THE HORROR OF WAR
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I recently saw Director Clint
Eastwood's awesome depiction of the WW II battle for Iwo Jima (where our Marines and the U.S.
Navy took on the well entrenched Japanese military) in his movie FLAGS OF OUR
FATHERS. Every American and I mean EVERY AMERICAN should see that movie and get
just a little sense of what the horror of war is and what it can do physically
and psychologically to those who are in the midst of it and survive it. So true
is what was said in that excellent film "The true heroes are those who didn't
come back - they are the ones who died for our country!" Seeing those bloody
bodies of men who were there to fight and even give their lives for every all of
those Americans who enjoyed freedom in this great nation served to reinforce my
need to tell the American people, even people of the world - the truth about our
government's aiding and abetting the enemy in Vietnam, setting the stage for our
fighting men to die.
Is the average American citizen even
remotely aware of what our servicemen and women now face in
Iraq or
Afghanistan? Do any of you who have never been
in war and in physical contact with the enemy have any idea what our men and
women go through in this terrible war against Islamic Fundamentalists? All wars
are terrible and it is a fact that no two wars are alike and no two battles
within a war are the same. Only those who have "been there and done that" know
what it is like and "it isn't nice!" Our forces in
Iraq don't always know who the enemy is
or how, where and when that enemy will attack. The fact is that many terrorist
attacks are from an enemy that kill and wound our men and women from ambush
or by electronic ignition of roadside bombs, and our forces must adapt and
take the war to them in their hiding places, even mosques! As if to keep our forces from doing their job
the Iraqi leadership has recently dictated the re-deployment of our fighting
men from Baghdad to other areas for tribal and/or
political reasons. Rational winning
strategy meant to destroy the enemy no matter where that enemy be within their
nation should be the rule. You surely have heard or seen enough on radio or TV
to fully comprehend the basics of what I write. Now I ask that you please write,
call or visit your Congressman and your Senators and demand that our armed
forces be given the way and the right to win - or bring them home!
LTC Daniel Marvin,
USA (Ret),
Cazenovia, New
York
Author of "Victory Edition -
Expendable Elite - One Soldier's Journey Into Covert Warfare"
Veteran of the Korean and
Vietnam Wars
