Every movie and TV show about the US military they push the concept that the US leaves NO MAN BEHIND….but it is pure bullshit….let’s call it cinematic license…….
Does any one remember a group known as Montagnards or how about the Nungs…these were indigenous people of South Vietnam that were loyal to the US and did whatever we asked of them…then when the US pulled out of Vietnam ahead of the advancing North Vietnamese army we left these loyal participants behind to suffer at the hands of the Communist North….not one of our more honorable moments.
Did we learn from this betrayal?
Not a bit!
We are fighting endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and we have used indigenous people to act on our behalf as interpreters and soldiers…these people suffer all sorts of torture when they are outed as “collaborators”…..but the US will take care of our fiends as we always have, right?
Again….total bullshit!
As our nation fought wars against terrorists and despots in Afghanistan and Iraq, we were assisted by patriotic citizens of those two countries who recognized that America’s efforts were in the long-term interests of their nations also. These courageous individuals – who served principally as translators for the U.S. military – often undertook this service at great personal risk to themselves and their families. In acknowledgement of this service, our nation created a special immigrant visa program allowing these patriots to move, along with their families, to the United States and taste a piece of the American dream.
And yet, earlier this month, the House Armed Services Committee advanced the defense authorization bill without providing adequate authority to ensure the Afghanistan component of this program is available to those who served alongside our soldiers. By failing to do so, we are breaking the solemn promise we made to these patriots – and condemning them (and their families) to persecution and, potentially, death.
Source: Diluting SIV Visa Program Could Condemn Loyal Military Translators to Death | US News Opinion
I have written about this in the past….and as usual no one was listening…..but the situation arises again….why would any indigenous people help the US achieve their goals? I would not help knowing their track record of betrayal. Would you?
This may not be something that most people worry over….but for me it hits home….in Vietnam I had to leave behind some good friends among the Nungs….
We are doing what we always do…..use people up and then like a broken tool we discard them….and soon forgotten.
It is called ‘disposable’ collateral damage…. chuq….
A term the American’s invented…I believe…
Anything but call it what it really is…sadly….
That’s p.c. for you..
🙁
And they wonder why people hate us….this does not to change that feeling….
Do you know,that most people in the States have no idea the of anti- American feeling abroad….one day,one day.
Yes I know it but the people do not….and they cannot understand why we are so disliked…I tell them to go watch an American in a city anywhere in the world….they will dislike them also.
I hate to be a killjoy here but I have been in both The U.S. Army and The U.S. Air Force and I can tell you that the doctrine of “Leave No One Behind” is reserved strictly for our own troops and does not extend to local civilian populations or others who do not wear the Uniform of The United States Military. (Or at least it didn’t when I was in the Service.).
I hate to be a killjoy..I have been in constant combat for 2 and half years…the mission is everything and that means someone is left they will be left….plus we made promises to these people for their help and we did not follow through…is that the American way?
Is there actually an “American Way” anymore? If we could get to ours, we airlifted them or carried them out. Period!
Yep…I was correct….our word means nothing….I mean if we cannot keep our word to our vets why do it anywhere else right?
Of course. But who is perfect? Rather be American than anything else myself.
So we should write off stuff by saying “no one is perfect”?
It is pragmatic to do so.
Kinda like a disgraced preacher…..”no one is perfect”?
Proud to be an American!
Okay I will cease for this will go NO where.
You are correct. It will go nowhere. I defend America when I can. I love America. I am a proud American. America has Her faults, America is not perfect, but She is the best we have and much of the rest of the world pretends to hate Her but they run to Her when they need something. It is sickening. There is much that can be corrected about America – – There is much wrong in America – – but She is still the light of the world – – She is still the haven the oppressed run toward. She is still the one the opportunistic hordes wish to invade and rape and she is an easy target because of Political Correctness bullshit. It is sickening.
What is sickening is when an American cannot say anything without be called one sort of insult after another…..what happened to that free speech that we all say we love?
You can be proud of America and still see the faults….but not so for some people.
This phenomenon you are describing is a result of America becoming too big and too diverse to cohese into a unified sense of what it means to be “An American” and it is not helped at all by the propensity of some people to keep on defining “America” in terms of their Ante-Bellum “Good-Ole-Boy” White Man code . . . The browning of America is driving those bigots up the wall and they are desperately fighting to retain the last vestiges of something that is quickly passing from the scene.
So is the answer to stop anyone non-white from coming? Not your thoughts, theirs.
No that is not the answer. The answer is that the bastards have to understand that their day is done and either get with the program or STFU. In the end they and their ways are going to become dust in the bins of history anyway and they are fighting a losing battle. They just refuse to realize what the new demograph is doing to them.
Well said….but I think death is the only way that will be solved…sad to say
They are in a fantasy land of denial. They think they still have the power to change things back to the way it was a hundred years ago. It ain’t gonna happen.
They are still trying…especially in my state….they are trying to go back to the 1950’s….and winning
I don’t know about anybody else but I am proud to be an American!
The principle of leaving no one behind — no matter the cost — is deeply embedded in the U.S. military. Those in uniform believe that no stone will be left unturned to get them home if they fall into enemy hands.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/06/04/leave-no-soldier-behind-no-exceptions/
The mission is priority one….all else is secondary….good movie script.
Thank you for your comment.
“America is not perfect, but She is the best we have and much of the rest of the world pretends to hate Her but they run to Her when they need something. It is sickening.”
(Note: the following is aimed at the actual content of the comment, not the author.)
While perfectly understandable & “logical” coming from an American, that comment is as sickening as it is dismissive and devoid of proper perspective. This patronizingly “superior” & callous attitude is why the entire world “pretends” to hate you as the (Western) world’s leadership pretends to like you. Half the world “pretends” to hate you so well, they’ve forgotten that they’re “pretending”. Yet you guys STILL have no fucking clue why people “pretend” to hate America. Which only makes it that much easier to “pretend” to hate you.
Yes, America is FAR from perfect. Nobody outside America expects it to be nearly as perfect as those inside pretend it is. However, as you indicate, America is getting further away from “perfect” every day. It has become a self-obsessed nation full of self-obsessed people, oblivious to damn near everything other than how great they are…or think they are. As a nation, America’s military superiority is its only strength that’s increasing, rather than diminishing. All of America’s good qualities are disappearing faster than “threatened species” of animals are.
But why do those in need look to America? The power of false advertising maybe? To the great shock of most Americans, the Statue of Liberty is a giant flashing WELCOME sign to “the poor huddled masses”, “the wretched refuse” and “the homeless”. What isn’t so easily noticed is that the world’s lifeboat has a big hole in it. It’s sinking. But instead of fixing the hole, the Captains are fleeing on their private rescue choppers, leaving all aboard to fend for themselves. THAT is the root of America’s problems, not a few outreached hands of various colours looking for more gruel, or the Politically Correct seeking to be in the photo-op where they’re handing out gruel.
But there’s another VERY simple reason the rest of the world “runs to Her when they need something”. It’s not because America is “the best”. It’s because America is running the damn show! Ever since exiting WW2 completely unscathed, America has been meddling in the affairs of the entire world, usually to the detriment of everyone else. And ever since the Cold War ended, it acts like it owns the fucking place, bullying friends & foes alike while showing minimal respect for anything….even its own over-promoted “superior” moral values. Very little happens, or is allowed to happen, without America’s involvement. (Climate Change & Global Financial reform are good examples of America cock-blocking the rest of the world.) By achieving it’s goal of being the lone Superpower, America has made the world’s problems America’s problems. To paraphrase Colin Powell, “You broke it. You bought it.”
But the bottom line is…where else are you going to go for help? Somalia? Ivory Coast? Greece? I don’t think so! So unless America wants to stop telling everybody what to do/not do and hand the reigns to somebody else…or just stop meddling in the affairs of others….then Americans REALLY need to stop bitching about those asking for help from The Global Godfather. Or bristling against the “invading hoards threatening the American way of life”. Because much of “the American way of life” has been achieved at the expense of others. And much of the “need” is at least partially driven by American interference in its quest to reach the top.
“We need more oil? Well, invade Patheticstan. They have plenty and we can crush them!…Oh, now Patheticstan’s Poors are angry & desperate? Well, tell them to stop whining. It’s pathetic!”
Rich nation problems are sickening.
I tried to find something I could dispute….I cannot…well said….
I think I learned about those Montagnard/Nung folks on an episode of China Beach.
Monts were central Vietnam the Nungs were in the South…
We don’t even give adequate medical care, or even social support to those people of our own who are sent to war. What makes you think we’d take care of the idiots who fell for our lies in other countries? The leaders don’t care about any of those who fight the wars; their only concern is their own power and aggrandizement. The general public doesn’t care, because they’ve been trained to feel their own sense of entitlement, (though goodness knows what they’ve ever done to be entitled….), which allows them to both believe the bullshit told to them, and deny the importance of anything not on their own block.
I’m feeling a bit dubious today; I don’t see any of that changing in the near future, or, ever….
gigoid, the dubious
Ditto,the dubious…..Ah,the dubiosity of it all……she say’s at 4 am in the morning….:(
*sad smile* Ah, Morpheus has abandoned you tonight, eh? Lamentations, milady; I can relate…. I always enjoy a nap when that happens…
Feel better….
xoxo
gigoid, t d….
Me either….the US has a terrible track record on not keeping our word….chuq
Perhaps,chuq you might enlighten me…
I am not proud to be British…I am not proud to be Ozzie….I am not someone who would dream of saying that…..sounds eva so old fashioned…why not just concern yourself with being a decent human being.I swear the old mentality must die off…all it does is create wars…and what is this about American exceptionalism? It sounds soooo corny.(embarrassingly so)…I think you lot have eaten too much Apple pie….
🙁
Maybe…but I was taught that I was only as good as my word….and the US word is not so honorable.
I did not mean, you, like you….I’ll go along with that…’as good as your word’…self respect really…..honour…with a ‘u’….I cld go on…;)
I know…..just that too many do not see the need to be true to one’s word…..especially this country when we promise to take care of them if they help us out…they do and we turn our back on them….