One Military Man's perspective

Dear Americans,
When I opened my e-mail this morning I had about twenty forwards of the article written by Gordon Sinclair, the Canadian who so eloquently praised the United States. What most of you do not realize is that this commentary was written more than 25 years ago. Many of us in the military service heard it years ago on AFRS radio while we were stationed overseas. We have known about it for a long time.

Now, Americans are flooding the net with it as if it were new. It is not. When it was written most Americans didn't read it, because most Americans did not care.

America no longer feels safe. Many of you have said, "The government should have known! $30 BILLION is spent on intelligence! What about the Military"?

For years you allowed some dishonest politicians and twisted television media personalities to shape your ideas about the defense of our nation.

Why? Because most Americans were too lazy to look beyond the three minute sound-bites on the evening news.

Here's a news flash not being broadcast much: "On September 11th, America had the exact level of protection, both militarily and intelligence, that it was willing to pay for."

Only the other day the Congress approved $40 BILLION as a DOWN PAYMENT to fight this war. A short time ago, our politicians said a $100 million increase for the Navy budget was substantial. In that same bill they ordered the Navy to conduct an $85 million study on... guess what America!?
Missiles Defense? Nope.
Desperately needed parts for our fighter aircraft? Wrong again.
Training for Navy Seals? Nah uh.

Yes, America, your elected officials decided that the US Navy needed more mammograms and less missiles. Was this an under the table sneaky move? No, it was right out in the open.

The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy both opposed it. A New York Senatorial Candidate (yes, SHE's the one), was ENRAGED that the military would be so SEXIST and irresponsible to the needs of civilians and wanted the Navy to give the money back immediately!

Did any one ever watch CSPAN? Particularly when the Heads of our Armed Services essentially begged OUR representatives to give the pentagon more money to fight terrorism and maintain a strong defense? Did you see the debates by the Heads of the Intelligence Services that terrorism was the new threat? They told the committees of Congress that the CIA, the FBI, and the Defense Intelligence Agency did not have the money to build the necessary intelligence networks in the areas where terrorists were being harbored. They warned again and again that there was clear and present danger within America's borders.

The Military said:
We need more money to maintain military readiness and Combat Training.

America Answered:
What the Military needs is Sensitivity Training! You're all sexist homophobes! I saw it on 60 Minutes!

The Military said:
We need money to build ships, planes, tanks, and improve our technology. America still has credible threats throughout the world. Terrorism will come to America's doorstep.

America Answered:
You're all part of a vast right-wing conspiracy. There is no more Soviet Threat! My Senator told me so! He/She says we do not need such a big military! The Pentagon is nothing but a bunch of dinosaurs, trying to hold onto the Cold War! We need Social Programs!

The Military said:
We need to recruit more Americans into the military. We need to increase our force.

America Answered:
You're not taking my kids! We're going to shut down the ROTC programs at our high schools and universities, because you discriminate against alternative lifestyles! ROTC teaches CHILDREN (under 21) how to shoot guns! You just want another Columbine! Rosie and Oprah say so!

The Military said:
We can't keep interfering in the civil wars of small insignificant countries. It wastes our time, expends our resources, decreases training, and demoralizes our troops. The men and women of the United States are Warriors trying to defend OUR nation, we are not the third world's police force.

America Answered:
You heartless bastards! Can't you see the tear in the eye of that starving child!! There are flies on her face, for heavens sake!? Get Moving! Jesse Jackson on CNN said that is what we pay you for!

The Military Asked:
Why isn't America enraged over the terrorist attack on the USS COLE that killed seventeen AMERICAN Sailors? How about the Air Force barracks bombed in Saudi Arabia? The embassy staffs in Africa? The Soldiers mutilated and dragged through the streets in Somalia?

America Answered:
We don't have time right now! We're busy defending Animal Rights! Our schools are handing out automatic weapons! The federal government is discriminating against cross-dressing Bolivian hermaphrodites! The police are all members of the Ku Klux Klan! The lack of ozone is ruining my tan! If they cut deeper into Food Stamps those poor women will have to move down to Size 18/20 dresses! AND THE WORST - Corporations are raising the prices of their products sooo high I might not be able to afford the multi-disc DVD Player for my digital ready TV! Besides, YOU GUYS ARE PAID TO DIE!

So, America, while you sit on your couch or around your office coffee pots and ask, "Why did those terrorists kill innocent civilians? Why didn't they go after the military?".

Remember this America:
They already did, but America didn't care. These terrorists realized that they needed to kill American civilians, and lots of them, before they could have their desired reaction from the people of this country.

Last time I launched in an Orion, the serial indicated its date of manufacture: 1968. The year I was hatched. As we rolled for takeoff, pieces inside the cabin fell off and rattled around. We flew 4 hours, at an altitude of 300 feet. We wound up aborting the hop for a bad engine. This is typical. Every time some civilian genius says the military uses too much money, I want to take them for a ride. these folks worry if their carpeted airliners hit mild turbulence at 30,000 feet. I wonder how they'd like our venerable steeds. Especially the smell, a mix of urine, kerosene, vomit, and sulfur. Oh, don't get me wrong, Lockheed's lady has saved my life many a time, and she just keeps on goin', but how much longer? Don't we deserve better? She's worked long enough, methinks, and needs an honorable retirement.

Norb, your FRiend has a firm grasp of the obvious.

When will you Wake up, America? The next election is in November, 2002 -- roughly a year from now. Have you the intestinal fortitude to elect Real Americans to national office who respect and revere the Constitution of the United States of America?

Or will you send the "Same old, same old" pols back to WDC to continue the "Same Old, same old" laws and policies that are responsible for in excess of 5,000 dead Americans?

Let me remind you that four guns and nineteen bullets would have prevented the tragedy of 9-11-01. Thanks to "Our" government's laws restricting the Right To Keep and Bear Arms, 5,000 Americans died on 9-11-01.

What makes you think that any new laws, any new regulations, any new restrictions on our fundamental FReedoms will change that?

The Military Asked:
Can we have a full account of our 1,956 Viet Nam MIA/POW's
BEFORE we normalize trade relations with Viet Nam?

Congress Answered: NO on 10/03/01

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress completed work on an agreement normalizing trade between the United States and Vietnam, and President Bush is expected to sign the measure.
The Senate's 88-12 vote Wednesday 10/03/01 ``represents an important step in the healing process'' between the two former enemies, said the Senate Finance Committee chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., ``a step that has been a long time in coming.''
The House endorsed the measure last month, and Bush said he would sign it.
The trade agreement, negotiated by the Clinton White House last year, ``will provide American companies with access to a large and growing market, and, through the reforms it promotes, it will help create a more prosperous and engaged Vietnam,'' Bush said in a statement after the Senate vote.
Vietnam would benefit from the same low tariffs the United States sets for its other trading partners. In return, Vietnam is to reduce its tariffs, eliminate nontariff barriers, protect intellectual property rights and open its markets to American service and investment companies.
The United States and Vietnam had no formal relations and limited contacts in the two decades after U.S. troops left Vietnam in 1973. The first President Bush initiated cooperation in such areas as accounting for MIAs. In 1994, President Clinton lifted the trade embargo and the next year he established diplomatic relations. In 1998, he issued the first waiver making commercial deals with Vietnam eligible for U.S. government loans and credit guarantees.
But Vietnam has remained one of only six nations denied normal trade relations, subjecting Vietnamese goods to far higher tariffs. The other countries are Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea, Laos and Yugoslavia.
Vietnam is the world's 14th-most-populous nation, with 80 million people, but trade with the United States was only about $1.2 billion last year. Estimates are that Vietnam's exports to the United States, mainly shrimp, coffee and light manufactured goods, could more than double with normal trade relations.
Opposition to the deal came mainly from lawmakers who asserted that Vietnam has not fully cooperated in accounting for MIAs from the Vietnam War and should not be entitled to normal trade because of its poor human rights record.
``If those who want to normalize relations with Vietnam choose to ignore the numerous human rights violations of that country, is that right?'' asked Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H.
Concerns were also raised by Mississippi Delta senators, who said the agreement lacked protections for the catfish industry. Vietnamese imports, said Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., are ``absolutely destroying our domestic catfish industry.''
Leading the effort to normalize ties with Vietnam were three senators who served in the Vietnam War: Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and John McCain, R-Ariz., a former prisoner of war.
Because Vietnam is a communist state, its normal trade status will still be subject to annual review, requiring the president to waive the requirement that Vietnam allow free emigration.
Vietnam's prime minister initiated the ratification process in Vietnam by sending the trade agreement
to President Tran Duc Long.

There are 1,956 Americans still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
Vietnam's Ability to Account For Missing Americans

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