“I’ll give my best military advice, it will be candid, it will be honest, it will be rigorous and thorough and that’s what I will do every single time.”
“Arlington is full of our comrades and we understand absolutely full well the hazards of our chosen profession, we know what this is about and we are not going to be intimidated into making stupid decisions.”
Paid spokespeople in uniform continue to claim that the Afghanistan effort is moving forward:
A three-year legal battle to publish government documents reveals that no matter which political party or personality is at the wheel, Dept. of Defense/War on Terror credibility has been squandered.
“…no new laws were passed mandating more government transparency or accountability with its military operations, no war crimes tribunals took place, no new policies were put into place. No one even got fired.”
“The Iraq war isn’t some event that happened in the past; everything about it is still here with us, right now.”
“The pejorative “conspiracy theory” has been such a useful weapon in inoculating the herd from dissident wrongthink that the propagandists do everything they can to avoid tainting their brand, even if it means refraining from using words for the things that they refer to.”
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
This would be the time to hear from elected leaders and top generals Re: lessons learned on all the issues that have doomed the Department of Defense track record for winning wars since DOD was established in 1949.
If sending US troops to Iraq & Afghanistan was meant to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things, why do cartels continue to move product into Hometown, USA?
Welcome Home Troops
Don’t worry- The Super Bowl and public affairs will be safe:
US Troops at the border, REAL ID, Homeland Security grant money, CBP social media posts, strict post 911 security protocols, a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security, border wall efforts and the Post 911 surveillance state (fusion centers, license scanners, monitoring of e-mails, text messages, & social media sites, no fly/terror watch lists, tracking of cell phones, etc.) appear to have played no role in preventing these crimes:
The War on Terror has prompted law enforcement authorities to calm the public by looking into the future and announcing that no credible threat exists.
This press release features no questions from newspeople:
If the good guys can tell what the bad guys will do before they do it-surely, these powerful crime fighting tools will be used to shut down gang and cartel activity, heroin trafficking, bank robberies, mass casualty shootings, etc.
These days, WWII veterans are sought out to be guests of honor at ball games, parades, etc.
Some of these events seem to go off pretty well. In some cases, rather than honoring veterans, it looks like these guys are being used for marketing and promotional events, staged to benefit something other than veterans.
0:12 the man is barely conscious when greeted by team owner Jerry Jones:
Love to see the press get out & away from the special occasions and marketing events to interview WWII veterans on what they think of undeclared/unwon wars that never end.
The Department of Defense track record for winning undeclared wars goes back to 1949.
Voting is highly emphasized in American culture. Asking questions related to public policy takes a lower priority.
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of investigative reporting & newspeople asking questions.
Go and ask the FBI for Chicago bank robbery statistics. You’ll get the numbers. They won’t tell you that statistics/public records must be withheld because stats would assist bank robbers if they were shared with the public.
What other law enforcement agencies, anywhere in the US maintain secret arrest statistics?
Washington State Patrol shares DUI arrest statistics on social media here:
Any members of the free press available to show up and ask why the people of Louisiana need services in Iraq, absent any military emergency, national emergency, draft, or declaration of war?
State-run media update:
Aug 1, 2019 Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
Another of many examples where freedoms may come & go- completely unrelated to military operations/US Troops in distant lands, or the Sound of Freedom:
0:20
Probably designed by some bureaucrat that never mowed a yard:
None of these are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.
If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.
The US should maintain strong and ready military forces.
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
This would be the time to hear from elected leaders and top generals Re: lessons learned on all the issues that have doomed the Department of Defense track record for winning wars since DOD was established in 1949.
The formal congressional declaration of war would also be the time for a careful review of important issues such as: PTSD, suicide, war crimes, a $6.4 trillion price tag, lies about freedom, propaganda, dressing women to look like men, exit strategy, mission creep, nation building, reduction of traditional military benefits offered when people signed up to stay on for multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, who should register for the draft, etc.
Hey-with all this talk of freedom-can I take my 20 year old girlfriend (a responsible adult) and her REAL ID down to the bar to order up a few beers for freedom?
Should we check with the Joint Chiefs of Staff first?
Terrorists must not be trying very hard.
The more tortuous inspection procedures become out at the airport-the more I wonder what prevents terrorists from disrupting security in that crowded part of the airport just outside of the screening checkpoint.
What stops hardcore terrorists from blowing themselves up in crowded airports just prior to showing ID or being face scanned at security checkpoints?
Terrorists have access to hundreds of crowded public places in the US-free of federal supervision, screening, scanning, pat downs, etc., why aren’t they blowing themselves up at these locations?
Looks like a decade of checking passports/enhanced and Real IDs at the border has not kept bad guys from moving product into the Puget Sound area.
Welcome Home Troops
Thanks for risking your ass in Iraq & Afghanistan- working to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things.
Don’t worry- The Super Bowl and public affairs will be safe:
Since 911, have people been at risk out at the airport because there has not been any requirement for REAL ID in order to fly within the United States?
When you finish your Armistice Day tributes, maybe you could ask some questions on this.
Tore down the old compost pile today. We started it about 12 months ago. It’s time to make room to start a new pile, now that the leaves are off the trees.
What would’t fit in containers was dumped in the garden. We’ll share it out to individual trees and shrubs, then till what’s left into the ground.
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
This would be the time to hear from elected leaders and top generals on all the issues that have doomed the Department of Defense track record for winning wars since DOD was established in 1949.
Hey-with all this talk of freedom-can I take my 20 year old girlfriend (a responsible adult) and her REAL ID down to the bar to order up a few beers for freedom?
Should we check with the Joint Chiefs of Staff first?
Hey-newspeople, we all want to stay safe.
Are passports/enhanced/Real IDs effective in keeping cartel-sourced heroin and meth out of the US?
Standard driver’s licenses have not been accepted at the border since 2009.
Looks like a decade of checking passports/enhanced and Real IDs at the border has not kept bad guys from moving product into the Puget Sound area.
Since 911, have people been at risk out at the airport because there has not been any requirement for REAL ID in order to fly within the United States?
When you finish your Armistice Day tributes, maybe you could ask some questions on this.
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our physical security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms- The Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
None of these are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
Why are we told that American rights and freedoms are somehow connected to decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas?
The Department of Defense track record for winning undeclared wars goes back to 1949.
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
This would be the time to hear from elected leaders and top generals on all the issues that have doomed the Department of Defense track record for winning wars since DOD was established in 1949.
None of these are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.
If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.
The US should maintain strong and ready military forces.
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our physical security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms- The Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
If The Troops fight for your right to sit, stand, kneel, etc.- why were black people still riding at the back of the bus after the big WWII victory?
Do the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization?
If The Troops defend American rights and freedoms, what becomes of those freedoms when the US leaves Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc., without a victory?
Freedom of Speech
Were US troops sent to Vietnam so that Americans could be free to send letters to the editor?
Is there any case in which US Armed Forces have been sent to distant lands on a mission to protect freedom of speech?
Is protecting freedom of speech even part of training scenarios?
1965
Did the Joint Chiefs of Staff send The Troops to safeguard American freedoms?
Was it the Viet Cong that restricted rights to freedom of speech or expression in public schools?
JUNE 10, 2019 TIME
High School Students’ Graduation Speeches Keep Getting Censored. But They’re Seen by Millions Anyway
“…Send in the U.S. military and the CIA into Mexico.”
“Just ask the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen. Bombs, missiles, shootings, arrests, indefinite detention, torture, raids, prison camps, kangaroo military tribunals, extra-judicial executions, warrantless searches, and state-sponsored assassinations.”
US Troops at the border, El Chapo takedown, opioid lawsuits, REAL ID, Homeland Security grant money, CBP social media posts, strict post 911 security protocols and a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security fail to keep bad guys from moving product into the Puget Sound area-
Zero questions from newspeople.
The large drug bust story is always reported as a big success. This, after drug traffickers are somehow able to move product past National Guard Troops, strict post 911 security protocols and federal agents manning a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security- before product arrives in Hometown, USA.
Lessons Learned?
Anytime there is a plane crash, or an industrial accident, a thorough investigation takes place. Lessons learned are used to prevent future accidents. Any similar effort after a big drug bust?
Preventing drugs from entering local communities would kill the chance for various agencies to get publicity for the occasional big drug bust happening in those communities:
“Federal, state and local law enforcement fanned-out throughout the Puget Sound region Wednesday, arresting 17 people – two from Auburn, another from Pacific – in connection with multiple counts of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran said.”
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our physical security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms- The Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
The Department of Defense track record for winning undeclared wars goes back to 1949.
Rear Adm. Gray,
If The Troops defend American rights and freedoms, what becomes of those freedoms when the US leaves Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc., without a victory?
None of these are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.
If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.
Rear Adm. Gray,
The people in our country completely take for granted the peace, prosperity and freedoms that are somehow linked to the US Armed Forces?
People might come around if they had a say in undeclared/unwon wars that never end. When do we get to vote on all this?
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
This would be the time to hear from elected leaders and top Admirals on all the issues that have doomed the Department of Defense track record for winning wars since DOD was established in 1949.
Do the folks who honor veterans also advocate for phasing out undeclared/unwon wars that never end?
Rear Adm. Gray,
The freedom talk brings questions related to credibility.
If the troops are fighting for American rights and freedoms- why were black people still riding at the back of the bus after the big WWII victory?
Rear Adm. Gray,
With all this talk of freedom- would it be OK to grow a marijuana plant in the back yard?
Can I take my 20 year old girlfriend (a responsible adult) down to the bar to order up a few beers for freedom?
Should we check with the Joint Chiefs of Staff first?
If the U.S. Armed Forces protect the right to vote- how come women were not allowed full voting rights at the end of WWI?
Why the need for a 1965 Voting Rights Act if overseas military operations somehow secured voting rights?
It turns out The Troops were in no hurry to enable all adults to act on their right to vote.
US Military operations conducted in the 1940s, 50s & 60s didn’t get the job done.
It wasn’t until July of 1971 that 18 year old adults could take delivery on one of the freedoms we hear so much about.
Did you serve?
This is a question I see often when reading comments on the web. This question may be directed at those who question US foreign policy.
The vibe from some veterans seems to be:
Don’t say things that I disagree with. If you didn’t do time in uniform you have no right to speak out. If you did time in uniform- you should see society as a group of first & second-class citizens. Those who never wore a uniform are second class citizens and their commentary should be supervised by those who once wore a uniform.
My answer to the question:
I did some time in the Marines. It did not serve to prevent 911.
