A copy of this letter can be found at www.alaskafalcon.com
(Randy S. Griffin, Fairbanks,
Alaska) Oct. 30, 2008
Please forward this letter to someone.
Dear fellow American:
I feel it is imperative that we vote for
McCain/Palin rather than Obama/Biden.
We must not repeat history where the U.S. Congress betrayed
our friends in Cambodia and South Vietnam.
We must not betray the good and brave people of Iraq.
Vietnam War
After several years of successfully stopping communist North Vietnam from conquering South Vietnam, the Paris cease-fire agreement was signed in
January 1973. The American military left, and South Vietnam was able to handle
its own defense. President Nixon assured President Thieu of South Vietnam that if North Vietnam broke the treaty, the
U.S would respond with severe retaliation. This was the vital foundation of the
treaty for keeping the peace.
Joe Biden became a U.S. Senator in 1973. Senator Biden was listed as one of
40 cosponsors (May 14, 1973) of legislation (Case-Church Amendment) that banned
the use of U.S. bombing that
could come to the aid of South Vietnam
and Cambodia.
This was a betrayal of the effort to keep the peace, in my view, because it handcuffed
our ability to threaten force in the event that North Vietnam broke the truce
agreement.
President Nixon resigns
Watergate caused Nixon to resign in Aug. 1974. The Democrats
swept to a massive ironclad victory in Congress in Nov. 74. President Gerald
Ford tried to help our allies, but the left wing Congress chopped in half the U.S. financial aid to South Vietnam for economic and
military supplies. Financial help for Cambodia was severely cut also.
Russia and Communist China fully supplied North Vietnam
with about 1.6 billion dollars of military and economic aid in 1974.
North Vietnam broke their word and launched a full scale invasion
of South Vietnam and Cambodia
in January 1975. South Vietnam
and Cambodia
fought valiantly, but finally fell in April 1975. There were 350 U.S. military aircraft sitting in nearby Thailand,
but Congress refused to allow any bombing. A few B-52’s could have tipped the
battlefield balance in favor of our allies. It would have given the South
Vietnamese and Cambodians a tremendous boost in morale. Instead they came to
feel that America
had abandoned them.
Communist Pol Pot later murdered over 1 million innocent
Cambodians.
Thousands of Vietnamese boat people risked their lives in an
attempt to escape the communists after the takeover.
Iraq
In Iraq,
the “surge” that McCain advocated has brought great success. It is a
fragile success, but will grow stronger with patience and care.
(Obama was against the surge.)
Presidential debates
During the 3 debates, McCain spoke many times in favor of
success and victory in Iraq.
In the VP debate, Palin spoke strongly in favor of success in Iraq. During
the debates, Obama and Biden said absolutely nothing about wanting success or
victory in Iraq.
Obama did talk about how he was against going into Iraq in the
first place. He has talked much about pulling our troops out of Iraq within 16
months.
What Obama might say if he loses Iraq to chaos
Now Obama can keep his conscience clear.
If Obama gets elected and Iraq
goes down in flames, he could say something like this: "See I told you, I
was against it from the beginning. I was right. George Bush was wrong. This is
not my failure. This was George Bush's failure. During the 3 debates, I never
said we'd have success in Iraq.
All I said is I'd pull out the troops in 16 months, and I kept my word."
Image vs. good
policies
What some of the liberals don't realize is that George Bush
is not of significance in the grand scheme of things. The liberals tend to get
fixated on personalities - hatred for Bush and adulation for Obama.
Americans need to concentrate on policies, not image. Obama
is articulate. He is tall, dark and handsome. McCain on the other hand is older
looking and has a receding hairline. McCain can’t lift his arms very high due
to war injuries. So McCain does not present the best image on TV.
But McCain has good pro-American policies.
We must ask ourselves: What is best for the future of the
Iraqi people, for the entire Mideast and for America?
Obviously, a
peaceful and stable Iraq
with a constitution, and at least some type of representative government. We
would like them to be an ally and not sponsor terrorism as Saddam Hussein did.
Japan
How much time did we spend on Japan getting them set up as a
peaceful and prosperous ally?
Answer: 11 years.
From 1941 to 1945 we fought them during World War 2. Then
the U.S.
ran their government as military occupiers until 1952. Once the Japanese got
the hang of constitutional democracy, they were on their own. We still have
bases in Japan.
We need to commit
to at least 11 years for the sake of the Iraqi people so that they don't fall
back into a brutal dictatorship. Saddam Hussein killed thousands of his own
people.
Iraq needs time and confidence
for success
The U.S.
troops provide a safety buffer to keep the Shiites and Sunnis from fighting
each other. Most Iraqis would no doubt prefer to coexist in harmony, but there
are a few extremists within the different groups. Iraqis just need a little
time to work out the kinks.
The brutal dictatorship
of Saddam Hussein held Iraq
in an iron grip from 1979 to 2003. The Iraqi people don’t have much experience with
constitutional representative government. But the Iraqis are a smart and
resourceful people, and with a little bit of time and experience they will develop
a stable government.
All 3 main groups –
Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds have come to trust that the United States
will continue to help them. Everyone can trust that John McCain truly wants
long term success in Iraq.
During the presidential debates, McCain spoke of his desire for Iraqi democracy
and freedom.
Nowhere in the debates did Obama or Biden indicate such
sentiments. They did not even wish Iraq luck.
Sunnis stand up against Al Quaeda
Many of the Sunnis had originally been against the United States
and planted roadside bombs. But then they found out that the Al Queda in Iraq were bloodthirsty
and brutal people. The Sunni’s were brave and stood up against Al Queda even
though it put themselves and their families at risk. They found out that the
Americans weren’t so bad after all and that they could trust the Americans to
lend support.
Obama’s 16 month artificial timetable for
withdrawal is bad news
If the Iraqi people think that the United States is going to pull out
in 16 months, then they may immediately lose confidence about the future. Some
of the extremists may start violent acts so as to jockey for position and
intimidate opponents. Al Queda terrorists and Iranian agents may come back
because they see an opening.
Naturally, we Americans
would like to save money and leave Iraq as soon as we can. But we
should withdraw properly according to conditions in Iraq, - not according to an
artificial and abrupt timeline.
We should not pull the rug out from under Iraq. Failure
in Iraq will undermine the
war on terror throughout the world including in Afghanistan.
We should thank our brave soldiers by voting for a president
that will make sure that their mission is a success.
That is why I will be voting for John McCain.
Please see more about this at my website: www.alaskafalcon.com .
Randy S. Griffin, Fairbanks,
Alaska
Oct. 30, 2008
(Reference: Senator Joe Biden was listed as one of 40
cosponsors of the Case-Church Amendment on May 14, 1973. See Congressional
Record Volume 119 – Part 12, Page 15437)
Please forward this letter to someone.
This letter was written and paid for by Randy S. Griffin, PO Box 73653, Fairbanks,
Alaska, 99707
This letter is not authorized, paid for, or approved by any
candidate.
A copy of this letter can be found on my website at www.alaskafalcon.com |