Main POW Stumbling Block: The U.S. Government

Will our own gov­ernment stoop to illegalities to protect the myth of death surrounding all missing Americans?

Not only will they stoop that low, but will
try to get you killed in the process. I gave little credence while a Special Forces Commander in Asia, to LTC Bo Gritz’s claim over the Voice of America that the U.S. government had betrayed his team.

But then it happened to me.

Statements were issued by the U.S. State
Dept. over radio (during a 65-day operation in 1987 and again during a 179-day operation in 1988-89).

I recalled U.S. operatives calling Bo a liar about the broadcasts. I had not felt that alone and naked since my E&E attempt at Loc Ninh, Vietnam, in 1972. I whispered a silent apology to Bo, and drove on.

There was no diplomatic or legal imperative for those broadcasts. When a friend asked a U.S. diplomat about it, he merely sneered, “He deserved it because he sued my President.”

I do not believe our President, Ronald Reagan, would have agreed with that level of thinking. He was a better man than that, and so am I.

Did they have the right to try and kill me?

No, they did not.

Aiding the Enemy

I am certain it bugged Bo as much as it
bothered me that these decisions were made by the military/civilian equivalent of clerks, and not warriors.

None of these people could clean my rifle,
let alone carry it into a war. They cannot find the missing brethren but have no compunction about helping the enemy find someone seeking them out.

The only people this bookish brigade seems intent on killing are their fellow Americans. Sorry, girls, missed again.

Game rigged as usual? Yes. Like putting you into the arena with nothing but a cape, and then juicing the bull with steroids.

Do the communists have a track record of keeping POWs after wars are over?

Since the very beginning of the Soviet state, the communists have looked on POWs as
bargaining chips, motivational items to be used on their own populations, virtual test animals for
psychological experimentation and of course, sources of current intelligence.

Going back to Korea, there is a List of 59 known to have been interrogated by the Soviets. Further intelligence indicates they disappeared into the Soviet gulag itself.

How interested are our government and media in this?

Sounds Like a Payoff

Boris Yeltsin departed Russia stating he would provide data on American POWs the former Soviet Union had knowledge of with “psychological problems.”

But we handed him a huge amount of money, and he spoke openly of POWs no more. Gen. Quang reported to the Politburo in Hanoi that his government held over 1200 Americans prior to the end of the Vietnam War.

Our government spent an inordinate amount
of time trying to discredit the document, based on Quang’s assignment and not what he said.

Communist generals do not stand up and lie to their own leadership about such things. Lao official Soth Petrassey stated when questioned about American POWs, “I, myself, have many tens.” Not one of even old Soth’s “many tens” ever came home.

We hear much about the POW problem being answered in Asia. But the real stumbling block has been right within our own government. Before they spoke, even some of the most bellicose foreign leaders did not seem to understand that the system was rigged for death and not live POWs.

Years ago, returned POW Capt. Red McDaniels said, “If we truly cannot do anything about bringing these men home, we should acknowledge them and honor them for their sacrifice.”

But it seems that some, with no sense of honor, would rather just rig the system for
death.

What about all those who testify about “no
evidence” of live POWs with such confidence and seeming candor?

If one American we cannot quickly
label a “turncoat” gets out, you better get some nets.

Because there will be a whole lot of these seemingly confident people looking to end it all.

Then again, they probably won’t show that much class.