There has been widespread media coverage of a charge against Trump that originated in The Atlantic that he disparaged our fallen Military. The Atlantic article, by Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, truly is horrendous, starting with the fact that it is based on the claims of 4 unnamed persons. Unnamed? Hey, Goldberg: if you can't name them, you shouldn't be citing them.
It starts with the claim that Trump cancelled a visit to the Aisne-Marne cemetery outside Paris for America's fallen from World War 1. The claim goes that he referred to the 1800 Americans who died in the Battle of Belleau Wood as "suckers" for going over there. But wait. There was a draft during World War 1. Over 70% of the Americans who fought in World War 1 were conscripted. This is from the Library of Congress.
https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2018/06/wwi-draft/
So, they weren't suckers; they were victims; victims of their own government. The Selective Service Act of 1917 was passed precisely because Americans didn't want to fight in World War 1. And can you blame them? One guy, the Archduke Ferdinand, got killed, and as a result, the whole world went to war? IT WAS INSANE!
And who started the war? Who wanted it? It certainly wasn't the Germans. They had no objectives that they were pursuing through war. They weren't trying to gain anyone's territory. They did everything they could to stop the war from happening. But, when both France and Russia "mobilized" their large armies on their German borders, poised to attack, the Germans felt intolerably vulnerable. So, they attacked first, against France, going through Belgium.
I wish to God they hadn't. If I could go back in time to warn someone not to do something, it would be to implore Kaiser Wilhelm not to strike first, that no matter how exposed he thought he was, he should force the other side, who actually wanted war, to strike first. HE DIDN'T WANT THE WAR. So, he should have refused to start it. He should have told them, "You're the one who wants war; not me. So, if there is going to be one, you are going to have to start it."
So, Germany only started the war in the strategic sense. They were not gunning for war, and they had no war objectives. It was the English and the French who wanted war with them. And, the English and French finagled the gullible and witless Tsar Nicholas to join them, to his ultimate demise, which was also planned.
So, who were the bad guys in World War 1? It was the Allies. The Germans were just tricked into making the first move. Why did the U.S.get involved? It was because Wilson was itching to play Commander in Chief, plus, the big bankers wanted the war, as they always do. World War 1 was a catastrophe, a cataclysm, a man-made disaster of unspeakable proportion. ANYONE WHO CLAIMS THAT AMERICANS DIED IN IT FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM IS OUT OF HIS MIND. Our freedom wasn't defended by the war; it was destroyed.
But, Goldberg spewed the phony and syrupy patriotism with talk of consequential battles and venerated ground. From World War 1? Are you kidding? Holy Mother of God! How could anyone be that deluded in the year 2020?
And then, Goldberg tripped over the truth.
“Who were the good guys in this war?” Trump asked. He also said that he didn’t understand why the United States would intervene on the side of the Allies.
Touche, Donald, if you really said that.
But, enough about World War 1, so Goldberg moved on to the Vietnam War and John McCain. At least 3 million Southeast Asians were killed by the United States when it decided to intervene in Vietnam's civil war. We targeted civilians; we poisoned their land and water; and we left a legacy of horrific birth defects that continues to this day. It was a crime, Goldberg. Our whole war over there was a crime. The heroes of the Vietnam War weren't the John McCains. Martin Luther King was a hero of the Vietnam War for the way he denounced it. And the same goes for Muhammad Ali.
Then, Goldberg moved on to Afghanistan, that 19 year war to unseat the Taliban, killing hundreds of thousands of Afghans and destroying the country, but which is now moving toward reinstating the Taliban. It was an illegal war, Goldberg. We demanded that they turn over Osama bin laden to us, but the U.S. didn't even have an extradition treaty with Afghanistan at the time. No proof of bin laden's 9/11 guilt was ever presented to them- or to us. And we should have learned from World War 1 that you don't start a war over one guy, whether it's the Archduke Ferdinand or Osama bin laden. And that's because wars kill innocent people- mostly innocent people- and you have no right to kill them.
By the way, Goldberg: what about you? Did you serve in the Military?
We can go on deceiving ourselves about the bloodied truth about U.S. wars, and there will always be journalists like Goldberg to feed our self-delusions. But, to get to a just U.S. war, you need to ask when was the last time the U.S.was actually attacked? And that was the war of 1812. And before you cite the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, you need to read Day of Deceit: The Truth about FDR and Pearl Harbor by Robert Stinnett.
https://www.amazon.com/Day-Deceit-Truth-About-Harbor/dp/0743201299
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