[Mb-civic] Re: John Glenn[Take a minute to read]

[Rhaerther at aol.com]

John Glenn[Take a minute to read]
 
I have always admired and respected Senator John Glenn for his  courage, and 
having read "The Right Stuff" and watched the movie  understand the film 
version is Hollywood.  My respect for him grew after  going to the Kennedy Space 
Center and seeing a full-size version of one of the  Mercury rockets the 
original astronauts flew into space in.  Anyone who had  the courage to strap 
themselves into that tinker toy (by 1980's standards)  deserves respect.  My 
admiration for him is not diminished by the recent  posting concerning comments he 
made during an exchange between himself and  Senator Metzenbaum.  I do find it 
sad that a veteran of his stature is  using revisionist history to support his 
statements.  
 
In #1, he compares the murder rate in Detroit to the US forces  attrition 
rate in Iraq.  Please, Senator Glenn, tell me the relevance of US  forces being 
killed in wartime to citizens being murdered in Detroit?  What  are the figures 
of Iraqi citizens killed in any comparable sized Iraqi city for  the same 
month?  And, as a long-term U.S. Senator, do you not feel that you  could have 
made a difference in the Detroit murder rate by making it more  difficult for 
weapons, especially handguns and automatic weapons to be  available?  (For the 
record I support the right to bear arms, I see nothing  wrong with owning 
hunting rifles or pistols.  Automatic weapons designed  for military use have no 
business being easily available)
 
2. Congress declared war on Germany, not FDR, and it was after declaring  war 
on Japan.  As Germany, Japan and Italy had signed mutual defense  treaties 
(as had Britain, France, The Netherlands, and other Allied countries)  Congress 
was correct in declaring war on Germany AFTER declaring war on  Japan.  
 
North Korea, with the support of Chinese troops, invaded South Korea, a  
country we had troops stationed in and who were killed in action when the  Chinese 
invaded and nearly captured Seoul.  We also had a defense  support treaty 
with South Korea that required support.  Australia, Britain,  France, Turkey, and 
other U.N. nations provided military support as well.   While Congress never 
officially declared war at that time, referring to the  conflict as a "police 
action," Congress several years ago recognized veterans of  Korea as war 
veterans.  This was the second major use of United Nations  troops to prevent a 
hostile takeover since their formation in 1945, and many  more followed (picture 
Iraq I, there was international support for that  conflict, and rightfully so 
as Kuwait had been invaded and  occupied).


 
JFK did not get us involved in Vietnam, it was Eisenhower at the request of  
either the French or Vietnamese government, I do not recall which.  JFK did  
escalate the conflict followed by Johnson before Nixon started  de-escalation.  
My parents, both of whom are Korean War veterans, told my  older brother and 
I we were being sent to Canada if drafted as they felt the war  was a mistake.
 
3. President Bush has not crushed the Taliban or  completely crippled 
al-Qaida, otherwise we would not still be getting  security alerts warning about 
attacks within the U.S. or the increased number of  attacks occurring in Iraq.  
Nuclear inspectors were already in place  under U.N. protocol in Libya, Iran and 
North Korea.
 
As far as Koresh, yes the Branch Davidian situation had a tragic  ending, but 
Ms. Reno took the time to negotiate a settlement before rushing  in.  
Negotiation does not appear to be a concept this administration  understands, guns 
and bullying, yes.  As far as having "taken  Iraq," why are U.S. and coalition 
forces and civilians still dying?   Did the war end and we are now back to the 
Iraq being the equivalent of the  streets of Detroit?
 
Senator Metzenbaum's comments to Senator Glenn, as provided for in the  
exchange, I feel  were a bit out of line.  However, the casual comment  about his 
being an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA  means nothing.  
An honorable attorney knows his job is to provide the best  legal consol for 
his clients.  How many attorneys have represented scum yet  put their personal 
biases behind them to represent their clients?  It's  like being a stagehand 
or a hooker - you may not agree with the client but the  work is what pays the 
bills.  I don't know a single attorney or stagehand  who would turn down work 
unless they were too busy.  I guess that means  hookers have the upper hand on 
us.
 
Richard Haerther
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