No parade, but a state dinner
The Obama Administration decided that there won’t be a parade from veterans of the Iraq War, but there will be a victory lap in the White House in the form of a state dinner later this month;
The core theme is the common fighting man or woman, said Douglas Wilson, Pentagon public affairs chief.
The intent is for those invited — with guests, numbering more than 200 — to represent the 1.5 million who fought in a nine-year-war that left nearly 4,500 dead and 32,000 wounded, he said.
I know most of you don’t care about a parade, but this is clearly a campaign maneuver to take credit for the end of the war, the war that this administration had little to do with ending.
There seems to be some sour grapes involved in the state dinner, too;
Factions led by the 200,000-member Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America are pushing for a ticker-tape parade in New York City, the USA’s ritual celebration for heroes. “That (dinner) is a nice effort. The problem is what do you tell everybody outside that 200 who want to be a part of this,” Executive Director Paul Reickhoff said.
I’m guessing that Reickhoff either isn’t getting an invitation, or has his heart set on marching at the head of the parade.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
I’m not from New York city so why the fuck should I give two shits about a parade through NYC?
I agree with you Jason, I really don’t give a fuck about a parade and I don’t think 85%im of the military even wants this, we don’t do it for a fucking parade, just treat us with respect and give us the compensation we deserve, I can’t speak for everyone else but that is enough or me.
I will stick to the 4th of July parade in my small city with my fellow vets in the VFW and the Legion, thanks anyway…..
Rieckhoff will get his invite to the White House, IF the POTUS sees the benefit of sending one. It would be cheaper than the NYC parade, but it’s not his money anyway.
Still, I’m sure they’ll pick 200 groundpounders who gave a limb in Iraq, not 200 of the biggest donators to the campaign, right? And no one will screen for party affiliation, right?
Anyone think Dakota Meyer will be there?
As an Iraq Vet I feel soooo f**king honored. a dinner where Barry talks about how great it was he ended the war.
@#5, and shills for another four years, Doc. But, mostly, how he single-handedly ended two wars, killed OBL and assorted others, and stopped the seas from rising. Oh, and BTW, thanks for your service.
I wonder if he’ll be able to differentiate between dead and living Medal of Honor recipients this time around?
20$ says it’s all O-6’s and above and E-9’s at this dinner. What they SHOULD do is make it a Purple Heart/Silver Star/Bronze Star (for valor) ONLY guest list for the measely 200 servicemembers.
#7 Awesome idea…….too bad.
To the foul mouthed commenters, Jason and Andy, here’s why you should give your “two sh-ts and a pf–k” about a parade honoring veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan: the parade is about the military people who did the dangerous, hard work. In comparison, Obama’s White House dinner is all about using the veterans’ homecoming to raise money. A PARADE honoring veterans is about RESPECT and GRATITUDE for all those who have ever served this country. We gather at curbside to cheer, wave flags, throw confetti and even weep because we want those who served to know how much we appreciate them for keeping America safe. Such a parade honors the people who did the work, not Obama. He doesn’t like that. A PARADE honoring veterans recognizes the courage and commitment of men and women in uniform, and the sacrifices they and their families make so the rest of us don’t have to. It does not honor Obama or create opportunites for him to reward his cronies and contributors. He doesn’t like that. A PARADE honoring veterans causes all of us to reflect on the uniqueness of the freedom we enjoy in America and to remember that freedom isn’t free. It reminds us military defense of American interests is an example of the U.S. CONSTITUTION IN ACTION to protect and guarantee our God given rights and liberties. By contrast, Obama’s disdain of the Constitution and his attempts to dilute the protections it confers upon us stand out like a sore thumb. He doesn’t like that. A PARADE honoring veterans recognizes America’s right to exist as a sovereign nation and to defend ourselves from ALL threats both foreign and domestic. Obama doesn’t want us to think that way because he doesn’t recognize our sovereignty, and instead sees us as a borderless part of the New World Order. The White House dinner in lieu of a parade shifts public attention away from the accomplishments of our military and away from America’s unique protections and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. It shifts attention onto Obama as head of state and allows him to USE… Read more »
Somebody really missed my point… I guess they need to go back and read the history of my comments on this page…or go fuck him/herself before lecturing me doesn’t really matter to me.
I’m sure this is a huge comfort to all the service personnel that are getting their Imminent Danger Pay, cut…
I love a parade…as long as I don’t have to march in the damn thing. Forget about the parade, how about looking into who is actually hiring the recent returning vets who need jobs and stuff like that. A parade will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling for about 10 minutes…but a job will do a lot more.
Anybody else catch the date? Feb 29. Just like presidential elections this will only roll around every 4 years.
Im with JPJ and Badandy on this one. I dont really give a shit if we have a parade or not as it doesnt have any bearing on me or my service. I know what me and my guys did and would much rather have a few beers with them and tell stories about all the stupid shit we did over there. Cap that off with a moment of silence for the ones we lost and Im good.
Parades are just more of the dog and pony show feel good crap that I tried my absolute hardest to keep myself and my troops away from. If people really want to honor our service and sacrifice how about we spend all this time, energy, effort and money on a VA system that really works (not just one that works in certain places or for certain things) or finding ways to employ the troops who are leaving the service only to find they cant get a job.
I don’t want a parade where the public can feel good about themselves for “supporting” us I would like the public to have to look at us and remember who we are. So the next time the president or congress cuts funding to the dva they will have that in the back of their heads who they are screwing.
In 2003 I came home to El Paso (FT Bliss) from Iraq and they wanted to have a parade. The good citizens of El Paso got their wish and the units who had gone down range all went and marched in said parade. The community good will towards the troops lasted about a whole 2 weeks before the city was back to trash talking the Army and everything we did. That is unless BRAC started talking about realigning anything to do with Bliss and then it was back to we love our soldiers blah blah blah.
What Reickhoff really needs to focus on instead of trying to change the saltsmokegun Nazi NYC mayors mind about the parade is helping the 80,000 vets who are about to be dumped into civilian life.