“Why do we never get an answer
When we’re knocking at the door
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war?
– The Moody Blues, 1970There is a strange and disturbing symmetrical phenomenon affiliated with soldiers that march off to war and the deployment of their crosses in the cemetery of veterans.
Soldiers who march in formation are parallel to one another. Crosses that mark the final resting places of these soldiers are also in formation and are parallel to one another.
No matter from which direction one views the soldiers or crosses, they’re invariably in a straight line and parallel to each adjacent line.
With the exception of the outside rows, both of the aforementioned representative groups create parallels that are either left or right, backward or forward or at 45-degree angles from one another.
With this in mind, we are able to come to the logical conclusion that soldiers and crosses are just two of the numerous parallels associated with war.
Railroad tracks also form a parallel, which is called a gauge. The gauge, or distance between most of the rails in the United States is exactly 4′ 8.5”. If this linear space is reduced or expanded, the train will run off the track and leave in its wake a mass of destruction.
Train wrecks and politicians are parallels of titanic proportions, which have been witnessed by Americans for the past 50 years.
So, what manners of parallels are to be drawn between soldiers, crosses, train wrecks, politicians and wars?
The Vietnam War was a political train wreck which spawned death, destruction, riots and ultimately too many crosses.
In his book, No More Vietnams, Richard Nixon wrote, “All that we achieved in 12 years of fighting was thrown away in a spasm of congressional irresponsibility.”
The noted philosopher George Santanya said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Is America in the midst of repeating history by continuing the war in Iraq? Will there be another political spasm of irresponsibility? These are possibilities, but the greater cause for concern must be the parallel that is taking shape linking our involvement in Iraq to that of Vietnam.
Even though the recent elections succeeded in resurrecting Vietnam, I’m not completely convinced that Vietnam was on the minds of the majority of the voters who went to the polls, but it should have been.
And, I’m not referring to those candidates who did or did not serve in Vietnam either, but to a few alarming similarities and details you may find disturbing.
In Vietnam and Iraq, our government has ignored one of the basic and ironclad laws of war – never enter into a war without knowing how you are going to get out.
There was never an exit strategy in Vietnam. There is no exit strategy in place to get out of Iraq.
Secretaries McNamara and Rumsfeld. Brothers in parallel?
Two weeks ago after the battle of Fallujah, it was estimated (key word here) that American forces had killed between 1,200 and 1,600 Iraqi insurgents.
But reports coming out of Iraq indicated that those estimates were difficult to prove, given the lack of actual bodies.
In Vietnam, enemy casualties were exaggerated for years in hopes of improving public support for the war.
Generals Westmoreland and Abizaid. Soldiers in parallel?
The government seems to be in the habit of subverting the truth when it comes to issues of war.
War is ugly, and there are no justifiable reasons to try and sanitize it.
Seven days after the assault on Fallujah, armed Iraqi police (Iraqi National Guard) were shown on nationwide television descending into that city with the Marines.
This was nothing more than a government sponsored photo-op and eye-wash campaign, aimed directly at the American viewing public trying to disprove any speculation that the Iraqi’s are incapable of defending their country.
I don’t know if the Iraqi police are capable or not, but I do know that Fallujah had already been secured by the Marines and the enemy was headed north. There was very little left upon which to descend.
Less than six weeks ago, 47 unarmed Iraqi police were executed by insurgents and left on the side of the road.
If these police are so well trained then they should have been armed. Or there’s that possibility that just like in Vietnam, it’s not possible to tell the good guys from the bad guys?
In Vietnam, some local villages were identified as being friendly. Even if hostile fire was received from one of those friendly villages, American forces were forbidden to fire back.
In Iraq the mosque has taken the place of the friendly village.
In both instances though, there was and always will be American casualties.
It’s not possible to have wars without casualties. It’s just as impossible to fight those wars with so many asinine restrictions in place.
Casualties and restrictions – a parallel, which you may not be familiar with.
Dover AFB, Delaware is the Air Force Base where flag draped coffins containing the remains of those soldiers who have died in action rest before going home.
During the Vietnam War, we were inundated almost daily with live coverage from Dover, showing Americans the consequences of war.
This endless coverage eventually led the American people to question even more our intentions in Vietnam. Besides the questions, there were also protests.
To circumvent further problems for future wars, the government decided about a dozen years ago never again to allow camera-carrying journalists inside that facility.
Their claim was that the pictures were inappropriate and showed a lack of respect for the dead soldiers.
War produces dead soldiers. This violation of our First Amendment rights, by not allowing pictures to be shown from Dover AFB, is again an attempt by our government to sanitize war.
Desensitizing combat casualties will not make them disappear, but it will lead to a public outcry to question our administration’s position in Iraq.
The original plan after 9/11 was to hunt down al-Qaida and kill Osama bin Laden. Somehow this plan was derailed (which is a political train wreck) and our troops are now fighting for their lives in Iraq.
Saddam Hussein may be gone and his government toppled, but now we must deal with Al-Zarqawi.
Al-Zarqawi and Iraq — a parallel that is a direct cause of poor planning by our administration.
As of last Monday, 133 American had been killed in combat in Iraq during the month of November. This brings the total killed to 1,121. That computes to 1,121 crosses.
One final parallel. The North Vietnamese National Liberation Front and the Iraqi Insurgents and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
From his book, No More Vietnams, Richard Nixon described the National Liberation Front the following way. (Readers will find little differences when comparing the two.)
“Their leaders have a limitless capacity for barbarity and tenacity. They will resort to any tactic, no matter how cruel or immoral, and are willing to fight indefinitely, regardless of the suffering. They buried mines on roads used only by villagers taking good to market; threw grenades into crowded public squares and schools; and indiscriminately shelled the cities of Saigon and Danang.”
On paper, both Iraq and Vietnam look like hopeless mismatches when it comes to firepower and superiority. But wars – and particularly guerrilla wars – are not fought on paper.
As a wounded Vietnam combat veteran, I have the utmost respect for our soldiers and support them wherever they are deployed. While I support our troops, I cannot and will not support the war in Iraq.
Vietnam has taught me to look at war differently. I am deeply troubled over the recent Cabinet nominations announced by President Bush.
It appears that the naysayers have abandoned the ship and are in the process of being replaced by a group of “yes” people.
The Cabinet must be a place of conflict and credibility. The members are there to offer advice, argue and give their opinions. They are not there to agree wholeheartedly with the president.
This is that linear space between the rails. A very treacherous and narrow parallel.
Perhaps the members of Congress will see this for what it is and will block some of the nominations. Perhaps there will not be another spasm of irresponsibility. Perhaps.
Even in the end, wars offer a parallel. Like war though, the end is not pretty either, and it cannot be sanitized.
Seven days before the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, of the “war to end all wars.”
The great English war poet, Wilfred Owen, wrote these troubling words in May 1918. Just six months before he lost his life on Nov. 4, 1918:

“Who are these? Why sit they here in twilight?
Wherefore rock they, purgatorial shadows …
These are men whose minds the Dead have ravished.
Memory fingers in their hair of murders,
Multitudinous murders they once witnessed …
Thus their heads wear this hilarious, hideous,
Awful falseness of set-smiling corpses …
Thus their hands are plucking at each other …
Pawing us who dealt them war and madness.”

Years after returning from Vietnam, my sister shared with me her thoughts as I stepped off the plane in Little Rock, Ark.
“My God, what have they done to my brother?”
The time has come to get out of Iraq.
We must put an end to the senseless parallels. We have placed enough crosses for two lifetimes.

ember. This brings the total killed to 1,121. That computes to 1,121 crosses.
One final parallel. The North Vietnamese National Liberation Front and the Iraqi insurgents and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
From his book, No More Vietnams, Richard Nixon described the National Liberation Front the following way. (Readers will find little differences when comparing the two.)
“Their leaders have a limitless capacity for barbarity and tenacity. They will resort to any tactic, no matter how cruel or immoral, and are willing to fight indefinitely, regardless of the suffering. They buried mines on roads used only by villagers taking goods to market; threw grenades into crowded public squares and schools; and indiscriminately shelled the cities of Saigon and Danang.”
On paper, both Iraq and Vietnam look like hopeless mismatches when it comes to firepower and superiority. But wars – and particularly guerrilla wars – are not fought on paper.
As a wounded Vietnam combat veteran, I have the utmost respect for our soldiers and support them wherever they are deployed. While I support our troops, I cannot and will not support the war in Iraq.
Vietnam has taught me to look at war differently. I am deeply troubled over the recent Cabinet nominations announced by President Bush.
It appears that the naysayers have abandoned the ship and are in the process of being replaced by a group of “yes” people.
The Cabinet must be a place of conflict and credibility. The members are there to offer advice, argue and give their opinions. They are not there to agree wholeheartedly with the president.
This is that linear space between the rails. A very treacherous and narrow parallel.
Perhaps the members of Congress will see this for what it is and will block some of the nominations. Perhaps there will not be another spasm of irresponsibility. Perhaps.
Even in the end, wars offer a parallel. Like war though, the end is not pretty either, and it cannot be sanitized.
The great English war poet, Wilfred Owen, wrote these troubling words in May 1918. Just six months before he lost his life on Nov. 4, 1918.
Seven days before the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, of the “war to end all wars.”“Why do we never get an answer
When we’re knocking at the door
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war?
– The Moody Blues, 1970

There is a strange and disturbing symmetrical phenomenon affiliated with soldiers that march off to war and the deployment of their crosses in the cemetery of veterans.
Soldiers who march in formation are parallel to one another. Crosses that mark the final resting places of these soldiers are also in formation and are parallel to one another.
No matter from which direction one views the soldiers or crosses, they’re invariably in a straight line and parallel to each adjacent line.
With the exception of the outside rows, both of the aforementioned representative groups create parallels that are either left or right, backward or forward or at 45-degree angles from one another.
With this in mind, we are able to come to the logical conclusion that soldiers and crosses are just two of the numerous parallels associated with war.
Railroad tracks also form a parallel, which is called a gauge. The gauge, or distance between most of the rails in the United States is exactly 4′ 8.5”. If this linear space is reduced or expanded, the train will run off the track and leave in its wake a mass of destruction.
Train wrecks and politicians are parallels of titanic proportions, which have been witnessed by Americans for the past 50 years.
So, what manners of parallels are to be drawn between soldiers, crosses, train wrecks, politicians and wars?
The Vietnam War was a political train wreck which spawned death, destruction, riots and ultimately too many crosses.
In his book, No More Vietnams, Richard Nixon wrote, “All that we achieved in 12 years of fighting was thrown away in a spasm of congressional irresponsibility.”
The noted philosopher George Santanya said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Is America in the midst of repeating history by continuing the war in Iraq? Will there be another political spasm of irresponsibility? These are possibilities, but the greater cause for concern must be the parallel that is taking shape linking our involvement in Iraq to that of Vietnam.
Even though the recent elections succeeded in resurrecting Vietnam, I’m not completely convinced that Vietnam was on the minds of the majority of the voters who went to the polls, but it should have been.
And, I’m not referring to those candidates who did or did not serve in Vietnam either, but to a few alarming similarities and details you may find disturbing.
In Vietnam and Iraq, our government has ignored one of the basic and ironclad laws of war – never enter into a war without knowing how you are going to get out.
There was never an exit strategy in Vietnam. There is no exit strategy in place to get out of Iraq.
Secretaries McNamara and Rumsfeld. Brothers in parallel?
Two weeks ago after the battle of Fallujah, it was estimated (key word here) that American forces had killed between 1,200 and 1,600 Iraqi insurgents.
But reports coming out of Iraq indicated that those estimates were difficult to prove, given the lack of actual bodies.
In Vietnam, enemy casualties were exaggerated for years in hopes of improving public support for the war.
Generals Westmoreland and Abizaid. Soldiers in parallel?
The government seems to be in the habit of subverting the truth when it comes to issues of war.
War is ugly, and there are no justifiable reasons to try and sanitize it.
Seven days after the assault on Fallujah, armed Iraqi police (Iraqi National Guard) were shown on nationwide television descending into that city with the Marines.
This was nothing more than a government sponsored photo-op and eye-wash campaign, aimed directly at the American viewing public trying to disprove any speculation that the Iraqi’s are incapable of defending their country.
I don’t know if the Iraqi police are capable or not, but I do know that Fallujah had already been secured by the Marines and the enemy was headed north. There was very little left upon which to descend.
Less than six weeks ago, 47 unarmed Iraqi police were executed by insurgents and left on the side of the road.
If these police are so well trained then they should have been armed. Or there’s that possibility that just like in Vietnam, it’s not possible to tell the good guys from the bad guys?
In Vietnam, some local villages were identified as being friendly. Even if hostile fire was received from one of those friendly villages, American forces were forbidden to fire back.
In Iraq the mosque has taken the place of the friendly village.
In both instances though, there was and always will be American casualties.
It’s not possible to have wars without casualties. It’s just as impossible to fight those wars with so many asinine restrictions in place.
Casualties and restrictions – a parallel, which you may not be familiar with.
Dover AFB, Delaware is the Air Force Base where flag draped coffins containing the remains of those soldiers who have died in action rest before going home.
During the Vietnam War, we were inundated almost daily with live coverage from Dover, showing Americans the consequences of war.
This endless coverage eventually led the American people to question even more our intentions in Vietnam. Besides the questions, there were also protests.
To circumvent further problems for future wars, the government decided about a dozen years ago never again to allow camera-carrying journalists inside that facility.
Their claim was that the pictures were inappropriate and showed a lack of respect for the dead soldiers.
War produces dead soldiers. This violation of our First Amendment rights, by not allowing pictures to be shown from Dover AFB, is again an attempt by our government to sanitize war.
Desensitizing combat casualties will not make them disappear, but it will lead to a public outcry to question our administration’s position in Iraq.
The original plan after 9/11 was to hunt down al-Qaida and kill Osama bin Laden. Somehow this plan was derailed (which is a political train wreck) and our troops are now fighting for their lives in Iraq.
Saddam Hussein may be gone and his government toppled, but now we must deal with Al-Zarqawi.
Al-Zarqawi and Iraq — a parallel that is a direct cause of poor planning by our administration.
As of last Monday, 133 American had been killed in combat in Iraq during the month of November. This brings the total killed to 1,121. That computes to 1,121 crosses.
One final parallel. The North Vietnamese National Liberation Front and the Iraqi Insurgents and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
From his book, No More Vietnams, Richard Nixon described the National Liberation Front the following way. (Readers will find little differences when comparing the two.)
“Their leaders have a limitless capacity for barbarity and tenacity. They will resort to any tactic, no matter how cruel or immoral, and are willing to fight indefinitely, regardless of the suffering. They buried mines on roads used only by villagers taking good to market; threw grenades into crowded public squares and schools; and indiscriminately shelled the cities of Saigon and Danang.”
On paper, both Iraq and Vietnam look like hopeless mismatches when it comes to firepower and superiority. But wars – and particularly guerrilla wars – are not fought on paper.
As a wounded Vietnam combat veteran, I have the utmost respect for our soldiers and support them wherever they are deployed. While I support our troops, I cannot and will not support the war in Iraq.
Vietnam has taught me to look at war differently. I am deeply troubled over the recent Cabinet nominations announced by President Bush.
It appears that the naysayers have abandoned the ship and are in the process of being replaced by a group of “yes” people.
The Cabinet must be a place of conflict and credibility. The members are there to offer advice, argue and give their opinions. They are not there to agree wholeheartedly with the president.
This is that linear space between the rails. A very treacherous and narrow parallel.
Perhaps the members of Congress will see this for what it is and will block some of the nominations. Perhaps there will not be another spasm of irresponsibility. Perhaps.
Even in the end, wars offer a parallel. Like war though, the end is not pretty either, and it cannot be sanitized.
Seven days before the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, of the “war to end all wars.”
The great English war poet, Wilfred Owen, wrote these troubling words in May 1918. Just six months before he lost his life on Nov. 4, 1918:

“Who are these? Why sit they here in twilight?
Wherefore rock they, purgatorial shadows …
These are men whose minds the Dead have ravished.
Memory fingers in their hair of murders,
Multitudinous murders they once witnessed …
Thus their heads wear this hilarious, hideous,
Awful falseness of set-smiling corpses …
Thus their hands are plucking at each other …
Pawing us who dealt them war and madness.”

Years after returning from Vietnam, my sister shared with me her thoughts as I stepped off the plane in Little Rock, Ark.
“My God, what have they done to my brother?”
The time has come to get out of Iraq.
We must put an end to the senseless parallels. We have placed enough crosses for two lifetimes.

Author