Colin Powell

[John Thornton]

I am a vet, but not Vietnam. Gulf war...almost. I demanded a discharge
rather than participate in something I so strongly felt was amoral. Of
course it wasn't an honorable discharge and they busted me down to E-3
before they granted it but I got out. I HAD friends who went and our
friendships fell apart because of our differing opinions. I'm pretty
conflicted about how I feel about others who participated. I can never know
how much, if any, moral agonizing another person goes through when deciding
whether to participate in something like that. These 2 conflicts are so
different and the people who fought them are from different times so I am
not sure my experiences with the Gulf war issues give me any insight into
the issues facing people who participated or refused to in the Vietnam war.
John Thornton

From: "Max Sawicky"
>
> Assuming it is all true, I still have to wonder about
> the politics of this line of criticism.  I wonder if
> there are any veterans, especially Viet vets, on this list.
> Regarding Powell and My Lai, I have to wonder if this
> indictment satisfies the needs of some, present company
> excluded, for some kind of veiled political attack on veterans
> who served in Viet Nam, or veterans in general.