NY Giants will get NYC parade but Iraq vets denied that privilege.

[kemah]

NYC doesn't want to give Iraq vets a welcome home and job well done parade because they want to wait for the Afgan war to be over.
But as a Viet Nam era vet, I am very upset about this. Vets have said if you can afford two wars, why can you not afford two parades.
The NY Giants will get a parade for getting paid to participate in professional sports. What about those Iraq vets? Don't they deserve a parade for their services. It happens all the time, vets are given speeches and but are not supported in meaningful ways. Once your duty is up you are on your own.

[hobbit709]

1. don't you understand that big money football is more important than a bunch of veterans?

[monmouth]

2. I swear I thought the same thing this morning when I heard about this parade. The only

reasoning I can come up with is the wait until they're all out of Afgan and make it one big parade. I still don't like it and agree completely with you...

[kemah]

5. If we can afford two wars, why not two parades

There should be two parades, two different operations.

[atreides1]

3. GWOT(Global War On Terror)

It isn't over...not until the mission in Afghanistan has been completed...besides it's probably a good bet that those units that were in Iraq...like the 101st will be sent on a tour of Afghanistan...like the 101st!!!


And you're right a lot of speeches and little action...drop kicked to the curb...tossed under a bus...forgotten! It's our lot in life...after the guns go quiet, and the dead are buried...the signs come out "Dogs and Veterans, Keep off the grass"...with dogs getting a better deal and vets being told by those who will never understand..."you're on your own".

I've felt that way since Desert Storm...and they threw us a parade...lot of good it did!!!

[pinboy3niner]

4. The first big parade for Iraq War vets was held in St. Louis Jan. 28

U.S. troops get welcome home parade



Participants in a parade to honor Iraq War veterans make their way along a downtown street
Saturday in St. Louis. Thousands turned out to watch the first big welcome home parade in
the U.S. since the last troops left Iraq in December. Jeff Roberson, The Associated Press


Posted: 01/29/2012 01:00:00 AM MST

By Jim Salter
The Associated Press


ST. LOUIS — Looking around at the tens of thousands of people waving American flags and cheering, Army Maj. Rich Radford was moved that so many braved a cold January wind Saturday in St. Louis to honor people like him: Iraq war veterans.

The parade, the result of a simple conversation between two St. Louis friends a month ago, was the nation's first big welcome-home for veterans of the war since the last troops were withdrawn from Iraq in December.

"It's not necessarily overdue, it's just the right thing," said Radford, a 23-year Army veteran who walked in the parade alongside his 8-year-old daughter, Aimee, and 12-year-old son, Warren.

Radford was among about 600 veterans, many dressed in camouflage, who walked along downtown streets lined with rows of people clapping and holding signs with messages including "Welcome Home" and "Thanks to our Service Men and Women." Some of the war-tested troops wiped away tears as they acknowledged the support from a crowd that organizers estimated reached 100,000 people.

...


http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_19844812

[surrealAmerican]

6. I don't like to point this out, but ...

... traditionally, parades celebrate victories. What exactly did we win in Iraq?

[Initech]

7. Insane profits for military contractors.

That's all this war was for.

[frylock]

8. the ny football giants successfully completed a mission that had a clearly defined goal..

last i checked, we still have a presence in iraq. no slight against the troops, just pointing out this extremely flawed analogy.

[librechik]

9. thank you for your service

but you and the rest of those cruelly used and lied to Iraq veterans will never get a parade for what is perhaps the most shameful unnecessary war ever. Hoew grotesque would it be to celebrate the end of the Iraq engagement, which had NOTHING to do with 9/11 and was sold to the public on the lie that Saddam had WMDs. It's hard on the troops, but we cannot celebrate a war crime.

It's not your fault--you did your best and followed orders. The lying leaders who sent you must be punished, and denying THEM their parade is just a small part of what they deserve for misusing and shamefully exploiting our loyal troops.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

10. They deserve this and a lot more. Signed, a vet's wife. nt