D-Day reports; a cynic's view

[Mark Giebels]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl


Ik sta versteld van deze naiviteit en dat nog wel van de man die D66
regelmatig uitmaakt voor een stelletje dommerikken. Dus heb maar even
een google search naar het opinieartikel uitgevoerd. En wat blijkt, het
artikel verspreid zich snel op diverse conservatieve discussielijsten.
Geen enkele anti-Bush site gevonden die hier een aanval op het Bush
beleid in leest. Overigens had Henk de introductie (en de laatste
paragraaf) weggelaten, en die is heel duidelijk over de intentie van de
schrijver. Niks geen kritiek op Bush of de 'chauvinistische
berichtgeving', in tegendeel. Enfin, lees maar.

Groeten,
Mark Giebels

http://times-herald.com/archives/opinion/2004/0606.html

What if D-Day were this day?
Alex McRae
June, 6, 1944. D-Day. The Normandy invasion. The beginning of the end of
World War II, and one of the most storied days in American military
history. Today we celebrate not just the 60th anniversary of the event,
but the lives of those who perished on the shores of Normandy and those
who lived to fight for freedom in the days, weeks and months ahead. We
are grateful for their sacrifice, their courage and honor, and for those
who followed in Korea, Viet Nam, the Gulf War and now, Iraq.

But more than anything else, we should be grateful D-Day occurred during
a more innocent time in America. If World War II had been fought in
today's climate of political correctness and covered by our current
military-hating national media, things would have been quite different.

In fact the story of D-Day might have read something like this...

June 6, 1944. -NORMANDY-

Three hundred French civilians were killed and thousands more wounded
today in the first hours of America's invasion of continental Europe.
Casualties were heaviest among women and children.

Most of the French casualties were the result of artillery fire from
American ships attempting to knock out German fortifications prior to
the landing of hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops. Reports from a
makeshift hospital in the French town of St. Mere Eglise said the
carnage was far worse than the French had anticipated and reaction
against the American invasion was running high.

"We are dying for no reason," said a Frenchman speaking on condition of
anonymity. "Americans can't even shoot straight. I never thought I'd say
this, but life was better under Adolph Hitler."

The invasion also caused severe environmental damage. American troops,
tanks, trucks and machinery destroyed miles of pristine shoreline and
thousands of acres of ecologically sensitive wetlands. It was believed
that the habitat of the spineless French crab was completely wiped out,
threatening the species with extinction.

A representative of Greenpeace said his organization, which had tried to
stall the invasion for over a year, was appalled at the destruction, but
not surprised.

"This is just another example of how the military destroys the
environment without a second thought, " said Christine Moanmore. "And
it's all about corporate greed."

Contacted at his Manhattan condo, a member of the French
government-in-exile who abandoned Paris when Hitler invaded said the
invasion was based solely on American financial interests. "Everyone
knows the President Roosevelt has ties to big beer," said Pierre LeWimp.
"Once the German beer industry is conquered, Roosevelt's beer cronies
will control the world market and make a fortune."

Administration supporters said America's aggressive actions were based
in part on the assertions of controversial scientist Albert Einstein,
who sent a letter to Roosevelt speculating that the Germans were
developing a secret weapon, a so-called "atomic bomb." Such a weapon
could produce casualties on a scale never seen before and cause
environmental damage that could last for thousands of years.

Hitler has denied having such a weapon and international inspectors were
unable to locate such weapons even after spending two long weekends in
Germany.

Shortly after the invasion began reports surfaced that German prisoners
had been abused by Americans. Mistreatment of Jews by Germans at
so-called "concentration camps" has been rumored but so far, remains
unproven.

Several thousand Americans died during the first hours of the invasion
and French officials are concerned that uncollected corpses pose a
public health risk. "The Americans should have planned for this in
advance," they said. "It's their mess and we don't intend to clean it
up."

I'm glad the soldiers who fought and died so bravely on D-Day and
throughout World War II did so decades ago. In the 1940s war was hell,
but at least our troops didn't have to fight the folks back home.



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