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Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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 Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:48 am Post subject: Al Qaeda learned from Somalia. Thank you, Clinton and Aspin |
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The US Military Academy has been translating captured letters from Afghanistan relating to the state of affairs in Africa and Asia in the mid-90s. Among them is this 'lesson learned' from Somalia.
| Quote: | The Muslim victory in Somalia over the America[ns] has profound implications ideologically, politically, and psychologically that will require lengthy studies. You have the duty to record notes about these implications and keep them until it is time to study them in depth. Just the same, there is an important observation that we must not ignore, which is that the Americans were not defeated militarily in Somalia. Effective human and economic losses were not inflicted on them. All that happened was that the Somali battle revealed many of their psychological, political, and perhaps military weaknesses.
The Somali experience confirmed the spurious nature of American power and that it has not recovered from the Vietnam complex. It fears getting bogged down in a real war that would reveal its psychological collapse at the level of personnel and leadership. Since Vietnam America has been seeking easy battles that are completely guaranteed. |
(Source)
This impression of America was easily accepted by the terrorists after the utter debacle of Mogadishu (Blackhawk down) in which Clinton and his SecDef, Les Aspin, first turned GHW Bush's humanitarian food mission into what they thought would be a splendid little war that would give them hawk credentials.
Then, the instant it went bad, Clinton and Aspin refused to send reinforcing equipment and literally bugged out of the conflict. I will never forget the picture in the paper of a baggy-suited Clinton heroically 'leading' a platoon of returning soldiers, guidon flying, across the White House lawn. A sickening display of hubris.
That unnecessary defeat emboldened the enemy we face today. Aspin is dead and Clinton is the toast of the speaking circuit, drawing upwards of $250,000 per to trash GHW's son.
Forgive my bitterness. The man is just unredeemable. And he wants back into the sacred halls of the White House in any role he can get.
Schadow
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Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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LewWaters
Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 4042
Location: Washington State
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| Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 5:43 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | The Somali experience confirmed the spurious nature of American power and that it has not recovered from the Vietnam complex. It fears getting bogged down in a real war that would reveal its psychological collapse at the level of personnel and leadership. Since Vietnam America has been seeking easy battles that are completely guaranteed. |
Thank you, sKerry, Hanoi Jane, Ramsey Clark and the rest of the unAmercian anti-war left!!
While they affirmed American lack of will to stand and fight in Somalia, the groundwork was laid when General Giaps decisive defeat in Tet of '68 was transformed into a great victory for North Viet Nam by the likes of Walter Cronkite.
The Viet Nam conflict was essentially over with until Giap heard the anti-war left and found America's Achilles heel. Ever since, the anti-war Socialists have had center stage in American Politics and have even infiltrated colleges, high schools and even the government.
They have fed groups like Al Qeada showing all they have to do is hang tough for a while and America will run. Sad to say, but freedom lovers that are willing to stand and fight for freedom and what is right are shouted down in favor of defeatism.
While we can see from the letters that Al Qeada did indeed affirm what they knew all along, we can't help but add that it was the likes of Senator sKerry, with his treasonous testimony before the Fulbright Commission, slandering Veterans of Viet Nam, that laid the groundwork in the first place. |
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BuffaloJack
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 1637
Location: Buffalo, New York
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| Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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Swift Boats - Qui Nhon (12/69-4/70), Cat Lo (4/70-5/70), Vung Tau (5/70-12/71) |
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GenrXr
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 1720
Location: Houston
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 1:51 am Post subject: |
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The 2 Delta snipers who got the congressional Medal Of Honor during the 'Black Hawk Down' incident had their engagement against the Somali's completely removed and changed to appeal to the sensibilities of the public. This is very similar to the US media not broadcasting the people jumping out of the windows of the World Trade Center and not showing beheadings. Supposedly to protect our sensitive side, yet they know it would piss us off and make our resolve to fight the enemy even stronger.
Why was the Delta sniper story changed? Because it would scare the **** out of Muslims to know that 2 men were responsible for a couple hundred Somali deaths. Or was it because the Pentagon was afraid of an American perception that the military trains people to kill their enemy within the military? The whole point of the military is to kill and our enemy should know how well we accomplish that task.
_________________
"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy |
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Al_Hawaii
Seaman Recruit
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Posts: 35
Location: Mililani, HI
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:31 am Post subject: |
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The two Delta snipers, MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shuggart, were awarded the MOH posthumously. They were both killed at the scene of the crashed Black Hawk piloted by CWO Michael Durant. The story wasn't changed, the only survivor from the crash site was Durant.
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Aloha,
Al
Viet Nam 71/72
Persian Gulf 90/91 |
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Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:29 am Post subject: |
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| Al_Hawaii wrote: | | The two Delta snipers, MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shuggart, were awarded the MOH posthumously. They were both killed at the scene of the crashed Black Hawk piloted by CWO Michael Durant. The story wasn't changed, the only survivor from the crash site was Durant. |
Randy Shuggart's father made Clinton remember the Medal of Honor award ceremony by refusing a handshake and placing the blame for his son's death right where it belonged. An act of courage right up there with his son's.
From The London Sunday Times :
| Quote: | May 29, 1994
Dead Hero’s Father Tears into Clinton
It was the moment President Bill Clinton wanted to restore his tattered reputation with the military before his departure for the D-Day celebrations in Europe this week, James Adams reports.
He had just presented posthumous Congressional Medals of Honour, America’s highest military decoration, to the widows of two soldiers for valour in Somalia. After inviting the families for a moment of quiet reflection in the Oval Office, the president approached Herbert Shughart, the father of one of the two soldiers, and offered his hand.
To his astonishment the handshake was declined. ‘’You are not fit to be president of the United States,'’ said Shughart Senior. ‘’The blame for my son’s death rests with the White House and with you. You are not fit to command.'’
The president reeled and the unprecedented onslaught continued for some minutes. According to witnesses it was a ‘’highly charged emotional moment'’ which resulted in Clinton trying to explain to Shughart,Sr. why the events of that day last October were not his fault.
Shughart and his colleague, both sergeants, were killed trying to rescue fellow rangers from a vicious fire-fight in which 18 died and 75 were wounded. A later Pentagon investigation revealed that the troops had been refused the right equipment and there was no political or military plan to justify the American presence in Somalia. Although the president has tried to escape the blame, he is largely credited with the failure of the whole American effort to bring peace to Somalia. According to witnesses to the Oval Office scene, the Shughart family remained unconvinced by the president’s arguments.
‘’The medal doesn’t help anything, other than that we are grateful that Randy will be remembered in such an honourable way,'’ said Lois Shughart, the soldier’s mother. |
(emphasis mine)
Schadow
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Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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GenrXr
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 1720
Location: Houston
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:31 am Post subject: |
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| Al_Hawaii wrote: | | The two Delta snipers, MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shuggart, were awarded the MOH posthumously. They were both killed at the scene of the crashed Black Hawk piloted by CWO Michael Durant. The story wasn't changed, the only survivor from the crash site was Durant. |
The official as well as the story as reported by Mark Bowden in Black Hawk Down is completely different from what Bowden was reporting to the Philadelphia newspaper in his daily column prior to making a book about the incident.
The original story was Durants account of what happened, yet this was changed to what we see in Black Hawk Down.
Maybe Bowden was full of it when he originally reported to the newspaper. Only person who knows this story is Durant and he has never said anything about the differences in the stories.
_________________
"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy |
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