea, Iraq, Iran, etc etc etc.

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it was United States policy to only use Nukes and Chemical weapons ONLY in retaliation, i.e., we will only use nukes if we are nuked first. Also, isn't it also U.S. policy to NEVER use biological weapons?

That was the policy with regard to these weapons when I was in the Army. Has it changed in the past few years?

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

i don't believe that go star go was talking about nukes in that post. The United States have never renounced the nuclear first strike option (unless Clinton did it). The fact that we did not is what kept the Soviets from charging down the Fulda Gap in the 70's. US policy is that we consider All WMD to be nuclear weapons, and since we don't have (lethal) Chemical, or Bio, we respond to them with nukes. i wouldn't worry too much about us hitting DPRK cities, the planners know that their CITIES are not going to come South! Their tanks are.