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Friday, August 24, 2007

McIlheran is a Traitor

It's time Patrick McIlheran and the rest of his conservative ilk are arrested and charges of war crimes brought against them. This needs to be done because their support of the illegal conflict in Iraq and their efforts at dividing the populace are treasonous.

McIlheran claims the left is guilty for genocide in Vietnam. This is, of course, a lie. Using this lie, McIlheran ignores the illegality of having entered into the conflict in Iraq and who is to blame for it, and says that failure to continue this illegal conflict will be the fault of the left - the guilt of genocide he spouts - when in fact the guilt lies with this administration and those who have lied to the American populace.

Oh, did I say I'm pissed off, too? The reason for my anger is a blog post by McIlheran titled "You Want to Talk Vietnam?" As I stated above, he makes the dubious claim that it was the left's fault for the outcome in Vietnam and if we fail to follow through in Iraq, the same result will occur. What pisses me off is his history about the Vietnam conflict is so wrong. And, I'm pissed off because of his lame attempt to assuage his own guilt about supporting murder in Iraq by lying about Vietnam.

First of all, the anti-war movement was not merely a left-wing phenomenon. I remember family members who were decidely conservative who opposed the conflict. Surely there were others. By 1968, the furor over the war blossomed with the revelations of My Lai. Opposition to the war became a national concern. In fact, it was Richard Nixon's claims that he would bring about "Peace With Honor" that helped him win the presidency.

We now know this was a lie. Nixon lied and escalated the war. This seems to be a habit of conservatives. Their actions can't stand up to public scrutiny, so they lie. Mr. Disengenuous claims Cambodia was ceded to the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge by American withdrawal and the result was genocide. This is hogwash. It was the bombing of Cambodia in which over 2.5 million tons of bombs were dropped (more than were dropped by the Allies in WWII) and kept secret from the American people that spurred the rise of the Khmer Rouge along with an American-supported coup of Prince Sihanouk.

It is a fallacy that withdrawal of support of the ARVN (South Vietnamese army) caused it to fail in the field. The ARVN was never able to take on the North successfully. It was overun with graft and badly-led troops. It's performance was not improving and a prolonged effort by American forces would have made no difference.

The genocide that occurred was not brought on by American withdrawal, it was brought on by American arrogance. That's why McIlheran and the like are traitors to this country. It's his sort of misleading commentary that, 35+ years ago mislead enough good people to believe that 20 million gallons of herbicides dropped on South Vietnam (our ostensible ally) was a necessary thing to combat communism. It's his sort of commentary that supported the deaths of more than 5 million people, civilian and military.

It's the McIlheran's of the world who are responsible for most of the death and mayhem. They are responsible for every death in Iraq. They continue to lie about al-Qaeda and Iraq when the proof is that al-Qaeda came to Iraq to kill Americans. Not the other way around. They continue to spread the lies this administration so glibly perpetuates. I have no more use for them, even as sometime targets for fun.

McIlheran is right in one regard. This Iraq conflict does share similarities with the conflict in Vietnam. Innocents are being killed. So much for the beacon of light American democracy is supposed to be. So much for compassionate conservatism.

(Edited not for content, but so it might read better. I had a 7-month old in my arms for the initial draft.)

3 Swings of the bat:

Anonymous said...
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Dad29 said...

So much BS, so little time...

1) You're right, a number of Conservatives were unhappy with the war in Vietnam. But it was not just "distant land, who cares?" opposition; a good part of it was based on the way the war was prosecuted under LBJ. Reason? LBJ was playing 4-star general, putting maps on the Oval Office floor and instructing his field commanders 'where to bomb.'

Frankly, that's not how to win a friggin' war, and Conservatives reacted, intelligently--

2) The ChiComs and NVA used Cambodia as staging areas from which to strike in Vietnam. It's asinine to declare "off-limits" areas which are enemy gathering places. Thus we bombed the living shit out of the Commie Army areas in Cambodia. (Sadly, GWB hasn't taken similar steps in Syria.)

3) In fact, OTHER 'experts' state that the SVietArmy WAS able to maintain control before we left; but the Dem Congress cut off their funds after Nixon resigned. Some commentators note that Petraeus is using the same technique as did the last US commander in Vietnam; it was successful! (Westmoreland's search-and-destroy missions were not a success...)

3) It is accurate and true to state that simply pulling out of Iraq at this time would be extremely imprudent AND would expose a large number of people to extreme danger. What's wrong with that statement?

4) ALL reports, including those of Dem congresscritters, are now optimistic (but not silly about it.) ALL seem to think that with a bit more time, the job can be finished honorably.

5) Cambodia and the "education camps" imposed by the Commies in South Vietnam are, indeed, lessons.

Other Side said...

I was trying on some conservative rhetoric to see how it fit ... nah, don't like the style.

You know, we are in agreement that it is not feasible to remove the troops immediately. There needs to be some time. But, ultimately, it is up to Iraqis to decide if their country is worht fighting for or not. However, to use Vietnam as a template and blame Dems is pathetic and BS.

Yes, it is asinine. Too bad it was done so wrongly and illegally and ultimately, did more to encourage the rise of the Khmer Rouge than anything else ... similar to the rise of insurgency and al-Qaeda in Iraq.

FYI: Bomb the shit out of Syria? I'm stunned at your lack of geo-political expertise. That would merely inflame the region more.

Well, I guess we're relegated to dueling experts. There is nothing to suggest in the accurate history of Vietnam that the ARVN were capable.