From Vietnam we did return, not defeated, but not victors either. A new generation now faces similar circumstances as America’s longest wars officially draw to a close. The country, long weary of war, applauds withdrawal, while again, politicians talk of exits honorable.
Shamefully, they know they speak not truth, but embrace a strategic illusion for saving face. They hope reality will fade and be forgotten, save in the souls of those inextricably bound by memories of deeds that cannot be undone.
There is a constant gnawing in the minds of those who both met and meted out the horrors of combat; was it worth it? Why did my comrades die? For what cause?
Certainly not for glory
Dark Dreams
Constantly obscured are indigenous casualties; allies, enemies, and always the noncombatants who were just collateral damage of all sides.
Then, for those veterans who chance to sleep, there are the dreams; dreams that never end. Intentionally suppressed from daily consciousness, surreptitiously they reemerge from dark recesses demanding to be addressed.
While some integrate their experiences and apparently manage their lives into normalcy, many others self-medicate with […]
The Russians/Soviets did a better job with the government they left behind which lasted about two years before falling during a horrible civil war which we funded. Now the worm turns, karma comes back to us, all the lives and treasure wasted, uncounted Afghans killed and for what? The glory of empire, all hail the American Imperium as we slowly fold in on our selves. Much morally and spiritually to answer for dear fellow citizens maybe the virus is God’s way of a little payback, balancing the scales.
I am a vet. and i think they are incompetent. I do not even get to see a real doctor, only a CRNP who does not even bother to look at my previous record. I had back problems back which I was being treated for in the late 1960’s and she said they do not even keep records that long. She knows nothing about me at all.
This is the second major military defeat in my life time, yet none of the elite pay. No general, congress member, Senator has paid for 20 years of poor decision making. Only those who actually served paid along with countless civilians on the other side. The weapons makers and consultants are rewarded. The name of this process is corruption.
Do the high level elites ever really pay for their screw-ups? Sure once in a while there is a French revolution or the Bolsheviks clean house, Mao or Pol Pot but still always it’s the little people who shed the blood, pay the price. Life is as it ever has been, one day on top the next day not so much.
Even Bush gets a pass and gets to point out the short coming of Biden’s Afghan policies. Bush/Chaney truly the worst administration this country has ever seen having left a huge bloody mess that the world is still dealing with. Yes #45 was the most personally tacky and tended towards being our own proto-Mussolini but did not do the damage that post 9/11 BushCo accomplished.