Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 73 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 2/16/13  

America The Not-So-Beautiful

By       (Page 3 of 4 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   4 comments

Hal O'Leary
Message Hal O'Leary
Become a Fan
  (9 fans)

 

Connect the dots.

 

This brings us to the Big War, WWII, and as in WWI, America found it necessary to secretly supply the English with arms and munitions through a "lend-lease" program. This time, however, it was not the Zionists who persuaded us, nor the sinking of a ship that took us to war, it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. It came as a great surprise to all but the high-ranking officials who had manipulated Japan into a desperate situation that all but demanded that they strike. This bit of chicanery was followed by the shameful incarceration of thousands of Japanese-American citizens on the west coast a distinct violation of the Constitution. At the end of the war in Europe in which I had participated, a deserting German soldier and I became very close friends. It was then that we both came to realize how utterly insane it was. All wars are fought by the poor for no other reason than to increase the obscene wealth of the rich. Insane, because it was not inconceivable to think that each of us could have killed the other. However, this insanity could in no way match the horror of the inexcusable bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With them came the sudden realization that mankind had arrived at a point wherein we might very well do ourselves in.

 

Connect the dots.

 

The Korean war was euphemistically referred to as a "United Nations police action" with a rather hefty loss of more than 2,000,000 lives; some police action. It was really a proxy war between two ideologies to determine the military strength of each just as was the Spanish Civil war. It is the only major war in history never to have ended. There were, however winners and losers, as there are in every war. There were the losers who died, for no other reason than to make the winning bankers and armaments manufacturers even richer.

 

Connect the dots.

 

In the Vietnam war that followed 58,183 American soldiers died, and more than 1.3 million Vietnamese soldiers and more than 4 million civilians were killed or wounded. However, this does not take into account the fact that because of the use of chemical weapons, people are still dying, all at a cost to the American taxpayer of 165 billion dollars. This horror story is the result of the little lie of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which never occurred. It was reported that the USS Maddox had been attacked by North Vietnamese patrol boats, and this report, although known to be false, was used to persuade the American public to support a war that should never have been fought. It is interesting to note that we now find an America that had never lost a war up to and including WWII in the position of having fought a stalemate in Korea, and having lost in Vietnam.   Then, of course, came a very dubious victory in Iraq and, after more than two decades of fighting, we find ourselves with the distinct possibility of losing to the Taliban in Afghanistan as had both the British and the Soviets before us.

 

Connect the dots.

 

These last two bombings and incursions into, first Afghanistan, for complicity in the attacks on 9/11 for which there is insufficient evidence, and then Iraq for possessing weapons of mass destruction that were never found. These are international crimes against humanity. It might be wise to look into the dots that reflect a truth that must, in some fashion, be dealt with. Apart from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the most pressing issue to be resolved, if we are to survive, is the issue of accountability for 9/11. If a propeller-driven light aircraft crashes anywhere in the United States the Federal Aviation Administration is on the scene within hours for a thorough investigation. Here, we have four alleged crashes with a loss of more than 3,000 lives and it took more than a year for the President to agree to a very limited investigation, and then only in response to tremendous pressure brought by the families of those who were killed. We would do well to connect a few dots here.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Well Said 1   Interesting 1   Valuable 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Hal O'Leary Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Hal O'Leary is an 88 year old veteran of WWII who, having spent his life in theatre, and as a Secular Humanist, believes that it is only through the arts that we are afforded an occasional glimpse into the otherwise incomprehensible. As an 'atheist (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

The Third Party

America The Not-So-Beautiful

American Education

If We Don't Demand a Return to Democratic Government Now, It May Be Lost Forever!

Should You Believe

Anti War Poetry Hal O'Leary

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend