“Freedom isn’t Free” means more than sending American troops off to war, it requires the participatory citizenship of Americans here at home.
As it was with Vietnam, the War on Terror was a war of choice advocated for long before a political justification was introduced. Vietnam had its Gulf of Tonkin incident and the attacks of 9/11/01 brought us the 9/11 Wars. Investigative journalist Pepe Escobar’s “This war brought to you by” from 3/20/03 described how the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) had been lobbying since 1997 for wars in the Middle East and Asia. Retired General Wesley Clark was told by colleagues in the Pentagon just 9 days after the attacks of 9/11/01 that the upcoming War on Terror planned for the overthrow and regime change of 7 countries in 5 years (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran), as per the PNAC paper of September 2000. So far 5 of the 7 countries have been overthrown or destabilized, and Iran and Lebanon remain in the crosshairs of the current administration.
The government’s official story concerning the Gulf of Tonkin incident proved to be a deliberate misleading of the American people. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution, passed just 3 days after the supposed attack on U.S. destroyers off the coast of North Vietnam, allowed the White House to wage war in Vietnam for the next 8 years until the American people had had enough of it. The Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) passed overwhelmingly by Congress 3 days after the attacks of 9/11/01, with no investigation and very little debate, also gave the White House a blank check to wage war on “terrorism” … a behavior, not a nation state … anywhere and on anyone on the planet it saw fit. The AUMF of 9/14/01 continues to this day to be the sole justification used for the ongoing 9/11 Wars.
The “Masters of War” learned from Vietnam; next time do not impose a military draft, buy up and consolidate the media to control the messaging and reporting, and then get the entertainers and talking heads to celebrate anyone who wears a uniform as a “hero” for keeping us safe and protecting our “freedoms”. Let’s also remember Reich Marshall Hermann Goering’s statement at Nuremberg, “The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.” So any questioning or protest of our wars abroad risks being viewed by one’s fellows as not supporting our troops sent into harm’s way on what history has shown most often to be a lie.
Until we the American people perform our own due diligence regarding the government’s “justification” for putting our troops into harm’s way, to include holding accountable to the fullest extent of the law those who have misled us into war, “thank you for your service” is not enough.
Also Read: “Veterans’ Oath and Freedom” by Phil C. Restino
Restino of Port Orange, FL is spokesperson for the Central Florida chapter of the national peace, truth and justice organization We Are Change. For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/WeAreChangeCFL or call (386) 788-2918.
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We all have a choice of whether or not to participate in their wars against the rest of the world. Even during the period of the draft, we still had a choice. Unfortunately, those with a misguided or under-developed sense of morality chose and continue to choose to serve the corporate overlords by joining the military in their ‘wars of profit’. It has always been beyond me to comprehend how anyone would allow complete strangers, i.e. the politicians, the generals, the mass media, etc. to TELL them who are their friends and who are their enemies, to the point of being willing to go out and KILL other complete strangers on orders.
I will never suffer from PTSB; I refused to participate 50 years ago and have a clear conscience.
I have to agree. Our poor veterans were duped into fighting false flag wars since the inception of this nation, which did little but destroy families on both sides (the plan all along). The Revolutionary War was financed on both sides by King George III of France, who then was Prince Elector of the Roman Empire, Great Britain and the United States of America. We didn’t win independence from Great Britain as proven by the fact we pay tribute to them via taxes. We are still British subjects, and of course since the treaty of 1213 Britain is owned by the Vatican. The Vatican is “our daddy”.
Treaty of Paris, 1783, seven whole years after we supposedly won independence, this treaty was written: “It having pleased the Divine Providence to dispose the Hearts of the most Serene and most Potent Prince George the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lunebourg, Arch- Treasurer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire etc.. and of the United States of America, to forget all past Misunderstandings and Differences that have unhappily interrupted the good Correspondence and Friendship which they mutually wish to restore; and to establish such a beneficial and satisfactory Intercourse between the two countries upon the ground of reciprocal Advantages and mutual Convenience as may promote and secure to both perpetual Peace and Harmony; and having for this desirable End already laid the Foundation of Peace & Reconciliation by the Provisional Articles signed at Paris on the 30th of November 1782, by the Commissioners empowered on each Part, which Articles were agreed to be inserted in and constitute the Treaty of Peace proposed to be concluded between the Crown of Great Britain and the said United States, but which Treaty was not to be concluded until Terms of Peace should be agreed upon between Great Britain & France, and his Britannic Majesty should be ready to conclude such Treaty accordingly: and the treaty between Great Britain & France having since been concluded, his Britannic Majesty & the United States of America, in Order to carry into full Effect the Provisional Articles above mentioned, according to the Tenor thereof, have constituted & appointed, that is to say his Britannic Majesty on his Part, David Hartley, Esqr., Member of the Parliament of Great Britain, and the said United States on their Part, – stop point – John Adams, Esqr., late a Commissioner of the United States of America at the Court of Versailles, late Delegate in Congress from the State of Massachusetts, and Chief Justice of the said State, and Minister Plenipotentiary of the said United States to their High Mightinesses the States General of the United Netherlands; – stop point – Benjamin Franklin, Esqr., late Delegate in Congress from the State of Pennsylvania, President of the Convention of the said State, and Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America at the Court of Versailles; John Jay, Esqr., late President of Congress and Chief Justice of the state of New York, and Minister Plenipotentiary from the said United States at the Court of Madrid; to be Plenipotentiaries for the concluding and signing the Present Definitive Treaty; who after having reciprocally communicated their respective full Powers have agreed upon and confirmed the following Articles.
The point is that being “duped” is really no excuse. Especially now. It takes someone who is utterly disengaged with life to be able to ignore the fact that is known by all, which is that we are being lied to. Our fearless leaders lie to us about everything. There is absolutely no truth at all that is allowed to be expressed in public media, and everybody knows it. Therefore, being duped is no longer even possible for anyone with a pulse. The only way to stop this insanity is to stop enlisting. Just stop. No excuses. The consequences for not enlisting could not possibly be more grim than those that come from joining any arm of the military.
Kenneth, this is the clearest expression of the truth of military “service” I have ever read. Your sentiments reflect mine exactly, and I hope the same is true for others, many others. I fear that personal morality is becoming extinct in favor of collectivism that places an immoral definition of patriotism before any respect for life itself.
Of course the question no one wants to raise on such a day as today is what exactly were they fighting for and for who?
“…The power to declare war is a serious responsibility. Why were the framers so vague in defining the parameters of war and the conditions under which it could be declared? Section 8, Clause 11 is the only place of significance where warfare is mentioned in the Constitution. Little wonder this power has been abused. Luther Martin [one of Maryland’s delegates to the Constitutional Convention] protested:
‘…the congress have also a power given them to raise and support armies, without any limitation as to numbers, and without any restriction in time of peace. Thus, sir, this plan of government, instead of guarding against a standing army, that engine of arbitrary power, which has so often and so successfully been used for the subversion of freedom, has in its formation given it an express and constitutional sanction….’40
“John Quincy Adams [prophetically] predicted the consequences of America’s international military entanglements:
‘America … has abstained from interference in the concerns of others, even when the conflict has been for principles to which she clings…. Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions, and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.… She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy and ambition, which assume the colors, and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force; the frontlet on her brow would no longer beam with the ineffable splendor of freedom and independence; but in its stead would soon be substituted an imperial diadem, flashing in false and tarnished luster, the murky radiance of dominion and power. She might become the dictatress of the world: she would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit.’41
“Because the framers provided no Biblical parameters, unbiblical warfare has been the rule ever since. Following is a list of the countries bombed by the United States since World War II:….
“From 1945 to the present [2012], the United States has bombed nineteen different countries under the guise of defending America’s sovereignty and promoting democracy. But America is none the better for it, and not one of these countries has become a legitimate democracy – not that this would be anything to celebrate. Something is amiss. Wars fought for political gain or financial profit can only be classified as ungodly acts of aggression….”
For more, see Chapter 4 “Article 1: Legislative Usurpation” of free online book “Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective.” Click on my name, then our website. Go to our Online Books page, click on the top entry, and scroll down to Chapter 4.
Then find out how much you really know about the Constitution as compared to the Bible. Take our 10-question Constitution Survey in the right-hand sidebar and receive a complimentary copy of a book that examines the Constitution by the Bible.
It is less complicated than all this. The constitution, in fact, makes it quite plain that Congress must declare a war before a war can be legally fought. And which war, exactly, since the end of WW II has been formally declared by congress? The fault is ours, for allowing ourselves to become complacent and self-satisfied, and continuing to re-elect crooked and debauched congressmen term after term. Here’s Trump doing exactly what Hillary would have done; his utter damnedest to start WW III, and the very people who should be screaming loudest to put a stop to it are either cheering him on, or hating me for being white. It’s too bad we can’t just live in interesting times; we’ve been thrust into ridiculously idiotic times to boot.
Have you seen the bumper sticker that says, “Proud Vietnam Vet”? The simple math would suggest that for every one of those stickers, there’s a thousand people who support it. There’s the root of the real problem, and it’s a spiritual one. I suggest this fourth turning will be the bloodiest in history. I wish I was wrong.
“Thank you is not enough” BULL DREN, since the end of the draft, these people went in on their own, no one forced them, before and after the draft, the US military went to war for the bankers, oil, minerals, it had NOTHING to do with protecting our freedom.