-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.tampatrib.com/news/comm100w.htm">Click here: http://www.tampatrib.com/news/comm100w.htm </A> 5/31/99 -- 7:10 AM Tell me, Mr. President ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Mr. President: I'm an ardent patriot and former Vietnam fighter pilot, and I believe that British statesman Edmund Burke was right on when he said, ``All that is necessary for the forces of evil to prevail in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.'' Daring to criticize your disheartening leadership is a task not equal to the deeds of those good men we honor this Memorial Day, but an obedient combat vet and passionate lover of America can do no less. BOD: In Vietnam I served under a commander in chief whom history rightfully judges harshly. You, too, for good cause, are concerned about how history will judge you, yet you're making the same egregious errors as LBJ, ignoring the advice of military experts and waging your version of war with all the conceit of a political demagogue, telegraphing punches and publicizing strategy. Mr. President, using America's courageous aviators and their fabulous flying machines for ``Star Wars'' visual effects on the evening news is frightfully frivolous warfare. Employing America's awesome air power as cheap grace under the command of General Gallup Poll will not put you among the great leaders of history. Hypothetically, sir, if England responded to the rebels in Ireland as Israel and Milosevic respond to theirs, would you announce bombing attacks on the United Kingdom? Why is the quarrel in Kosovo so much more important to American interests than the infinitely worse genocide in Rwanda? Why should the Serbs believe what a highly respected Democrat calls ``an unusually good liar''? And tell me, Mr. President, why should the citizenry cut you more slack in moral rectitude than you demand of the soldiers you command? Back when you were doing your best to avoid becoming a vet, patriots of my generation willingly answered our country's call to help defend a small nation of farmers from communist aggression. Thanks to your efforts and others', America abandoned an ally on the battlefield for the first time in its history, leading to genocide of holocaust proportions. What did you learn from that experience? On The Mall in Washington, D.C., 58,200 souls, including eight of my friends, are memorialized for doing what you lacked the courage and patriotism to do. What, sir, is your rationale for asking today's young men to do what you would not? How do you justify casting America's fighter pilots in harm's way in an internal conflict far less clear-cut than the one you considered ``immoral'' in your draft-age years? On this Memorial Day, if the heroes listed on that granite wall were to rise from their graves, how would you explain to them your concept of duty, honor and country? Sir, history will be hard on leaders who use wars to divert attention from vile behavior and alarming legal questions. Fortunately for America, the soldiers you ``loathed'' in other times still follow your orders, but they're not dolts. They're leaving the service in droves, forcing your ``stop-loss'' order to bolt the exits. In the twilight of the last century, Rudyard Kipling spoke to this issue when he cast his acute poetic eye on the relationship between the soldier and a self-absorbed British society. In ``Tommy,'' a ballad about a private in the British Army, he concluded: For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' ``chuck him out, the brute'' But it's ``Saviour of 'is country'' when the guns begin to shoot; An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please; An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees! Sir Rudyard's reasoned rhymes still rule in America. If Kipling were now in the Colonies, he might add these verses to his classic: When Billy was of draft age, Southeast Asia was the cause; Tho' Uncle called, he ducked it without a moment's pause. Now 'e's safe within the White House, the artful dodger yet, Impeachment proof an' O so brave, when Kosovo's the bet. For it's Tommy this an' Tommy that, but when Billy needs a boost, 'E throws Tommy to the lions, to keep the chickens off the roost. An' it's Tommy this an' Tommy that an' any war's OK As long as it's not Billy boy they're chuckin' in harm's way. The good men we venerate today put God, duty, honor and country ahead of self. History will reward you if you do likewise, sir. If not, perhaps it will be said of us, as of Old Testament Israel in Jeremiah's day, that we deserved you. BOD: From the heart of a vet, -------------- J.D. Wetterling <A HREF="http://www.jdwetterling.com/">JD Wetterling the Author </A> Mr. Wetterling, a stockbroker with Dean Witter in Clearwater, Fla., is the author of a novel based on his service in Vietnam, "SON OF THUNDER" You can visit J.D., preview his novel and read more of his moving articles by clicking here. This atricle first appeared in The Wall Street Journal. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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