Subject: Desk of Viper--Winter Soldier' Vietnam Distortion Rides Again--08-12-05
From the Desk of Viper
08-12-05
Winter Soldier' Vietnam Distortion Rides Again
Every Vet should get this to his email list. Don't
let the liberals lie to the public. The lies of John Kerry, endorsed by The NYT and Hollywood, are being re-released again
(34-year-old antiwar documentary "Winter Soldier" ). First Jane Fonda comes out of retirement with her bus tour and now this.
The VVAW used fake vets to give accounts of atrocities. Steve Pitkin was a real VN vet.
By the way, the only VVAW member ever to sign an affidavit about his testimony at the Winter Soldier Investigation is
Steve Pitkin. He refuted his former lies: In Yesterday's Lies: Steve Pitkin and the Winter Soldiers, Scott Swett tells
the story of a former VVAW member and participant in the Winter Soldier Investigation who has now filed an affidavit stating
that John Kerry and others pressured him to give false testimony about American atrocities in Vietnam. Yesterday's Lies: Steve
Pitkin and the Winter Soldiers
http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/kerry/staticpages/index.php?page=YesterdaysLies1 Video clip of Steve Pitkin's remarks at the Kerry Lied Rally in Washington -- September 12, 2004 (4:12, 1.6MB)
http://www.wintersoldier.com/video/pitkinklr.wmv Video clips of Steve Pitkin's Winter Soldier Investigation testimony -- February 1, 1971 (4:16, 1.6MB)
http://www.wintersoldier.com/video/pitkin2.wmv
No heroes in Iraq?
The absence of recognized and celebrated heroes whose names should have become household words by now in this war is
palpable... and shameful. No one knows what to do with them, I guess. We send them there and then some poll decries
their presence as a political liability for one party or the other and the politicians hunker down. The Pentagon seems
a bit reluctant to take up the cause as well. Savvy careerists know that Iraq has become a hot potato. Those who will
never seek the limelight for themselves, yet deserve every minute of thanks and adulation we as a nation can heap upon them,
slip into the background and remain silent. Those who should mine and proclaim their heroism wear the same uniform as those
in harm’s way.
Who then celebrates the heroism of these young warriors? Who even knows about them?
How many can we name from memory? When was the last time we saw newspapers and television networks clamoring for print
and air time to interview and tell the stories of young American service members who did great and selfless things for his
or her buddies? Why isn’t the heroism of our service people sought out and reported on with the same intensity
as the misdeeds and alleged misdeeds of a few, not to mention the negative news that streams daily from the front lines
through our media? Why aren’t they brought into school assemblies as strong, positive examples of true sacrifice
on behalf of our country?
It seems that in the media we primarily see our troops in their role as casualties. Where are the heroes?
Would they be met with political resistance and the fear that our children would get the “wrong idea” about
our country and its commitment to freedom and liberty? Is the idea that a man or woman could make a conscious decision
to join a profession that might cost them their lives too intense a notion for our young people to hear? Are we afraid
to put teeth in the old refrain, “Freedom isn’t free”?
How many of us can name the organizations that have been founded by wounded veterans, many with prosthetic devices as
a result of combat injuries, to assist other returning veterans who have suffered horribly in Iraq? How many of us know
about the handful of veterans who recently pedaled across our country to raise awareness and money to help their comrades?
Why are they are not feted on every talk show and every newspaper in our country as examples of positive role models?
When the weak and irresolute among us call for a total withdrawal from Iraq, as if that option were an option at all, why
don’t we ask them about how they would explain all this to these heroes who gave so much of themselves…for us?
I fear that we are losing an opportunity here. I can watch a clip of our folks over there and, in a minute, tell
you how well trained they are for the risks they are encountering. I can watch the clips of Iraqis being trained and
tell you real quick that these guys are maybe months, if not years away, from being able to hump their own gear unaided by
our guys. I can look in the eyes of our troops and tell you why they, after being wounded, volunteer to go back to Iraq
to cover the backs of their buddies rather than go home to a soft, easy medical rehab program close to family and friends.
I can tell you that these young folks are the mettle upon whom we can count to stand against the escalating threat of global
terrorists and religious nut balls. Yet, many of us seem so reluctant to give them the credit they deserve. We
recognize them with obligatory words and magnetic slogans on our vehicles and then quickly exit stage left hoping that greater
explanations and testimonies will not be asked of us.
I know what these brave warriors will do. They will seek the company of one another. They will hold
unit reunions at which a few cold ones will be sipped and events known only to them will be recounted and tears will be shed
and laughter will be heard. They will politely and quietly isolate themselves from those who showed no interest in them.
They will slip quietly back into the mainstream of our country’s life when their tour is over. They will tuck
their medals into bureau drawers and get on with their lives. Their heroism, even though it got short shrift from many
of their countrymen, will strengthen them and they will be the neighbor that everyone wants living next door. They will
raise the next generation of children taught to appreciate their country and to “put it on the line” without being
asked.
They will have done their part. All we need do now is ask the question and seek the answer to “What? No heroes
in Iraq?
Just why is that, anyway?
Semper Fidelis,
Dave St. John
Capt, USMCR
1964-‘70
RVN Veteran
I've Been Over There and "Over There" It Ain't
Over There © 2005 FX
Networks
"Peace at any price" purveyors are going gaga over the new FX Channel series
"depicting" the Iraq war, "Over There," produced by Steven Bochco of Hill Street Blues fame. "Wow! Anybody else watch
Over There last night?" gushed a writer for the antiwar blogsite Daily Kos. "Within a few minutes . . . it was obvious that
Iraq was Vietnam all over again."
How a fictional show shot in La La Land could make anything about Iraq policy "obvious" is hard to fathom. But the
series does tout its realism, as have some reviewers who've never gotten closer to Iraq than filling their gas tanks. Further,
Bochco claims it's politically neutral. Unfortunately, "Over There" puts reality in a body bag.
If "Over There" has a true military advisor, he deserves the firing squad. In the first episode a squad is pinned down
while besieging a terrorist-filled mosque. The unit remains for about 36 hours with no air support, because "Air is dedicated
to another area." Never mind that air cover from jets or helicopters is always available within minutes. They also request
artillery, again to no avail. There's no armor. Until near the end of the siege the only guys with a mortar are the enemy.
In order to include women, two females from a transportation unit just happen to join the siege. In fact, they just happen
to tag along for the rest of the series! Reality is sacrificed to the God of Diversity.
Towards the end of the show a troop transport pulls off to the side of the road, an idiot thing to do since that's where
improvised explosive devices (IED) are almost always buried. Naturally they roll over a powerful IED, even though the bad
guys have conveniently marked it with little white flags! A horribly wounded soldier is then evacuated in a type of chopper
not used in Iraq.
Clearly this is a military that can't even tie its bootlaces and in the immortal words of Pogo: We have met the enemy
and he is us.
The terrorists are downright chummy compared to U.S. commanders. The besieging squad repeatedly suffers because of the
idiotic orders of a general 75 miles away. Another off-site officer orders the troops to move forward from a relatively safe
ridgeline to a completely open area. In another scene, a GI declares he'd rather risk being blown to pieces than tell a sergeant
he's wrong.
Particularly appalling to me was a slam against Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). It simply fails to show up to disarm
a vehicle packed with enough explosives to blow up Rhode Island. I was embedded with the EOD unit of the 8th Engineer Support
Battalion at Camp Fallujah. They react to calls with the speed of firefighters (or Domino's pizza) and coolly and professionally
carry out some of the most dangerous jobs in the war.
The GIs ARE depicted as both brave and dedicated, as they must be in order to be proper pawns. Conversely they're also
hot-headed; they constantly bark at each other like obnoxious poodles and there's a knife fight by the second episode. Do
the soldiers beat and torture prisoners? Do you have to ask?
Meanwhile the terrorists, who in reality favor "soft" civilian targets, are braver and tougher still. They make the Viet
Cong look like pansies. One literally has his torso blown off and yet his legs incredibly keep marching forward. A metaphor,
perhaps, for the invincibility of the terrorist Jihad?
As for American policy, that's depicted in a dream sequence in which a captured GI is given a litany of reasons for why
we're over there such as wanting to steal Iraqi oil, then asked, "Your masters are liars and thieves, and yet you obey them.
Why?" He doesn't deny it, rather providing the pawn answer of "Because I'm a soldier!"
There have got to be a thousand true inspiring stories of courage and kindness by coalition troops during the war, but
don't expect to see them on "Over There". The wealthy Mr. Bochco certainly had the resources to tour Iraq before slandering
our military and turning FX into the Al Jazeera Channel. But he didn't. Perhaps he was afraid of seeing what the real truth
is over there.
Michael Fumento (mfumento[at]pobox.com) is a former paratrooper who was embedded with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force
over there in Iraq. He is also a senior fellow at Hudson Institute.
Exploiting the Dead
The fact that Cindy Sheehan has used her son’s coffin as a political soapbox has not set well with many members
of Sheehan’s extended family. In a backlash, patriotic members of Casey’s father’s family have distanced
themselves and their late, heroic relative from Cindy’s anti-American ways. KSFO-AM radio talk show host and Move America
Forward leader Melanie Morgan received the following e-mail from Cherie Quarterolo, the late Casey Sheehan's aunt and godmother,
and is sent on behalf of Casey Sheehan’s family:
Hello again Melanie,
Our family has been so distressed by the recent activities of Cindy we are breaking our silence and we have collectively
written a statement for release. Feel free to distribute it as you wish. Thanks – Cherie.
In response to questions regarding the Cindy Sheehan/Crawford Texas issue: Sheehan Family Statement:
The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not
agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal
agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops,
our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect.
Sincerely,
Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins.
Thank goodness someone in the Sheehan family puts family, country, and dignity above political motivation. At last we
see where Casey got the heroic sense of duty and patriotism that led him to lay down his life for his friends. R.I.P.
Brother of another deceased vet frustrated with 'peace mom'
By MATTHIAS GAFNI, Times-Herald staff writer
Vallejo
Times Herald
As Vacaville's Cindy Sheehan continued gaining worldwide attention with her protest Thursday,
another relative of a deceased Solano County soldier quietly aired frustration and disappointment over her antics.
Jim
Krause, 53, of Fairfield, lost his younger brother, Sgt. Elmer C. Krause, in April 2004, when his vehicle was ambushed by
Iraqi insurgents. Elmer Krause was born and raised in Vallejo before moving out of state.
The soft-spoken Krause said he was "praying" for Sheehan to drop her anger and worried that she will become a "poster
person" for the far left.
"I know she's a grieving mom and she has a lot of issues with anger," Krause said. "I'm in the same company as her, as
far as grief. I deal with it my way, but anger is not coming out."
Sheehan, 48, began speaking out against the war after her son Casey died in Sadr City in 2004. She has camped out along
a road near Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch since Saturday, vowing to stay until his Texas vacation ends later this month.
Along with protesting the war, Sheehan wants to meet face-to-face with the president.
Krause said she already had that opportunity - as he did. Krause and six other family members traveled to Fort Lewis,
Wash., to visit with President Bush in June 2004. Sheehan was there, along with a host of other grieving families, as well.
"When she was at Fort Lewis she had every opportunity to ask him what she wanted," Krause said.
Sheehan has said her feelings have shifted from shock to anger since then, in part because of various reports that have
disputed some of the Bush administration's justifications for the war.
She also said she was offended when President Bush didn't know her son's name.
"I wouldn't expect him to have all the soldiers' names on the top of his head," Krause said. "He didn't know Elmer's
name and I didn't expect that of him."
Krause said his two sisters, who went with him on the visit, spoke to Sheehan before they met the president.
"My sister did say that Sheehan was hurting at the time," he said.
Overall, Krause said his visit with the president was a positive experience, and one in which Bush accepted all types
of inquiries.
"When the president met with us, he was very genuine, very real, very sincere," Krause said.
As the president walked into the room that day, Krause said Bush saw his sister crying and came over and gave her a hug.
"I proceeded to tell him about Elmer and what happened," Krause said.
Krause described how his brother's body was found in a shallow grave with four other men and his remains had to be identified
using DNA.
"His eyes watered up and started to tear when I told him that and he said, 'I'm so sorry' and that 'Elmer was in a better
place,'" Krause said.
Krause and his family spent about 10 to 15 minutes with the president, he said.
"I asked him, 'Why us? Why did you take the time out of your schedule to meet with us?' He said he wanted to meet with
all the families at that time," Krause said.
Krause has relied heavily on his faith since his brother's death.
"I go through different times when I get teary-eyed and well up in the throat and I'm sure my sisters do, too," he said.
"But I'm a strong Christian and with the faith I have É I have every assurance there is a hereafter."
Since Elmer's passing, Krause has attended various honors bestowed upon his late brother.
"My brother volunteered to go," Krause said. "He wanted to go and we honor his commitment."
On the Lighter Side
In January 2009 Hillary Clinton gets inaugurated as U.S. President and is
spending her first night in the White House. The ghost of George Washington appears, and Hillary says, "How can I best serve
my country?"
Washington says, "Never tell a lie."
"Ouch!" Says Hillary,"I don't know about that."
The next night, the ghost of Thomas Jefferson appears... Hillary says, "How can I best serve my country?"
Jefferson says, "Listen to the people."
"Oh! I really don't want to do that."
On
the third night, the ghost of Abe Lincoln appears... Hillary says, "How can I best serve my country?"
Lincoln
says, "Go to the theatre."
THE FOUNDATION
"Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience
both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." --George Washington--
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