Military to use lethal force against Americans??🤬

[dennishoddy]

Not Jan 6th...but in DC. Those look like magazines to me. My guess is there's no round chambered, though.


View attachment 520437

I guess we can trade pictures.

 

[dennishoddy]

OK... Let's try another scenario. One that came damn close to happening.

You have a known, hijacked airliner. The hijackers are in control of the aircraft. They're flying it towards a civilian target where, if they're successful they might kill hundreds, or even a few thousand, innocent US citizens. You know this because several other hijacked planes have already been flown into buildings. Those onboard are unable to pull off a "Flight 93" thwarting of the hijackers.

The president has USAF F16s standing by to down the aircraft.

Does he order them to fire or let things play out as they might?

You're stretching. You should know the answer to that as it's part of the history of that event.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

That's my point and why I said it nearly happened. Cheney had already given the pilots the order to fire on Flight 93 not knowing the plane was already down.

But since conspiracy theories are basically what keeps this site alive, I think the "what if" question I posed is valid. Do you order the Air Force to shoot down the plane if you have the chance?

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I guess we can trade pictures.

View attachment 520439

Doesn't change the fact that NG troops are often armed when called up for missions and have mags in their guns. And that guy may not have a mag in his gun, but he's got one (at least) on his chest rig.

 

[dennishoddy]

Doesn't change the fact that NG troops are often armed when called up for missions and have mags in their guns. And that guy may not have a mag in his gun, but he's got one (at least) on his chest rig.

Are they loaded or for show. You tell me.

 

[BillM]

Blame that on the politicians, not the Military. Don't tell the ones that served there it wasn't a war.
This table contains record counts based on the codes recorded in the “CASUALTY CATEGORY” field of the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File. In the case of the “PRESUMED DEAD (BODY REMAINS RECOVERED)” and “PRESUMED DEAD (BODY REMAINS NOT RECOVERED)” categories of the table, the record counts are based on the codes in both the “CASUALTY CATEGORY” and “REMAINS RECOVERED” fields.

Casualty Category	Number of Records​
ACCIDENT	9,107​
DECLARED DEAD	1,201​
DIED OF WOUNDS	5,299​
HOMICIDE	236​
ILLNESS	938​
KILLED IN ACTION	40,934​
PRESUMED DEAD (BODY REMAINS RECOVERED)	32​
PRESUMED DEAD (BODY REMAINS NOT RECOVERED)	91​
SELF-INFLICTED	382​
Total Records	58,220​

It was a war, not a game.

"Ever been in Southeast Asia? It makes Florida look like a desert. Wherever you step it squishes. Instead of tractors they use water buffaloes. The bushes are filled with insects and natives who shoot at you. It wasn’t a war—not even a “Police Action.” We were “Military Advisers.” But a Military Adviser who has been dead four days in that heat smells the same way a corpse does in a real war." Glory Road Robert A. Heinlein 1963
A few years later, it became a police action, and by the time I enlisted, in 1973, it was referred to as "The war in Vietnam" but never officially declared by Congress as such. I was young and dumb and stupid enough to volunteer, but lucky enough to not get sent there. Or anywhere else, in theater. McNamara realized we couldn't win it the way we were doing things, but didn't have the cojones to so advise the President. There's another grave I'll irrigate if I ever get the chance.