More sleight of hand
I’ve watched with some interest this weekend while Leon Panetta, the Secretary of Defense, entered into talks of sorts with the Vietnamese government over accounting for our 1,284 missing American service members in that country. I know there’s a political motivation, because this administration doesn’t do anything in this election year without some sort of political calculation. Panetta, the guy who spends $32,000 dollars every weekend to fly to his California villa is doing his level best to slash our defensive capabilities and tear to shreds the covenant with veterans over their healthcare. I guess they see this venture with the Vietnamese government as having no downside – they please Vietnam veterans by focusing on this issue and distracting from the defense cuts.
According to Jennifer Hlad of the Stars & Stripes;
Accounting for missing servicemembers from the Vietnam War sends an important message to today’s servicemembers, Panetta said: The U.S. will not stop working to fulfill the promise of never leaving a man behind.
So where have they been the last three non-election years? While I applaud the administration’s recent interest in the MIA/POW issue, and I’ll certainly be pleased if it results in a final accounting of those Americans, I just think it’s funny that it wasn’t important previously, you know, before they started slashing the crap out of the defense budget.
Of course, we can revel in our (veterans) issues that are finally being addressed by this administration, but we also need to be cognizant of the underlying reasons. We can also be reasonably certain that the importance of these issues will probably fall off of this administration’s radar after the election.
Category: Veterans Issues
“Where have they been the last three election years?”
Where have they all been the last 40 years?
The Vietnamese government lied through their teeth and then we signed a trade agreement with them. We left Americans behind and now we buy textiles, furniture, seafood and electronics from the dirt bags.
I look at the label on everything I buy. Nothing made in Vietnam comes into my home.
Didn’t we shoot at those people for a few years? Like Wink said, I check the label on everything I want to buy. If it was made over there…back on the shelf. Bad enough almost everything we buy now says”made in China” on the label.
If we have learned nothing else from this crew it should be that whatever it is that they are talking about is not what they are doing behind the scenes.
If I was a left wing scumbag like every single member of this administration I’d certainly be more comfortable returning to Viet Nam with a like-minded cheer-leading POS like Jane Fonda. I’m sure she could act as a tour guide for Leon and friends.
“. . . they please Vietnam veterans by focusing on this issue and distracting from the defense cuts.”
(Mr. Lilyea describing the current executive branch)
They “THINK” they do; they are WRONG.
The “administration” does NOT please me — ARM AMERICA TO THE TEETH is my motto .
“. . . the Vietnamese government . . .” = The Socialist “Republic” Of Vietnam — HA !!
They can go to hell.
The slight of hand? Taking credit for something that has been happening for decades.
Viet Nam has been cooperating with the US for decades in the repatriation of US MIA’s from that country. JPAC, headquartered in Hawaii, finds, identifies, and returns homes the remains of Troops lost in Viet Nam, Korea, and WWII on a regular basis.
Many of these successes are reported here: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/powmia/
“this administration doesn’t do anything in this election year without some sort of political calculation.”
You mean every administration in every election year?
They haven’t done anything in the past 4 years without some sort of political calculation. This doofus is still on the campaign trail.