Column: There's nothing honorable about U.S. military involvement in the world since WWII

In representing the American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Unit 18, Jenny Tracy’s column in the Herald-Times on May 13, 2022, thanks veterans for their honor and dedication to America’s values. She writes, “The ALA works diligently to adhere to the purpose of supporting and advocating for veterans, active military, and their families. Sharing with children the significance of Veterans Day provides an opportunity to teach about the concepts of courage and sacrifice, as well as hope.”

As we shared in the work of the Kiwanis Club of Bloomington in support of children, Jenny has been my friend for years. I support what she writes, but, sadly, there is much beyond patriotism at work that makes the military needed. Since WWII, there has been no military intervention anywhere that has served the values Jenny, I and most Americans, particularly not the elite, share.

Not often recognized is how “the domino theory” of the spread of Communism was false propaganda that fostered the wealth of the military/industrial complex. How? When the U.S. lost the Vietnam War, was there any clue communism was spread to other dominos? No, and the CIA, State Department and the Pentagon made sure not to mention it. In addition to the scare tactics of Sen. Joe McCarthy in the ‘50s, John and Allen Dulles did their best to undermine the world for the benefit of themselves and America’s wealthy elite.

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Stephen Kinzer writes, “… the brothers shared abiding faith in 'American Exceptionalism' which condones overthrowing governments and advancing American business interests as if these were a noble global good. Both men built personal fortunes as lawyers and partners in Sullivan & Cromwell. Their work frequently allowed them to act simultaneously in a governmental role and as client representatives, benefiting their firm, themselves and the client. They advanced the firm’s international legal and lobbying scope and influence, which continues today.”

From ahrp.org, “… the brothers drove America’s interventionist foreign policy on behalf of major corporate interests; economic preoccupations dominated their world view. Kinzer shows how they were jointly responsible for acts of extreme geopolitical myopia, grave operational incompetence and misguided adherence to a creed of corporate globalism. He shows how their “ruthlessly confrontational view of the world’’ is responsible in some or even large measure for the Cold War and anti-Americanism around the world.

“Fortified with confidence, they went forth to do battle, serenely and secretly, on behalf of capitalism and Christianity and against communism. They created secret prisons, recruited underground armies, and prompted killings and bombings around the world, most especially in Iran, Guatemala, Lebanon, and the Congo. …

“… the brothers confronted … Ho Chi Minh, the champion of Vietnamese independence. They dismissed the assessment of various world leaders who were convinced that Ho was more of a Vietnamese nationalist and an anti-colonialist than he was a dedicated communist loyal to the Soviet Union. Their effort to dislodge Ho failed and helped propel the United States into a protracted, bloody and losing war in Vietnam.”

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I went to Vietnam in 1969 and served as a combat platoon sergeant. In a VC ambush, Joe Wysong of Richmond, Indiana, died in my arms with an AK-47 round in his heart. All for nothing. In Vietnam, 58,000 Americans died. Millions of South Vietnamese died — murdered for the benefit of Sullivan & Cromwell, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Halliburton, not to forget folks in Congress who benefitted from the deep pockets of this ilk.

On the disastrous history of the United States of America’s interference in other counties since the Korean War, 1953, there has been nothing honorable about what we have done to people. Even today! Charles Fredericks writes, “It is clear that Ukraine is undergoing war crimes committed by Russia against a civilian population that made no threatening move towards them, but our analysis should not end there. … The common enemy of every nation, and life itself, are twin evils that avail themselves of any political system regardless its configuration, and they consistently reinforce each other: the global arms industry and the fossil fuel industry.”

Now, let’s talk about guns and millions of Americans deprived of health care …

The Rev. David Garshaw of Bloomington is a clergy member with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).