People aren’t as angry as they should be at what these jerks have done. They’ve been screwed over and can’t figure out their children and grandchildren have been robbed of their future because of these people in Washington. The Treasury was looted by these cretins and the money given out to friends and relatives.
It isn’t a “few bad apples” the whole damn orchard needs burning to prevent the spread of the disease.
]]>It will be a hard slog, but you do and will have friends. And Australia may be small in numbers, but we are huge in spirit and ability! π
We may not like *America*… but some of the individuals are OK! π LOL
Cheer up mate! AS we say… ‘She’ll be right!’ π Have faith in yourselves, that’s all you need! You were conned and your Nation was hijacked! You have a right to be royally pissed! SO, turn that into constructive energies and DO something about it! We did, you can. π
You (Americans) don’t have the time or the right to be standing around feeling sorry for yourselves right now! π
Cheers!
]]>There were so many different wars for different reasons going on at the same time as well as the various criminal activities that even a scorecard didn’t help. You would head for a “safe area” and hope the locals were still allies, but there were no guarantees.
Americans, in general, don’t know who our allies were in various “bush wars” around the world, and seriously doubt well have many available for the next problem after the Hedgemony.
It is going to be a long hard slog back to respectability. These goons have destroyed our credibility. If there high definition time lapse recordings of Syria building a reactor and making nuclear warheads, I wouldn’t be convinced if it was presented by anyone in the current administration.
]]>I think you would make a fine ANZAC. Thanks for everything, from all of us.
Cheers!
]]>The Spirit of ANZAC is an intangible thing. It is unseen, unpredictable, an unquenchable thirst for justice, freedom and peace. This phrase is synonymous with ‘The Spirit of the ANZACs’ which is frequently used to describe particular actions by, and qualities of, people. However, despite being intangible, the Spirit of ANZAC is a cornerstone which underpins our Australian image, way of life and indeed is an integral part of our heritage. Can it be defined?
Australia has never had a ‘Bill of Rights’. Until John Howard stole our nation and tried to sell us out to Bushland, we never needed one. We all had the ANZAC spirit, and understood what it meant to us all.
Australia has spent an inordinate amount of time fighting other people’s wars. Sometimes because it’s the right thing to do, sometime because it’s politically expedient or necessary (from a politician’s viewpoint of course), sometimes for other reasons. But few people really understand what we do and have done. How many know that Australian’s spent 11 years in Vietnam? We became involved in Aug ’62 and withdrew our last troops in June ’73 according to history. But the reality is that we were involved longer helping to clean up the mess in Laos and Cambodia after the Vietnam conflict was *officially* over. Of course, since many of those campaigns were UN ‘Peace Keeping Missions’, they don’t really count for many people. Some people do get it though. π
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your service and sacrifices in South Vietnam. I know the people of Phuoc Tuy/Ba Ria Province never forget you guys. My late grandfather spoke very fondly of you guys: Aussie and Kiwi servicemen. If one of your many missions was to win the heart and mind of people in Phuoc Tuy Province: You did.
Forever Grateful & Semper Fidelis, Captain T. T. Pham U.S. Marines
Born in Dat Do District in September 1970 Tuan-Anh T. Pham San Jose, CA USA
Winning the heart and mind… yes. Seems a quint notion these days.
Remember that at the time of the Vietnam Conflict, Australia had a population of less then 20million. Yet we sent almost 61,000 people to serve in Vietnam. Our combat and support forces spent most of their time in the field. The Royal Australian Army was involved in some 260 official ops (Operations) from ’65 to 71. An impressive number. The RAAF and RAN (and others) were also involved in many ops. One example of time spent on ops: 3 Troop C Squadron 1 Armoured Regiment spent 274 days in the field, and traveled 2,900 kilometers during its tour in South Vietnam, in 1968.
For anyone interested:
A Brief History of the Australian Forces in Vietnam
As for why Australia became involved in the Vietnam war, suffice to say that the Australian commitment to Vietnam was largely dictated by political concerns and was therefore limited by the same concerns. The predominant theory of defence during the sixties was the containment of communism and “Forward Defence”. Both of these policies relied heavily on the presence of America in Southeast Asia combating the perceived Chinese threat. In Vietnam, this translated into the policy of supporting American military involvement and encouraging the continuation of this involvement until such time as China was sufficiently dissuaded from any further adventuring or until Australia could more capably defend itself.
Regarding ANZAC, maybe this will help:
]]>Other than a few encounters in unnamed places during the unpleasantness in Southeast Asia, I didn’t know much about the Australian military, and then I saw the movie version of Gallipoli which lead to Breaker Morant, The Light Horse, et al. Although movies, they made me reread some of my military histories looking for the connections, which existed, but only in passing. The ANZAC were usually included in “and others”, rather than addressed separately. After becoming familiar with units, then you can trace what they were doing and where.
It sort of makes sense that your guys backed our stupidity – your politicians seemed to get involved with the whacko leaders of other countries, while you don’t start any wars on your own.
Back to the main point. When you are responsible for the lives of those who serve under you, you end up with their problems as well as your own. There’s enough trouble to go around without introducing religion into the mix. You need people focused and aware. I don’t want to be out in boonies with people who aren’t concerned with dying because they are on their way to paradise. It’s hard enough getting them to shed their personal problems to concentrate on a mission, I don’t want to fight with their belief system. Our job was not to be noticed if at all possible, so you didn’t need people who vocalized, or played with objects, or played with their equipment, or did anything that prevented us from hearing others before they could notice us. That takes a unit, not a group of people.
]]>Hall sounds like the perfect man to have at your back. No distractions and practical in the face of constant danger. I would rather go to war with a platoon of men like him than the moronic Major who will get good men killed. Australians KNOW a lot about intolerant fools like Welborn. Read our ANZAC history. We recently had ANZAC Day. Though all of the WW1 ANZAC veterans are now gone, we still remember in their honor. Because we want to ensure debacles like that NEVER happen again! The immortal words “Lest we forget!” are in every Australians psyche. America and other nations could do well to learn those lessons! I was so proud and pleased ANZAC day to see so many of the young generation participating and understanding what it’s all about. π It almost makes my year in hell worth it, that’s something I guess. π
]]>There is truth in Marx’s comment, “religion is the opium of the people,” because it does help some people deal with their pain and turmoil. I have no problem with that. But those people had better be watching my back, because that’s their job. If they are praying instead of watching, that is a problem that is going to get people killed. War is serious business that requires all of your attention.
When religion becomes an issue in a combat unit, you no longer have a unit and people are going to die because of it. That’s why there a military directives forbidding superiors of discussing it with their subordinates.
There are atheists in foxholes – that’s where a lot of people become atheists and no few become Quakers.
]]>I am not in the military, but I have been in work-related situations in which my supervisors insisted on discussing religion. Did tension result? You bet it did. Did “unit cohesion” suffer? No kidding. And my bosses weren’t even legal representatives of the U.S. government, as military commanding officers necessarily are.
My religion (no, I’m not an atheist) isn’t even that unusual in the United States, but I am not a Christian. And I am certain that allowing commanding officers to proselytize soldiers under battlefield conditions is not what our nation’s founders had in mind when they spoke of religious freedom. There is no freedom to impose your beliefs on someone else under the most stressful job-related conditions, especially if you are legally a representative of the government. The First Amendment means that, or it means nothing.
If Welborn did as he is alleged to have done, he is completely out of line. There are, indeed, atheists in (metaphorical) foxholes, and no commander has a right to make them talk about it.
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