War Protests Will Devastate Morale Says VFW Chief

[sabra]

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-22-2005/0004113628&EDATE=

War Protests Will Devastate Morale Says VFW Chief


WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- News reports about a large anti-war
rally in Washington this weekend are deeply troubling to the new national
commander of the nation's largest organization of combat veterans, the
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

"Our concern isn't with fellow Americans exercising their First Amendment
rights to be heard," said Jim Mueller, the VFW's new commander-in-chief.
"Our concern is how their political protest messages will be perceived by
the 2.2 million American military personnel who protect and defend those
freedoms daily," he explained. "Our concern is for the millions of military
family members who are standing strong at home while their loved ones are in
harm's way. And our concern is that these protests will divide America just
as they did in the 1960s."

Four decades ago, America turned its back on an entire generation of
servicemen and women because the country couldn't disassociate the war from
the warrior. Returning troops from Vietnam were told to change into civilian
clothes before mustering out because "peace" protesters would assault them
verbally and physically. Veterans were made to feel ashamed of their military
service because, in the public's eyes, theirs was an unpopular war.

Mueller, a Vietnam veteran from O'Fallon, Mo., said no war is popular --
most especially to those doing the fighting -- and the decision to commit the
military is not one that's taken lightly by the White House or Congress.
"Our nation was viciously attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, by armed terrorists
who continue to have no political agenda other than to kill as many freedom-
loving people as possible," he said.

[JimmyJazz]

1. Newsflash for Mueller: America is already divided.

:(

[warrens]

16. Not divided enough

We need forced secession. Let em take their Krispy Kremes and Wal-Marts and Piggly Wigglys and go fuck themselves.

[cynatnite]

2. It could raise the morale knowing Americans want them home n/t

[DS1]

3. You should know better, says Chief DS1

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Riiight... Whereas actually serving in a losing war with minimal

logistical support isn't hard on the moral at all.

[Verve]

5. Good grief! This is called freedom of speech!

Are these repugnants scared or what?

[CountAllVotes]

6. nope wrong

It might wake the rest of the sheep up.

Show those dead bodies.

How many Americans have DIED since 2001! HOW MANY GOD DAMNIT! HOW MANY! HOW MANY HAVE BEEN KILLED? HOW MANY!!! sHOW THOSE COFFINS! Honor our dead.

:kick:

TIMING IS EVERYTHING IN LIFE - THE MARCH GOES NO MATTER WHAT!

[Cassandra]

7. What will devastate morale is...

hearing that the repukes in Congress want to cut the military healthcare budget rather than roll back tax cuts or remove those porky bridges.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. The VFW executive already rammed this Unamerican resolution through

The VFW executive already rammed this Unamerican resolution through their organization, calling protests "unpatriotic". They forgot to read the Constitution they supposedly defended. Lots of good truly patriotic veterans disagree with them.

[freestyle]

9. Watching people die for bullshit destroys morale. n/t

[smartvoter]

23. I Second This!!! nt

[patdem]

10. So, I must ask, does the military exist to protect the moral of the

military, or the freedoms of America? Which is more important? Seems to me their moral should be boosted that the freedoms they protect are being freely expressed. Otherwise we need to do away with namby pamby military and replace it with REAL soldiers...likely women..and gays!

[Atman]

11. PRNEWSWIRE is a PAID press-release organization

Write anything you want, go their web site, pay $400 and they will get it in a certain number of newspapers.

This is NOT a news story. It is a propaganda piece. We should let PRNewswire know what we feel about their role in the duping of America.

[JHB]

12. Mr. Mueller, if we were fighting those who attacked us, there would be...

...no protest (or just a small one).

We're against this war because it was begun on outright lies and is actually furthering the agenda of those who attacked us.

[MurrayDelph]

13. How much of a morale improvement

is it to be dead?

[blm]

14. Having an AWOL chickenhawk as commander-in-chief is demoralizing.

.

[zippy890]

15. govt/military scared & desperate

WHY DO THEY HATE AMERICA SO MUCH THEY SEND SOLDIERS TO DIE BASED ON A BUNCH OF LIES?

[SteppingRazor]

17. The protests didn't divide America in the 1960s...

the war itself did. The protests were just a response to it. And the same is true today.

And that last quote is the usual 9/11 = Iraq bullshit.

Why take seriously anyone so ill-informed, even if they do head an organization as large as the VFW?

[understandinglife]

18. Hey Mueller -- getting vaporized because an awol'r sent you to an ...

.... illegal war is the threat our troops face every day.

Watching their buddies die for a lie is what is demoralizing our troops; not those of us doing everything we can to get them out of harms way and out of a totally illegal occupation of another Nation.

Got it, dude ...


Peace.

[Junkdrawer]

31. ^^^^ What UL said ^^^^

You see, Mueller, the troops aren't pathetically stupid, like, say, their CIC.

[SemperEadem]

19. so, he's afraid someone's feelings might get hurt

because protestors don't share the same blind servitude attitude as he and his ilk do---therefore, they shouldn't be allowed to exercise their freedom of speech and assembly?

He needs to go sit down and STFU.

The people who engineered the attack on us are still running free while a country which had nothing to do with the attack is being systematically levelled with every passing day.

IF he's so concerned about morale, how about sending the troops to go find Bin Laden and al Qaida and leave the Iraqis alone?

[MarvinBarns]

22. Sooner we fail the sooner our troops can come home

Success will only encourage Bush to start more wars.

[mattclearing]

20. Perhaps people should have thought about that before conning us into war.

Sucks to be a military family when the Commander in Chief is insane.

The message here is: "You shouldn't say anything about the atrocities committed in our name because it might hurt people's feelings."

[CAcyclist]

21. Bu&*$%^t

We should never have stopped the protests. This has been too long in coming.

[jonnyblitz]

24. fuck the VFW. I am so glad I am no longer a member. nt

[tabasco]

42. Me too. I only sent them dues for two years.

Just to have another place to drink beer.

The leadership of the VFW is pretty out of touch.

[RagingInMiami]

25. And yet again

9/11 is tied in with the war in Iraq.

[UTUSN]

26. Waal, THIS Sort of Junk Ain't Been Peachy for MY Morale, Either

Here's chickenhawk O'LOOFAH receiving the VFW Errect Loofah Award

[charlie]

27. Yeah, right

Waaah, they want me to come home! They're killing my chances for another 3 contiguous tours! I've lost my will to fight. Who do I surrender to?

Mueller's bullshitting and he knows it. Fucking GOP hack.

[dbeach]

28. God gotta quit another Veterans organization

thouht only the Legion was bush smoochin..

well my local VFW does NOT share his views..he needs to shut up

[txaslftist]

29. Protesting the war IS supporting the troops.

They are OUR brothers, sons, fathers, mothers and sisters, too.

We love them and want them out of harm's way.

If his definition of "morale" is the willingness to do whatever you are told by a maladjusted warmongering administration, then yes. Protests will hurt morale.

If his definition of "morale" is knowing that the American people stand behind the troops, protest on their behalf will not hurt.

Dude, I'm sorry that YOUR generation couldn't separate the warrior from the war. OUR generation can.

[FVZA_Colonel]

30. First, to Vietnam Veteran Mueller,

Iraq did not attack us on September 11th. The people we are fighting now might follow the same ideology as the people who attacked us, but Hussein's Iraq had nothing to do with it. Second, these protests would only divide America and lower troop morale if people were to cross the line from reasoned, compassionate dissent to rock throwing and spitting.

[gratuitous]

32. Riddle me this, Mr. Mueller

Whoops, forgot your rank. Probably REMF (Ret.).

Anyway, how does our military killing a lot of civilians who never did anything to us, can't get away, and can't defend themselves from the onslaught of the American wehrmacht "protect and defend freedom"?

You give me a reasonable answer (not some circuitous load of sophistry), and I'll quit protesting this illegal and immoral (yeah, I said it) imperial adventure.

Until then, STFU REMF. They're MY freedoms, and I'll exercise them without your approval.

[Lars39]

33. Rush Limbaugh is *still* on American Forces Radio.

"Our concern is how their political protest messages will be perceived by
the 2.2 million American military personnel who protect and defend those
freedoms daily," he explained.

[unhappycamper]

36. When the Army decided to celebrate it's 230th birthday with a

recruiting show n tell in Cambridge, MA, I was hanging with my VFP buds.

This lady came across the street and hissed to me "My son is over there fighting for your freedoms." I said "Lady, your son is over there fighting for oil. We're here fighting for your freedoms."

Her head didn't quite explode, but it was a closie. These folks just don't get it.

[Lars39]

37. Maybe your response at least made her think enough,

in a primitive-survival kind of way, so that she doesn't walk up to total strangers any more with her BS. Or at least one can hope so.

[unhappycamper]

43. At least not one wearing a Veterans for Peace t-shirt. . . .

[Lars39]

45. Oh, my word! How unobservant can a person be? :^)

[confludemocrat]

34. So, soldiers listen to anti-war groups more than they listen to your kind?

huh, Mr VFW chief? Their supposed unwavering support for the president and the war-by-choice Repugnantlicans and traitor Democrats is easliy knocked off track by a grieving, angry mom who is aginst the war? What transparent utter BULLSHIT. Like with the post-Hurricane shitstorm of nonsense, your "good material" is all used up (WMD, freedom on the march, etc) and now you're scraping the bottom of the barrel.

[LSK]

35. and up until this time they have been having a ball???

I guess they just love having no real mission, no end in sight, living in a desert being shot at. That wont kill morale, but protests will?? :wtf:

[tanyev]

38. Hmmm, "armed terrorists".

Is he referring to the box cutters or the commercial planes?

[KerryOn]

39. I'm tired of these IDIOTS!!!!!

>>>"Our nation was viciously attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, by armed terrorists who continue to have no political agenda other than to kill as many freedom-loving people as possible,"

How do you defend this shit!

[EFerrari]

40. Nice to know Rove's fax machine is in good working order. n/t

[0rganism]

41. Not "Devastate Morale", or BRING THEM HOME ALIVE? tough choice

especially for Mr. Mueller.

I wonder how much the GOP hacks paid him to spout that bullshit.

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. Channeling General Westmorelland

please tell these fuckers to at least come up with more original ideas