The civil war in Korea from 1950 to 1953 that the United States foolishly intervened in --- just one more example why the USA needs to abandon an interventionist policy we are the planet's keeper
commerce with all - alliances with none On Mar 21, 2:34 pm, "M. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote: > The Forgotten Warby Laurence M. VanceThe civil war in Korea from 1950 to 1953 > that the United States foolishly intervened in, and, for the first time for a > major conflict, without a congressional declaration of war, is known as the > Forgotten War. The number of American soldiers killed in this senseless war > is over 36,000. Yet, Korea remains divided at the 38thparallel to this day > just like it was before the war began. Talk about dying in vain. None of > these soldiers died in defense of the United States; all of them died for the > United Nations, for the foolish policies of Harry Truman, and for the failed > diplomacy of World War II. > Most Americans have no idea that there are still over 24,000 U.S. troops > stationed in South Korea (some no doubt the grandchildren of the soldiers who > fought in the Korean War). Fewer still probably know anything about the war > that put them there in the first place. > There is another war that, incredibly, is fast becoming a forgotten war: the > war in Iraq. I lamented last year at this time that we didn’t hear much about > the war in Iraq anymore. Even though candidate Barack Obama pledged in 2007 > that the first thing he would do if elected was bring the troops home and end > the war, the war wasn’t an issue in the 2008 election. And before the > electoral vote was even counted, Democratic opposition to the war had > evaporated. > Now, on the seventh anniversary of the unconstitutional, immoral, aggressive, > unjust, unnecessary, manufactured, manipulated, and senseless war that is the > war in Iraq, the escalation of the war in Afghanistan has eclipsed any > mention of the ongoing war in Iraq. And this in spite of the fact that there > are still 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. > When I wrote about the Iraq war on itsthirdanniversary, 2,317 American > soldiers had died for a lie. On thefourthanniversary, that number had risen > to 3,218. On thefifth, it was up to 3,992. Last year, on thesixthanniversary > of the war, the number of dead American soldiers rose to 4,259. Currently, > the death toll is at 4,385, with 157 of those deaths since Obama became the > new commander in chief. > But, it is said, look how the number of deaths per year has fallen. Agreed. > But that is no consolation to the father, mother, wife, or child of the > soldiers whodied in vainandfor a lieyesterday, last week, or last month. > Although combat deaths are decreasing in Iraq (but certainly not in > Afghanistan),increasingamong returning soldiers are suicides, PTSD, broken > families, substance abuse, unemployment, horrible memories, lingering > injuries, shattered dreams, acts of violence, and criminal activity. And of > course, the war is still costing the American taxpayers billions of dollars a > week. > But even if only one American soldier had died since last month, even if only > one American soldier had died since the last anniversary of the war, even if > only one American soldier had died since Obama took office, and even if only > one American had died since the beginning of the war, that would still be one > too many. > Only the grossly naïve still think that those fighting and dying in Iraq are > doing so for our freedoms or to keep us safe from terrorism. The truth is > rather that since the war on terrorism began our freedoms have steadily > deteriorated and we have created more terrorists. > Before the United States invaded Iraq, not one American had been killed by an > Iraqi since the previous time we invaded that country. But no U.S. soldier > had to die in either war against Iraq. Bringing "democracy" to Iraq, ridding > the country of Saddam Hussein, and destroying Iraq’s weapons of war were not > worth the life of one American. They were not worth the shedding of one drop > of American blood. > But that’s not all. No Iraqi soldiers had to die, no Iraqi civilians had to > die, and no Iraqi children had to die between the wars because of brutal U.S. > sanctions. > Yet, Americans who have lamented the senseless deaths of American soldiers, > not to mention the deaths of countless numbers of Iraqis, and denounced this > war from the beginning are the ones who have been labeled unpatriotic, > un-American, communists, and traitors. This callous disregard for human life > – American and Iraqi – is appalling, and especially among those who call > themselvespro-lifers. > If you love what is left of our republic and want America to be loved instead > of hated, blessed instead of cursed, admired instead of despised, and > emulated instead of attacked, then you should want the United States to get > out of Iraq and the Middle East – and stay out. Oh, it might take years, even > decades, to restore America to favor in the eyes of world, but we must start > sometime if it ever has a chance of coming to pass. > Do I think U.S. troops will ever leave Iraq? I can answer that with a > question: Does the United States still have troops in South > Korea?http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance198.html -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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