Iraqi Vets The Next Vietnam Vets

The Next Vietnam Vets

Everyone has heard how the Vietnam veterans were treated upon coming home. Sadly I believe we are about to see history repeats itself. This time it will be the Iraqi vets. If they served in Afghanistan and not in Iraq they may be spared the anti-war slurs and total disdain. It doesn't say much for a country or people when they treat their young and bravest members of their society this way. Why do I believe history is about to repeat itself? Hollywood, and how people have a tendency to believe everything they see in the movies and on television. I hate polls and don't believe 90% of them, but if you do they are saying 60% of the country is calling for withdrawing from Iraq. This reminds me so much of the Vietnam era before Walter Cronkite blew the Tet Offensive out of proportion and declared the war was lost. Hollywood started shifting from Pro-American war movies like The Great Escape, The guns of Navarone, The Longest Day, and Battle of the Bulge, to Anti-War films that were based more on American military suffering than the war and our reason for trying to keep the South Vietnamese from falling under communist rule. Films like Platoon, Catch 22, Full Metal Jacket, Casualties of War and Apocalypse Now were simply trying to turn people against the Vietnam War. By showing Americans suffering, causing suffering and being as graphic as possible Hollywood set in motion the idea war is wrong and soldiers become murders, rapists and assassins. I must applaud them, they succeeded. Between the movies, television and the pictures in the newspapers of dead/wounded American soldiers, young Vietnamese children running down a road naked, monks setting themselves on fire and public executions of suspected VC the American public turned against the war.

Now I understand Hollywood is getting ready to do it all again. It is my understanding they have a large lineup of Anti-War movies coming out this fall. The first will be "In the Valley of Elah". From what I've heard it will be similar to Platoon and Casualties of War. The internet, news media and newspapers have laid the ground work and planted the seed of discontent, now all Hollywood has to do is put it on screen and nightly television. The message will sink in and more and more the lies and fiction will become reality to the American people. The more people see and believe the propaganda fed to them by the left wing anti-war crowd using the big and little screen, the more they will cross over to the far left position and we will loose in Iraq and our military will receive the wrath of an angry people. While the American people will take it out on our military, in reality they will only have themselves to blame. I really don't look forward to a repeat of history.