A Vietnam
Vet Against Bush and Perpetual War
by
Robert Gaiek
Dissident Voice
March 15, 2003
This
is in response to the Buzzflash
Mailbag letter, 03/13/03, from "Barbara in NYC." She writes that
she will not "buy into the guilt trip about not supporting the
troops." The administration is banking on a robotic response from all
Americans once they start the upcoming illegal, un-provoked war. They are
confident that all dissent will be silenced as soon as the first missiles start
raining down on Baghdad. My God, what has happened to the democracy we once had
in this country? All who are willing to be silenced are cowards and not worthy
of protection. This war is wrong and immoral even if the UN finally condones
it. It is a war crime waiting to happen.
I join Barbara in her belief
that the "anti-war protesters are the ones who are truly supporting our
troops." She is on the right track. It is unfortunate that it took so long
for the majority of Americans to admit that Vietnam was a mistake that neither
Johnson nor Nixon had the political will to disengage from. Nixon finally did
it with great dishonor to our country. The small percentage of Vietnamese who
truly supported us were abandoned like the useless helicopters that were
destroyed and left behind. The loyalists were left to be imprisoned in
re-education camps. Many were simply executed without trial--a procedure our
once proud nation now proudly embraces with the boasting words of a president
who now governs like a madman out of control.
To this day, Vietnam is
scarred by the legacy of the chemical warfare we waged on the land and the
people. I have finally filed my own "Agent Orange" claim against our
government and I am scheduled for my initial screening exam at the VA on
Saturday, 3/15/03, while thousands of people, I hope, engage in demonstrations
against the pending war. Where were they in 1969 while Kissinger was making a
mockery of the "secret" Paris peace talks? Where were they when we
were killing civilians simply because there was no way to be certain who was
truly on our side? Where were they when the press dutifully reported what the
generals said at the 5 o'clock follies in Saigon? Where were they when I was
nailed by a booby trap placed by someone who was not interested in the gift of
democracy my government was offering?
Soldiers Become Forgotten
Veterans
Diabetes type II, after
about 30 years, is now accepted by the VA as an illness related to Agent
Orange. I was diagnosed by a private physician as being diabetic one year after
returning from Vietnam. Since that time I have used diet to control the problem
and minimize its impact. Nevertheless, I have suffered from a major heart
attack, stroke, vision loss in one eye, an abdominal aortic aneurysm and
various other arterial problems associated with diabetes. I never knew that
Agent Orange may have been the cause. Without the Internet, I still would be
unaware.
Health problems resulted in
the loss of a successful corporate career and, finally, the failure of my own
business and a financial situation that forced me to turn to the VA for quad
by-pass surgery and major surgery for aortic repair I could no longer afford.
In spite of months of recording way above average glucose levels, using a VA
provided test kit, and VA lab tests that are "above normal," the
official diagnosis is "sugar intolerant." That is outrageous.
I acknowledge that the
diabetes could have resulted even if I had never been in Vietnam. Nonetheless,
after 30 years, the official legislative response is that if one has diabetes
and served in Vietnam, it is "presumed" that Agent Orange is the
cause. It is clear to me that the strategy is simply to stall as long as
possible: "everyone will be dead in the long run." I will still file
a claim because it takes 2-3 years for the VA to make a ruling, which usually
has to be appealed. It is about the only form of dissent I can still physically
handle.
I came to Vietnam with a
brand new version of high tech warfare still used today with no publicity. We
installed electronic sensor systems throughout the Central Highlands, with
monitoring outposts scattered all around. Some were implanted during foot
patrols, others were dropped from helicopters at 300 feet--the pilots called it
the "zap zone" because of small arms fire. I also went on several
dozen missions with a Captain in the Chemical Warfare branch. The pilots called
us "Bugs and Gas." I never asked what brand of chemical warfare the
Captain was engaged in and I could not discuss with him what I did. My unit had
no rules of engagement. We could call a "fire mission" on anything
that moved. This was the advent of a new brand of warfare: "kill from
great distances and risk no casualties." I take no pride in that dirty
business. It makes war too safe and easy--it's a tempting trap to suck us in
deeper and deeper into war with no price to pay. Someday we will have to pay
the price.
I have no first hand facts about
the chemical warfare we used, but maps available on the Internet today reveal
that the areas we worked in were some of the most heavily saturated chem
warfare areas in all of Vietnam. What the maps do not show is the carnage and
suffering. No scorecard for that.
None of this makes me
personally angry. The above perhaps provides too much detail, but it is written
on behalf of thousands of other guys with much stronger cases who no longer
have the will or ability to write or speak out. There are over 100,000 Gulf War
vets who have claims with the VA. That is an astounding number for a 4 day war.
How can we go into the breach one more time when the government claims they do
not know the reason for these "mysterious" illnesses.
I received a hint by watching
the House budget hearings on C-Span. They plan to cut many programs to
accommodate the tax cut for millionaires. The VA will be cut by $15 billion
over ten years. Promises mean nothing. Vets are just fodder from long ago wars
that everyone has forgotten. Who is out protesting and demonstrating? Where is
the ditto-head crowd with their pathetic pro war rallies? Will one of their
number be at the VA tomorrow advocating for my case against the government?
Hell no! According to Rep.
Jim Nussle, the chairman of that budget committee, he knows a lot of vets and
they are "ready to do their part once again to sacrifice" for the
good of the country. Can anyone believe the audacity of that statement? Only a
supporter of the madman ruling our nation could buy into that line of CRAP!
Support our troops any way
you feel comfortable with, but do not condemn anyone expressing dissent. If you
wish to express honest dissent, do not cave in to the pressure of the mindless
idiots dominating the press and the airwaves. They make a mockery of my service
in the military, along with millions of other men and women.
It is important to remember
that we fought in Vietnam with a citizen army. If people claim we lost the war
it was not because of anything Jane Fonda did. Even John McCain holds no ill
will toward her, dismissing her actions in North Vietnam as poor judgment by a
"disturbed" young actress. Our actions as citizen soldiers were
governed by our desire to stay alive, and to do so, you had to "kill as many
of them as possible." It has nothing to do with morale. Morale is what you
think about in the safety of a base camp not under fire while drinking a beer.
We have a professional,
volunteer military today. They have the great advantage of training as a unit and
being shipped into combat as a unit. They will do just fine in their killing
mission, which has nothing to do with morale. I read something recently that
has received no publicity. The soldiers in Kuwait have named the coming war
Operation "Just Us." And so it is.
George Bush, a failure in
all his previous endeavors in life, has failed totally and miserably in his
idiotic "coalition of the willing." We now have the whole world
solidly against us. It is his fault. Remember that when you express dissent.
Bob Gaiek is an Army veteran living in
Lawrenceville, Georgia. He can be contacted at: bob@gaiek.com