Dick Cheney Called A Coward....I Couldn't Agree More

actually, I kinda distrust anyone that has served in the military. I certainly wouldn't trust me in a position of grave responsibility. (that's why I became a social worker)

you are so busted dude, along with the sanctimonious prick you emulate.... good job there Joe and you can spin my meaning all you want if it makes you feel better.......but you understand it, and so do the rest of us.

and let me add that it's not the going to war that makes me disgusted......it's the gleeful hard on for it that all you arm chair war quarterbacks are constantly stroking......

Ok,lets look at the record.I have posted this before,but if you cant or wont look it up,I will post it again for you...

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1932, he attended Princeton University on scholarship (AB, 1954) and served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as a Naval aviator.


Biography of Secretary Tom Ridge
Secretary of Homeland Security
After his first year at The Dickinson School of Law, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi
Mr. Principi is a 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., and first saw active duty aboard the destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy. He later commanded a River Patrol Unit in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

( I believe that would make him qualified to comment on Kerry's record)

Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta
After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, Mineta joined the Army in 1953 and served as an intelligence officer in Japan and Korea.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
Secretary Powell was a professional soldier for 35 years, during which time he held myriad command and staff positions and rose to the rank of 4-star General. His last assignment, from October 1, 1989 to September 30, 1993, was as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. During this time, he oversaw 28 crises, including Operation Desert Storm in the victorious 1991 Persian Gulf war.


Are you now going to say that these men are not qualified to determine if the military should be used or not?
Are you now going to say that none of the Bush cabinet is an experienced combat vet?

Yeah, those are some of the guys, we were assured by some Republican breathen before the last election, who were supposed to guide the Dolt in Chief. "Don't worry, " they said, "yes, we know he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he'll be surrounded by some of the best minds in Washington."

Why doesn't Powell resign? I don't get it.

And for the record, it's been the NON-experienced in War who want others to experience it for them. Cheney, Wolfowitz, Pearle

Who did Cheney call a coward?

Let's return to Brandon's original question:

Was seeking deferments from the draft during the Vietnam war dishonorable? By Harkin's estimation, there are a whole lot of cowards running around the country and they sure ain't all Republicans.

And how was Brandon "busted?"

Are we now required to present military credentials before commenting upon a military issue? If so, did you serve BiPo? How about you rabel?

I didn't serve. The draft ended before I turned 19. I suppose I could have volunteered when I was 18, but since I was convinced that the Vietnam War was a huge mistake, and I didn't want to get my ass shot up for a huge mistake, I didn't. Does that make me a coward? Does it disqualify me from stating opinions on whether or not the US should go to war?

Here is what prompted Harkin's jackass tirade:

Cheney said in Iowa "that presidential candidate John Kerry lacks a basic understanding of the war on terrorism and cannot make America safer."

Is this calling Kerry a coward or minimizing his service during Vietnam?

Are Kerry supporters saying that because Kerry served with valor in Vietnam, he automatically understands the nature of the war on terrorism, and that to question the depth of this understanding is denigrating his service?

Does his service make his ideas sacrosanct? Kerry may hope this is the case but do you really go along with this?

My father served in Korea and won a bronze star and he supported the war in Vietnam. I guess he was right and I was wrong. After all, his combat experience had to have provided him with a sufficient understanding of war, where I had none.

What about the Vietnam veterans who have no use for Kerry? Doesn't their service count?

John Edwards made some bold comments about destroying al Qaeda during his speech at the convention. He never served. Presumably he didn't mean he intended to personally hunt them down and destroy them so he was talking about sending someone else's kids out there to do the job. No problem with this?

You guys should actually be glad Bush I and II took America to war. How else would we have anyone qualified to be president in the years ahead?

Since Bush and Cheney have us in the middle of the Iraq war we dont have much choice but to stay to the end. But we dont have to like it and we dont have to let Cheney and Halburton make a fortune on the deathes of our young men and women who had to go to war wether they wanted to or not. Its easy to send someone else to do your fighting for you when you are setting on your behind declaring that anyone against war is unamerican while makeing money hand over fist with no bid contracts.

As to the Vietnaum vetrans who dont like Kerry of course thier service counts. This isent even a rational statement. The war isent the fault of the soilders fighting and dieing. No one of any intellagence blames them. They are doing thier duty as seen by The warmongers Bush and Cheney who were too CS to fight in the Vietnaum war. I cant imagine the kind of mind it takes to force young people too do things they were too fearful to do themselves.

I want to ask a question.

When did John Edwards serve?
If the whole argument is that Bush/Cheney have no right to order someone else to do what they were "afraid" to do,then why are the dems supporting Edwards?

After all,Edwards NEVER served his country,he NEVER wore the uniform.
So,since he never served,he is not qualified to order anyone in the military to do anything.
He refused to be in the military,he refused to put his life on the line,so he is not qualified either.
Now,since that is part of the argument the left is using about Bush/Cheney,then the left must also refuse to support Edwards for VP for exactly the same reason.
To do anything less would be a massive case of hypocrisy.

Oh, stop. You know this is not about serving or not serving. This is about the reasons and means for not serving and, in particular, not serving during Viet Nam. The conduct of some in this country, who supported the war but made sure others went in their place, whether by getting serial deferments or politically connected places in what was then the safe harbor of the National Guard is a legitimate cause for criticism.

You know well and good what it was like in the sixties. Dick Cheney worked the system while others without the means got their names enscribed on the Wall. George Bush loafed his way through his guard duty, "fulfilled the time requirement" then they both went off like they had done something good for their country when their only concern was themselves.

I'm not sure I agree that this is what this thread has been all about, but I agree with your point. The described conduct is a legitimate cause for criticism.

It turns out that Harkin was actually stationed in Japan and his flying duties consisted of ferrying aircraft to the Philippines from Japan to be repaired.

Does it ever end?

I was pretty definitely a coward, I hid behind every tree and lay in every ditch I could find, I get that way when people are shooting at me.

BBB
For those of you who may not know, Dyslexia served in active combat zones during the Vietnam war.

Dys, I glad you found enough trees and ditches in which to survive. However, you being so skinny, you probably could have hidden behind twigs and in mud holes.

BBB :wink:

I'm privileged to know Dys. Man can tell stories... the room quiets down.


I guess I should edit to say that I don't mean he talks directly about combat, at least in my short time of meeting him, but his life experience rings true as he mesmerizes whoever is in earshot.

I've never lain in a ditch with dys. I've never lain with him at all.

The coward!!!!!