Good grief, doesn’t anyone read their history books? If anyone with the authority to send our military sons and daughters into a seemingly open-ended war would think back, this nation would most likely not be split apart about withdrawing them from Afghanistan.
Having witnessed the horrors of Vietnam secondhand (with the U.S. Air Force on Okinawa in 1969 and 1970) I did not personally experience the constant fear that the next person working in a rice field or riding by on a motorbike might toss a live grenade your way. The complete destruction of our flight crews and aircraft made me sick.
The truly sad part is that 30 plus years later Vietnam is run by communists, we purchase clothes made there and our tourists spend their U.S. dollars to suntan on Vietnamese beaches.
Although most politicians don’t want to be reminded that virtually every Middle Eastern conflict has religious sectarian roots (believe as I do or I’ll kill you) our leaders don’t know when to call it quits or not get involved in the first place.
Absolutely no U.S. president wants a military “defeat” on their résumé or written in their future biography. (Remember both President Johnson and President Nixon?)
With all kinds of elections coming up please ask your candidate where he or she stands on this issue. Don’t be apathetic because your son or daughter may not currently be serving there or possibly be called upon, soon. Given enough time they very well could be.
KEN HOOVER
Johnson City
