“All of these people on television, some of whom I have enormous respect for, it unsettles me to hear them say, listen, we the United States have to ‘do something’ in Ukraine, we have to ‘do something’ in Syria, we have to ‘do something’ in the waters around China, we have to ‘do something’ in Iraq, we have to ‘do something’ about ISIS. What they’re talking about are combat operations.
“My first question to anyone who’s on television saying ‘We have to get tough, we have to put boots on the ground, we have to go to war in one of these places’ is: I will hear you out if you tell me you are prepared to send your son, your daughter, your grandson, your granddaughter to that war for which you are beating the drums. If you aren’t I have no patience with you, and don’t even talk to me.”
Yes, exactly this.
I think Dan Rather has been treated terribly by his colleagues who should have come to his aid when he was being railroaded after he reported that George W. Bush had received preferential treatment to get into the National Guard and avoid being drafted, and that once there had shirked his responsibilities.
In fact though the documents used for the report have been challenged, the allegations are in fact correct.
Personally I think we need more prominent newsmen like Rather to say it like it is and point out over and over that those beating the war drums the loudest are those who know their children, and children's children will never have to bleed to death in the sands of a foreign land.
One of those calling for President Obama to send troops here and there, of course, is John McCain who yesterday was blithering on Fox News about how the president needed to do "stupid stuff" abroad. Now I have never had any respect for John McCain (and it annoys me to think that Dan Rather thinks he's worthy of it) but it seems clear to me that John McCain now needs to be taken away to a well padded room. Lindsay Graham can go along to be his helper.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
Gryph... you have my agreement on all counts... and Beaglemom... so do you!
ReplyDeleteDan Rather was done in by the new owners of CBS News -- the start of the moral decline of the news industry in the U.S., you know, when they started reporting the "news" according to their corporate masters.
ReplyDeleteRather's colleagues regard him as a trouble maker for violating the code of today's news actors: Report those things which are consistent with the interests of management; otherwise shut up.
ReplyDeleteDan Rather failed to worship at the altar of Commander Codpiece! Now it's Mission Accomplished in both Iraq and Afghanistan! Oh and $3.50 gas? Mission Accomplished there too!
DeleteI've been saying we need to reinstate the draft since "Desert Storm" with no exceptions for college. Most certainly we needed to reinstate it in 2001. We wouldn't be anywhere near the conflicts if we had. If the wars are a right and honorable thing to do, and if we value our soldiers above all else, it makes no sense to not support a draft - unless you're don't love your country.
ReplyDeleteThe US 'Police Force' (army, navy, air force, marines) have been in conflict somewhere in the world ever since I was born (1946). It's time we stopped. I can't remember a day when there wasn't some video of our troops shooting it out on TV. We have so much in our own country that needs fixing and we waste the lives of our people and spend too much of our tax dollars propping up ineffective dictators or fixing problems we have created overseas.
ReplyDeleteDan Rather got a raw deal. I am of the opinion that Karl Rove and his band of nasty operatives got the Rather story on Bush's service record discredited by underhanded methods.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that GW Bush dodged the draft by his family connections and he did go AWOL.
Rather hits the nail on the head, with all these war hawk idiots.
Remember when Granny Palin referenced going to war with Iran during the worst VP candidacy in modern times? What a genius she was. S
Yeah, just what we need to start another armed conflict after the 1 Trillion dollar travesty that was the war in Iraq.
The very DAY they started dropping bombs in Baghdad in 2003, I told my friends to mark it well, because it would end in tragedy, disaster, and a colossal waste of money and human treasure.
You cannot build a democracy of any sort in a country ruled by religious extremists with a tribal culture that overrules any other allegiance or ideology.
Eisenhower was right on the money with his assessment of the military industrial complex being uncontrollable, and Cheney's war in Iraq is one of the best examples.
If we spent just 10% of the military budget on things like repairing our roads, bridges, schools, and harbors, and train infrastructure we'd be a whole lot better off.
We could also put most of the nation's unemployed to work on those projects, and wipe out the high unemployment rate while investing in our future. European nations and China are doing exactly those types of projects,, while our infrastructure crumbles.
According to WIll McAvoy, we spend more than the next 26 nations combined , most of whom are allies.
For those of you who haven't heard it, watch this great smack down of the myth of how 'ceptional rill 'Murica is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBIMb5ZAY3g
Yes, we do have freedom of religion, speech, and a host of other rights, and it's still a great place to live if you're middle class and have a decent job, or you're wealthy.
If these war hawks get their way, they will put more military spending on the credit card, and the fat cats and neocon bastards will applaud yet again.
/rant -over
"Yes, we do have freedom of religion, speech, and a host of other rights".
ReplyDeleteYes, and so does every other first world country. Heck, they even consider healthcare a right, and not just a privilege for those who can afford it.
The conservatives (in my country too) don't seem to care very much about the future. They're concerned mainly with protecting the present and worshipping the past (or at least the past as they pretend to remember it).
And I would like to someone ask these chickenhawks if they're willing to tax the RICH to pay for their aggression?
ReplyDeleteI always and still admire Dan Rather for his honesty. And I'm fuming at the assclowns making a big deal over President Obama's vacation while a, b, c, and d are happening. The war in Iraq, brought to the world by President George W Bush and his cronies, was the pushing of a button that put all this in motion. It was the perfect storm, thanks to Carl Rove and brought to you by Halliburton.
ReplyDeleteAll these chickenhawks should sign a pledge that they'd send their kids to war now to help clean up the mess. Religious extremism, tribal cultures and "American Exceptionalism" are a lethal mix. They're all banging the drum again, and to what end? Will it bring "Democracy" where no one wants it? Fix the "middle east"?
We need to get other countries on board, there's no way Americans want boots on the ground.
I agree with you. I really miss Dan.
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