"I would like to talk, representing all those veterans, and say that several months ago in Detroit, (meeting funded by Jane Fonda) we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeat Asia, NOT ISOLATED incidents but crimes SYSTEMATICALLY committed on a DAY TO DAY basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.
They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscentof Ghengis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisioned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country."
Let's look at a few select words. "not isolated", "systematically" and "day-to-day". These words do not suggest that it happenned on sporadically but that it happenned consistantly and was widespread by most of our Vietnam Veterans. I want to know from the ones who served in Vietnam, have loved ones that served or have lost a loved one in Vietnam, does his words upset you? I was fotunate not to have anyone lost in Vietnam but did have two uncles that served in the Marines there. If the atrocities that Kerry speaks of were so widespread and "systematic" then that would leave me to believe that my uncles either took part in it or stood by and let it happen. I am sorry if I find it offensive to me but I do.
What are your thoughts?
[This message has been edited by Mamacalled (edited 03-22-2004).]
They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscentof Ghengis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisioned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country."
Let's look at a few select words. "not isolated", "systematically" and "day-to-day". These words do not suggest that it happenned on sporadically but that it happenned consistantly and was widespread by most of our Vietnam Veterans. I want to know from the ones who served in Vietnam, have loved ones that served or have lost a loved one in Vietnam, does his words upset you? I was fotunate not to have anyone lost in Vietnam but did have two uncles that served in the Marines there. If the atrocities that Kerry speaks of were so widespread and "systematic" then that would leave me to believe that my uncles either took part in it or stood by and let it happen. I am sorry if I find it offensive to me but I do.
What are your thoughts?
[This message has been edited by Mamacalled (edited 03-22-2004).]