Hi JDN. I wasn't saying that Nixon got us into the war. I was responding to the allegation that Kerry should feel remorse for protesting the war and pointed out that the ones that should feel remorse "will be men like McNamera, Nixon, Johnson, Kissinger and others who sent them into that place, at that time, for those reasons.
I include Nixon as well as Johnson. As you will remember, Nixon pursued the war for several years. I remember being in a hospital in Saigon and there was television. It was daytime in Vietnam and I was sitting up listening to the 1970 state of the union address. As Nixon was lying about the progress of the war and making statements about the troops, I got so mad my whole body started to shake with adrenalin. If I'd had an m-16 and he'd have been there, I think I might have dusted him and paid the price. I was that mad. I'm not sure I ever got over being mad.
As a vet I can understand what Kerry did and why he did it. I've always felt like the guys who served there were my guys. After all the months of trying to take care of each other and going through what we went through, the bonds are strong. In many ways I admire what he did in protesting the war. If all of us that believed the war was a lie had become activists, maybe we'd have saved tens of thousands of more from death and wounds.
I did what most of us did. I came home, got married, went to school and tried to forget that place was even there. I also raced motorcycles and did a lot of other risk heavy things. It's hard to let go of that adrenalin habit isn't it?
So yes, as a vet I could support Kerry. He's not my first choice but he's far better, in my opinion, than Bush. Bush has already proven to me that his judgement is poor and that he's not up to the job. Maybe Kerry is better. Or maybe Edwards or even Dean. The choices are narrowing. |
