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Vietnam

There&#8217;s a big question that arises in the aftermath of Memorial Day, the day when we pay tribute to the Americans who have fallen on behalf of America, on behalf of our defense, on behalf of freedom. 
That question is: Is the West generally geared toward winning wars anymore? Will we ever win another war? 
When it comes to military conflict, the only thing that justifies an evil as great as war is victory. If you fight a war and lose, then all of the sacrifices that are made on behalf of that war are treated as disposable and dispensable. If you fight a war and find a way not to win, then you have spent blood, you&#8217;ve spent treasure, and you&#8217;ve made human beings sacrifice their lives for something that has not actually been effectuated.
Where is the virtue in that? The first rule of war is: Win. So the question for the West is, can we win wars anymore? Because it&#8217;s been a long time since the West actually won a war. 
You can&#8217;t really say that the West won the Afghanistan war. We didn&#8217;t. We didn&#8217;t win the Iraq War. That place is now a sectarian hellhole. The United States didn&#8217;t win the Vietnam War. 
Obviously, the United States won the first Gulf War in the sense that Kuwait was no longer dominated by Iraq. That did not end with the death of Saddam Hussein. He retained his power. But that led to the second Gulf War. The United States really has not won any major war in any serious fashion since the Korean War, and even that ended with an armistice. With that said, at least South Korea exists as a thriving independent state in the modern world, but that was fully three generations ago.
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So why don’t the West and America win wars anymore? 
There are three conditions to winning wars — three preconditions that have to be fulfilled to win a war. 
First, there must be an actual end goal. There must be an answer to, “What is the goal of the war?” We have not really defined our goals in any war that we have entered in recent years, other than generalized victory, nor have we specified what exactly that victory would look like or what we sought to achieve in attaining that victory.
Second, there must be military capacity to achieve that end goal, which means building a military that is capable of actually attaining that goal. It doesn&#8217;t always work that way. Sometimes the United States military is stretched too thin. Virtually all Western militaries have spent an extraordinary amount of time and money in the post-Cold War era trying to shrink the size of the military: light footprint militaries. That means, sometimes military ability is not up to what is necessary in order to achieve the end goal. 
But the third, final, and biggest obstacle to winning a war that currently exists for the West is not lack of end goals, or even lack of military ability to achieve the end goals.
It is the political willingness to take the measures necessary to obtain the end goals. 
Of course, there are some military means that a country is unwilling to undertake in favor of victory, such as, for example, dropping a nuke on a country to get them to decrease oil prices. 
The real problem is that the West is no longer in favor of victory because political leadership and public support for victory in war is totally and utterly lacking.
Even in places where the West isn&#8217;t directly involved — meaning America and Europe aren&#8217;t directly involved, or we&#8217;re just funding other people to fight wars — public support can no longer be maintained, even for the most anodyne political issues. That&#8217;s a result of the public not understanding why we fight particular wars and not understanding the nature of war itself. That combination is absolutely toxic. 
The lack of understanding as to why we fight particular wars stems from havingemptied the rhetorical barrel over and over again without actually explaining America&#8217;s interest in particular conflicts. Politicians cite bumper stickers like “Democracy” or “Our Way of Life.” While the American people want to feel ideologically motivated if they&#8217;re going to war, that’s necessary, but not sufficient.
We have to feel that we&#8217;re right in a conflict, but there actually have to be real interests at stake. If there are not, the American people rapidly tire. That is why it was so overwhelmingly damaging to American foreign policy when the originally expressed motivation for the Iraq War — which was to end the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — was one of the main motivations. When that turned out to be false, it undercut Americans’ sense of why we were there in the first place. 
Fighting for democracy can have two different meanings. First, we can mean that America&#8217;s interest, as the world&#8217;s largest and oldest democracy, is in preserving itself and our interests. But the other way that we generally use it is that we&#8217;re supporting “democracies against dictatorships.” The problem is, that&#8217;s inconsistent because the United States upholds a lot of dictatorships. For example, we actually don&#8217;t want voting in Saudi Arabia because the population would likely vote for a terrorist government, as the Palestinian population did in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank.
It&#8217;s very easy for critics to point out that many of the flaws that we sense in other countries are also present in watered-down form here at home. So when we say “democracy against dictatorship,” you&#8217;ll hear critics on the far Right and the far Left say those things exist in the United States.
Quite often, that&#8217;s not honest. They’re comparing the Gulaging of opponents to the political prosecution of Donald Trump, for example. That&#8217;s really bad. What&#8217;s happening here at home is not the same as somebody being forcibly jailed in Gulags and then dying in mysterious circumstances in Russia. 
But that is an argument that is brought to bear when you use empty bumper sticker slogans like “Democracy” or “Our Way of Life” without filling in the gaps.
All of this means that if upholding public support for a war is wanted, real American interests must be defended and explained. Yes, there must be an ideological interest in any sort of conflict, but those interests can&#8217;t be purely ideological. They need to be material and practical. They involve things that require explanation, like supply chains, freedom of the seas, spheres of influence, and resource allocation. 
These things are complex, and they require explanations to the American public. The reality is that America is very powerful, particularly when it comes to freedom of the seas and trade. But in order to defend American interests in a muscular world, we must defend America&#8217;s place in the world. That means, we have to understand America is an awesome place that ought to be defended.
We used to understand, on a general level, that America&#8217;s place in the world was not only morally defensible, but we also used to understand it was good, as seen particularly in the context of the Cold War binary between the Soviet Union — which was, in fact, a truly evil empire — and the United States and its allies. That was an easy case to make in the post-Cold War era, but that has been radically undermined by several generations of indoctrination from a Marxist-led educational system teaching America is actually a nefarious force in the world.
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We in the United States are the luckiest people in history. Few of us have served in the military of the United States. The percentage of Americans who currently serve in the United States military is vanishingly small, which means the vast majority of Americans don&#8217;t know people currently serving.
Further, the vast majority of people in the military have not fought in a major combat operation. Only about 15% of members of the military have been in active combat. 
For the American public, this means our vision of war is typically World War II movies or video games in which there are no costs. Further, because we&#8217;re so powerful and overwhelmingly hegemonic, there&#8217;s very little cost to Americans in losing wars. 
That&#8217;s also true on a personal level. It turns out that if your friends or family members are serving in the line of duty or have been killed in a war, you are much more likely to be invested in winning that war.
But most Americans haven&#8217;t sunk costs into a war other than money, so it seems much easier to get out of a war. It&#8217;s also easier to say to get into a war when no one you know has actually spilled blood on behalf of that war. 
Then, add to that our legacy media, which are hell-bent on the Left-wing perspective that our enemies are justified.
When covering wars, the media in the West always start off on a justified quest for democracy. Then within months, the entire media have swiveled. They start talking about a Vietnam-like quagmire in which the truly morally righteous are the anti-war Left who are seeking to pull the West out of the death spiral of war.
They keep replaying the Vietnam narrative, but instead of stretching it out over 12 years, they stretch it out over 12 months. For example: When Ukraine defends itself, that is democracy defending itself. But within months, it is a “quagmire.” The media begin saying the West needs an exit plan, asking, “How do we get out of this?”
The media start pumping out images of war, which are always hideous because war is truly hideous. Then public support collapses because we don&#8217;t like ugly pictures on our television. 
So the result of that for America and the West more generally is small, bloody, ugly little wars that stay under the radar, the kind in which Barack Obama uses thousands of drones.
Those sorts of wars are fought because they are anodyne and don&#8217;t require justification, and we don&#8217;t even know about them. Then suddenly they explode onto the radar, at which point the media move to their scripts: “Oh my God, it&#8217;s a quagmire. Why are we even there? Here&#8217;s an ugly picture on your TV.”
At that point, the West cuts and runs, leaving billions in equipment to our enemies.
Something ugly happens when we run or attempt to conciliate evil so as to forestall war entirely. 
Right now, America is not in a position to win another war. The best we can hope for is the status quo. That is a dangerous thing. 
And that&#8217;s not because of the members of our military. The members of our military are amazing and heroic, and they kick a** at their jobs. They&#8217;re the finest fighting force in the history of humanity. 
We&#8217;re not losing wars because of them. We are losing wars because of our politicians; because of a media that hates the country; because of our educational system, which is also training people to hate the country; and in the end, because we, the American public, don&#8217;t have the stomach for this stuff. 
There are further problems because our inability to win a war at home is symptomatic of something even more serious at home. If we can&#8217;t win a war, that says something about what we think of ourselves.
The real reason America can&#8217;t win a war is because much of America, in its bones, does not think we should win a war because to win a war would mean we are imperialistic and dominating. It would mean we are spreading our values elsewhere, which is supposedly bad.
And that’s the problem. Once you, as a country, make the decision that your values are so bad they cannot justify winning a war, once you start believing that you as a country are so corrupt that you are a negative force on the world stage, the rest is a really short run.

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U.S. Military

Several veterans currently serving in Congress — from both sides of the aisle — joined together to wash the Vietnam War Memorial ahead of the Memorial Day holiday honoring fallen service-members.
CBS News&#8217; &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; shared video of the project on Sunday, showing several members of Congress who served in different branches of the military as they hand-washed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
&#8220;Democrat, Republican, black, white, brown, none of that matters,&#8221; Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) said. &#8220;It just matters that we&#8217;re all Americans.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This Memorial Day weekend, a bipartisan group of veterans who serve in Congress hand-washed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial together.
“Democrat, Republican, Black, White, Brown, none of that matters. It just matters that we’re all Americans,” Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) said. <a href="https://t.co/TmMLGrGbd3">pic.twitter.com/TmMLGrGbd3</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1794813253345845415?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Waltz and Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) also spoke with &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; host Margaret Brennan about the &#8220;divide&#8221; between the 99% of Americans who have never served in the military and the 1% who have. Calling that chasm &#8220;deeply problematic as a democracy,&#8221; they told Brennan that they have been working together to find better ways to recruit more young Americans to serve.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
With less than 1% of the American population serving in the military, the &#8220;divide&#8221; between the other 99% is &#8220;deeply problematic as a democracy,&#8221; says <a href="https://twitter.com/RepPatRyanNY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepPatRyanNY</a>, who is working with another veteran in Congress, Rep. <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelgwaltz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@michaelgwaltz</a>, on ways to recruit more service members. <a href="https://t.co/DPEiYsdJfm">pic.twitter.com/DPEiYsdJfm</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1794742391477243917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Waltz suggested that especially in light of President Joe Biden&#8217;s recent unilateral moves to cancel student debt, perhaps some sort of civil or military service could be expected of those whose debts were forgiven.
&#8220;Service doesn&#8217;t just have to be in the military. People here are talking about just giving away college or just eliminating debt. Well, how about the American taxpayer gets something in exchange for that in terms of service?&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;Service doesn&#8217;t just have to be in the military,&#8221; Rep. <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelgwaltz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@michaelgwaltz</a> says. &#8220;People here are talking about just giving away college or just eliminating debt. Well, how about the American taxpayer gets something in exchange for that in terms of service?&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/xeX4w1PzDQ">pic.twitter.com/xeX4w1PzDQ</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1794742641818751243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Waltz and Ryan are also working together to combat the very real problem of suicide among military veterans, saying that the federal government needed to be ready to do more. &#8220;We don&#8217;t have the urgency. It needs to be a problem that every American recognizes as theirs,&#8221; Ryan said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The U.S. government is &#8220;not doing enough&#8221; to address the number of veterans who succumb to suicide after serving, says <a href="https://twitter.com/RepPatRyanNY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepPatRyanNY</a>, an Army veteran.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t have the urgency,&#8221; he tells <a href="https://twitter.com/margbrennan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@margbrennan</a>. &#8220;It needs to be a problem that every American recognizes as theirs.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/TTvDUvHJCC">pic.twitter.com/TTvDUvHJCC</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1794740563415294326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
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US-MEMORIAL DAY

Veterans In Congress Wash Vietnam War Wall For Memorial Day

Veterans In Congress Wash Vietnam Wall For Memorial Day

Congress

memorial

Memorial Day

Mike Waltz

Americans are keenly aware of Hollywood greats who not only entertained us but served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Jimmy Stewart. Paul Newman. Charles Bronson. Humphrey Bogart. Charlton Heston.
Some became American institutions. Others portrayed tough-guy heroes for decades.
The following stars aren’t necessarily known for their on-screen bravado. Others routinely make us laugh for a living.
They served, too, and on Veterans Day it’s worth noting their contributions.
<h2>Rob Riggle</h2>
The veteran SNL funnyman has become a constant comedy presence on shows like “Modern Family,” and movies like “Step Brothers” and “The Hangover.” He’s constantly working, but before diving into that breakneck pace he served 23 years, in total, with the U.S. Marines.
Riggle’s service included nine active-duty years in Liberia, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Albania. The retired <a href="https://people.com/tv/rob-riggle-military-service-hollywood-bet-on-myself/#:~:text=Riggle%20served%2023%20years%20total,to%20serve%20in%20some%20capacity.%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lieutenant Colonel told People magazine</a> how invaluable his time in the military was to his personal improvement.
&#8220;They pushed me beyond my perceived limits… so whatever I thought I was capable of, the Marines said, &#8216;Actually, you can do a whole lot more when pushed.’ And they were right.” 
<div id="attachment_651375" style="width: 849px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-651375" class="size-large wp-image-651375" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1775381859-839x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 04: (L to R) Word War II and Korean War veterans Pat Finn, Melvin Hurwitz, Johnny Johnson and Mel Jenner join actor and host Rob Riggle (C) at the 2023 American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes event at Omni Shoreham Hotel on November 04, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)" width="839" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1775381859-839x576.jpg 839w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1775381859-300x206.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1775381859-768x527.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1775381859.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 839px) 100vw, 839px" />WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; NOVEMBER 04: (L to R) Word War II and Korean War veterans Pat Finn, Melvin Hurwitz, Johnny Johnson and Mel Jenner join actor and host Rob Riggle (C) at the 2023 American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes event at Omni Shoreham Hotel on November 04, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)</div>
<h2>Adam Driver</h2>
Han Solo’s on-screen son is one of Hollywood’s most respected actors, including his work in the upcoming Michael Mann drama “Ferrari.”
Driver’s intensity is a calling card, which helps explain why he signed up to defend his country shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. 
He said during a 2015 TED Talk that his military time was “one of the things I’m most proud of having done in my life.”
He served nearly three years before a mountain bike injury forced him to accept a medical discharge. The future star tried to work through the injury, but his body wouldn’t have it. That prevented him from serving overseas in Iraq, <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2813966/adam-driver-draws-parallels-between-acting-military-careers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he told NPR’s “Fresh Air.”</a>
&#8220;I wanted to go so much. I mean, you were training to do this job for two years with these people. The idea of not going, someone else going in your place or not being there, is not really an easy thing to sit with.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_651379" style="width: 787px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-651379" class="size-large wp-image-651379" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-180216884-777x576.jpg" alt="TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 10: Actor Adam Driver of 'Tracks' poses at the Guess Portrait Studio during 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)" width="777" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-180216884-777x576.jpg 777w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-180216884-300x222.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-180216884-768x569.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-180216884.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 777px) 100vw, 777px" />TORONTO, ON &#8211; SEPTEMBER 10: Actor Adam Driver of &#8216;Tracks&#8217; poses at the Guess Portrait Studio during 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)</div>
<h2>Drew Carey</h2>
The “Price Is Right” wisecracker routinely supports the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces. He’s deployed his wit to make soldiers smile during multiple USO outings. 
He knew exactly how they felt.
Carey signed up with the U.S. Marines in 1980 where he served his country for six years as a field radio operator with the 25th Marine Regiment in Ohio. He eventually attained the rank of sergeant, exploring his gift for gab along the way.
He began penning jokes for military stand-up performances, paving the way for his post-Marine life.
Joining the military had a <a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/drew-carey-cleveland-ohio-marine-corps-history-lone-sailor-statue-great-lakes-science-center/95-941db02d-2a8a-4c78-adb6-e7930a4806df" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profound effect</a> on the future funnyman.
“I went from not being able to afford to eat or clothe myself to getting three meals a day. I had an instant family. I had something to be proud of every day.”
<div id="attachment_651387" style="width: 880px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-651387" class="size-large wp-image-651387" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1190047851-870x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 25: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Actor Drew Carey visits SiriusXM Studios on November 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)" width="870" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1190047851-870x576.jpg 870w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1190047851-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1190047851-768x509.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1190047851.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px" />NEW YORK, NEW YORK &#8211; NOVEMBER 25: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Actor Drew Carey visits SiriusXM Studios on November 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)</div>
<h2>Ice-T</h2>
The veteran rapper was once best known for his incendiary songs targeting crooked cops. Today, he’s a long-standing member of “Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit,” the literal face of hard-working police officers.
As a young man, he <a href="https://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-ice-t.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined the Army</a> to get his life in order.
Then-Tracy Marrow had a wife and daughter, so the move gave him structure along with financial security. He briefly misbehaved during his four-year stint in the 25th Infantry Division, but was able to bounce back and complete his service.
He also used that time to plot his future. Marrow picked up music equipment he’d later use in the early stages of his rap career during his military service.
<div id="attachment_651389" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-651389" class="size-large wp-image-651389" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1773441395-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 03: Ice-T attends the 38th Annual Rock &amp; Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on November 03, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame )" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1773441395-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1773441395-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1773441395-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1773441395.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />NEW YORK, NEW YORK &#8211; NOVEMBER 03: Ice-T attends the 38th Annual Rock &amp; Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on November 03, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame )</div>
<h2>Pat Sajak</h2>
The future game show host shouted, “Good Morning, Vietnam,” into a mic long before Robin Williams made the phrase famous. Sajak didn’t come up with the catchphrase – Williams’ real-life inspiration for the 1987 film of the same name came courtesy of DJ Adrian Cronauer.
Sajak kept that irreverent spirit alive during his days in the U.S. Military.
The future “Wheel of Fortune” star initially trained as a finance clerk but later found his calling as a DJ for the American Forces Vietnam Network. 
Sajak lamented that his service didn’t include life on the battlefield. He called his service “soft,” and felt some shame attached to it. He took solace in the reaction to his broadcasts from fellow soldiers who cheered him for <a href="https://www.uso.org/stories/283-wheel-of-fortune-host-pat-sajak-recounts-his-days-as-an-army-dj">making them feel closer to home</a> with every show.
<div id="attachment_651397" style="width: 801px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-651397" class="size-large wp-image-651397" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-859977418-1-791x576.jpg" alt="ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 10: 'Wheel of Fortune' host Pat Sajak attends a taping of the Wheel of Fortune's 35th Anniversary Season at Epcot Center at Walt Disney World on October 10, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)" width="791" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-859977418-1-791x576.jpg 791w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-859977418-1-300x219.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-859977418-1-768x559.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-859977418-1-1536x1119.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-859977418-1-2048x1492.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 791px) 100vw, 791px" />ORLANDO, FL &#8211; OCTOBER 10: &#8216;Wheel of Fortune&#8217; host Pat Sajak attends a taping of the Wheel of Fortune&#8217;s 35th Anniversary Season at Epcot Center at Walt Disney World on October 10, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)</div>
<h2>Mel Brooks</h2>
One of the funniest men alive <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2882521/actor-comedian-mel-brooks-served-in-army-in-world-war-ii/#:~:text=In%201944%2C%20he%20was%20drafted,training%20at%20Fort%20Sill%2C%20Oklahoma.">lived through the Battle of the Bulge</a>.
Brooks was drafted into the Army in 1944 and brushed up on combat engineering at Virginia Military Institute. By November he was in France and later Belgium as part of the 78th Infantry Division.
He helped clear the battlefield of land mines to allow Allied soldiers to push forward in the Battle of the Bulge. He even saw combat during his service.
The future legend could find something funny about anything, even the horrors of war. He would go on to savage the Third Reich in his 1967 comedy classic, “The Producers,” featuring the loopy tune “Springtime for Hitler.”
<div id="attachment_651399" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-651399" class="size-large wp-image-651399" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-666006012-866x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 07: Director Mel Brooks speaks onstage at the screening of 'High Anxiety' during the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival on April 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. 26657_004 (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM)" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-666006012-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-666006012-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-666006012-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-666006012.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />LOS ANGELES, CA &#8211; APRIL 07: Director Mel Brooks speaks onstage at the screening of &#8216;High Anxiety&#8217; during the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival on April 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. 26657_004 (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM)</div>
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@HollywoodInToto</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

2019 American Valor: A Salute To Our Heroes Veterans Day Special

‘They Pushed Me Beyond My Perceived Limits’: Hollywood Stars Who Served

'They Pushed Me Beyond My Perceived Limits': Hollywood Stars Who Served

actors

Entertainment

Hollywood

Marines

U.S. Army

World War II

In 1968, at the beginning of the Tet Lunar New Year, the Viet Cong violated a temporary ceasefire by launching a major invasion across South Vietnam. The offensive was a military catastrophe for the Viet Cong; it essentially defenestrated them as a serious fighting force in South Vietnam and ended with them retreating from all captured territory.
The military loss, however, wasn’t the real story.
The real story was America’s media. Walter Cronkite, America’s most trusted news anchor, was in actuality a partisan Leftist — but he masqueraded as an objective journalist. And so, on receiving news of the Tet Offensive, Cronkite went on the air and proceeded to inform the American people that the war in Vietnam was being lost. He flew to Vietnam to investigate the situation himself. Upon his return, he said this:
<blockquote>For it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. This summer’s almost certain standoff will either end in real give-and-take negotiations or terrible escalation; and for every means we have to escalate, the enemy can match us, and that applies to invasion of the North, the use of nuclear weapons, or the mere commitment of one hundred, or two hundred, or three hundred thousand more American troops to the battle. And with each escalation, the world comes closer to the brink of cosmic disaster.</blockquote>
The Vietnam War wasn’t lost on the battlefield. It was lost in the hearts and minds of the American people, and it was lost in large part because of the American news media.
The American news media has rarely covered itself in glory in covering foreign policy. The New York Times famously covered for Stalin’s Holodomor, his starvation of millions of his own citizens, deploying corrupt and venal Walter Duranty to cover for the evil dictator. The New York Times largely back-paged the Holocaust.
The world’s most evil regimes have routinely relied on America’s media to provide them cover.
Today is no different.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1841-hamas-fifth-column-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
Hamas is an evil, genocidal terrorist group. Yet they receive widespread sympathy because the media create that sympathy. They do so through a variety of methods.
First, and most obviously, they draw moral equivalence between Hamas, which targets civilians for death — both Israeli and its own — and Israel, which seeks to avoid killing civilians when targeting members of Hamas.
Take, for example, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer questioning an IDF commander yesterday after Israel hit a Hamas command tunnel network in Jabalia, a major city in the Gaza Strip often characterized by the media as a “refugee camp.” 
Blitzer repeatedly blamed Israel for the fact that Hamas hides beneath civilian areas. If this were truly a civilian center alone, massive tunnel craters simply wouldn’t be there.
The craters are there. So are the dead fighters.
But according to Wolf Blitzer, Israel’s legitimate military actions are apparently morally equivalent to Hamas’ slaughter of babies in their cribs.
This, of course, follows hard on the New York Times accepting the word of Hamas about military strikes and casualties resulting in a major blood libel in which the entire legacy media parroted that Israel had struck a hospital, killing 500 people. In reality, a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket hit a parking lot near the hospital.
Too late. The damage was done.
Then there’s the second media strategy: misdirection.
Comedian Norm Macdonald <a href="https://twitter.com/normmacdonald/status/809637479674281984?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> in December 2016, “What terrifies me is if ISIS were to detonate a nuclear device and kill 50 million Americans. Imagine the backlash against peaceful Muslims?”
Macdonald’s joke is actually the media’s strategy for moral equivalence. As anti-Semitism around the world rises — as millions of radical Muslims around the globe, including in the West, march in favor of Hamas — the media are treating Muslims as a victim group. 
Thus, the New York Times ran an op-ed yesterday, in the midst of the widest global increase in anti-Semitism of my lifetime, decrying the supposed rise in “Islamophobia.” The author was one Rozina Ali, “a journalist who covers war, Islamophobia and the Middle East.” Her article explained, “For those who experienced waves of harassment and government surveillance in the years after Sept. 11, the president’s pledge of ’unwavering’ support for Israel set off alarm bells.” 
Yes, according to this Times columnist, support for Israel is cover for Islamophobia. She also insists, “From college campuses to places of work, people are facing retribution for expressing support for Palestinians that is being misconstrued as anti-Israel or pro-Hamas.” 
That is a lie, given protests against Israel began before Israeli counterstrikes and routinely chant for the destruction of the state of Israel. As for Ali herself, her Twitter feed shows on October 7, she did not tweet — but she did retweet a post complaining that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was telling civilians to leave potential war zones. In fact, Ali has posted precisely zero times decrying Hamas’ brutality. But she did find time to retweet posts calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide.”
Finally, there’s the third strategy: pretending anti-Semitism isn’t a major problem; it’s actually just a side effect of political contentiousness, which really means it’s springing from Israeli policy.
The media are in the business of downplaying Muslim and Left-wing anti-Semitism, treating it as mere opposition to Israeli policy (the policy being Israeli survival) or as a ruse. Today’s example comes courtesy of the New York Times.
Pro-Israel and pro-Jewish activists around the nation have been putting up posters of men, women, and children kidnapped by Hamas. And anti-Semites have been ripping them down. 
Pretty clear evidence of widespread anti-Semitism, no? Well, not according to the New York Times:
<blockquote>Displaying the posters has become a form of activism, keeping the more than 200 hostages seized by Hamas in full view of the public. But removing the posters has quickly emerged as its own form of protest — a release valve and also a provocation by those anguished by what they say was the Israeli government’s mistreatment of Palestinians in the years before Oct. 7 and since the bombing of Gaza began. … The battle has inflamed already tense emotions. And it captures one of the most fervently debated questions of the war: Whose suffering should command public attention and sympathy? … In fact, the motivations of those removing signs take a variety of forms. And as unnerving as the removal of the posters has been for some Jews and supporters of Israel, at least some of the people tearing them down are Jewish themselves.</blockquote>
Hamas and its allies are relying utterly on the legacy media both in America and in Europe to cover for them — and to provide political pressure on politicians to cut their support to Israel. That’s precisely why Hamas is planting civilians in harm’s way, to maximize the casualties for the cameras, to blame Israel.
And the media blame along.
We have to ask why.
The answer is that the legacy media are salted with members of an international Left dedicated to the proposition that the West is itself fatally flawed and colonialist. All the college radicals grew up and went into journalism. They hire local partisan activists to “freelance” for them, including Hitler supporters to cover the Gaza Strip. They see their mission as the restoration of justice in the universe — justice, of course, meaning the destruction of the West’s power, in the name of the supposedly oppressed of the earth.
If the legacy media get their way, the West will fall into disarray. 
So far, they’re succeeding admirably.
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Screenshot 2023-11-01 at 4.41.16 PM copy

Hamas’ Fifth Column

Hamas' Fifth Column

New York Times

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted President Biden after Biden stated in Vietnam that he didn’t “want to contain China.”
Speaking in Hanoi last Friday, Biden stated, “I am sincere about getting the relationship right. And one of the things that is going on now is China is beginning to change some of the rules of the game, in terms of trade and other issues. &#8230; And so, really, what this trip was about — it was less about containing China. I don’t want to contain China. I just want to make sure that we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away, everybody knows what it’s all about.”
“That’s just hopelessly naïve and something out of decades gone by,” Pompeo told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum. “The place that America finds itself is a direct result of Xi Jinping’s behavior. This isn’t a dislike for the Chinese people or dislike for the Chinese government per se; it is Xi Jinping’s aggression against America.”
“He’s stolen billions of dollars of intellectual property; he foisted a virus on the world. To say that you’re just trying to figure out how to get along, Xi Jinping views that as weakness or incompetence, or perhaps both,” Pompeo continued.
“And that’s dangerous,” he stated.”they’re running huge spy operations inside of our country; they have huge influence on our university systems all across America. For President Biden to say, “well, we don’t want to contain them” — well, fair enough. But make no mistake about it, Xi Jinping has at least declared economic war on the United States for the last 30 years.”
In August 2022, Pompeo — who staunchly opposed Communist China during his tenure during the Trump administration — warned of entities controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) procuring American farmland with much of it located near U.S. military bases.
In May 2022, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced the <a href="http://newhouse.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/newhouse.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/NEWHOU_063_xml.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act</a>, which would bar foreign nationals associated with the CCP from buying public or private agricultural land in the United States.
“China’s American agricultural land holdings have increased over tenfold in the last decade, and at the beginning of 2020, investments from China held $2 billion of American agricultural land,” Newhouse <a href="https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/newhouse-introduces-bill-block-china-purchasing-american-farmland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>.
Pompeo tweeted, “CCP-controlled entities are now buying up American farmland, much of which is near U.S. military bases. Yet, our diplomats in China can’t even go to the grocery story [sic] without someone following them. We have to take this seriously.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
CCP-controlled entities are now buying up American farmland, much of which is near U.S. military bases. Yet, our diplomats in China can’t even go to the grocery story without someone following them. 
We have to take this seriously.
&mdash; Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikepompeo/status/1554101212810706951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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“Let me be clear,” he added. “China, under the rule of the CCP, is the greatest threat to the U.S. in our history. It touches every facet of American life: military, education, the private sector, our government, and more. It will take real, unified effort in each for America to stay on top.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Let me be clear &#8211; China, under the rule of the CCP, is the greatest threat to the U.S. in our history. It touches every facet of American life: military, education, the private sector, our government, and more. It will take real, unified effort in each for America to stay on top.
&mdash; Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikepompeo/status/1554474420563021828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In March 2020, Pompeo <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200320-china-says-pompeo-lying-in-new-coronavirus-clash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Beijing “wasted valuable days” by permitting  “hundreds of thousands” to leave Wuhan and travel to other places. &#8220;The Chinese Communist Party didn&#8217;t get it right and put countless lives at risk as a result of that,&#8221; Pompeo said.

Mike Pompeo

‘Hopelessly Naive … Dangerous’: Pompeo Slams Biden Saying He Doesn’t Want To Contain China

China

Joe Biden

Someone in charge of the microphone turned off President Joe Biden’s mic during his press conference in Vietnam Sunday as Biden began to ramble.
Biden was asked about the fact that he had not spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping in 10 months and whether he thought that would destabilize U.S.-China relations.
Biden stated he had met with China’s “number two person in India today,” segued to saying sympathetically of Xi, “he has his hands full right now because of rampant unemployment among China’s youth,” before veering off, “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to bed.”
He started to ramble, “We talked about stability, we talked about the Third World, excuse me, the Southern Hemisphere has access to change. It wasn&#8217;t confrontational at all” before his mic was cut off and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced, “Thank you, everybody. This ends the press conference. Thanks, everyone.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dy9pD0mPXAc?si=2ozcBSRjYyUFHv5A&amp;start=1523" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Earlier in the press conference, Biden admitted, “I&#8217;ll just follow my orders here. Staff, is there anybody that hasn&#8217;t spoken yet?” He then turned to the reporters, declaring, &#8220;I ain&#8217;t calling on you.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden gets VERY confused during his &quot;press conference&quot; in Vietnam:
&quot;I&#39;ll just follow my orders here. Staff, is there anybody that hasn&#39;t spoken yet? I ain&#39;t calling on you.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/8xSmP94ZZK">pic.twitter.com/8xSmP94ZZK</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1700881659871236134?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Biden also attacked those who dispute the climate change narrative, calling them “lying dog-faced pony soldiers.” He stated:
<blockquote>
&#8220;My brother, he loves famous lines from movies that he always quotes. One of them is there’s a movie about John Wayne, he’s an Indian scout, and there trying to get one of the tribes of America back on the reservation, and they’re on their horses and their saddles, and there are three or four Indians in headdresses and the Union solider basically saying &#8216;We’ll take care of you, everything’ll be good,&#8217; and the Indian looks at John Wayne and points to the Union soldier and says, &#8216;He’s a lying dog-faced pony soldier.'&#8221;
</blockquote>
“Well, there&#8217;s a lot of lying dog-faced pony soldiers out there about global warming,” Biden continued. “But not anymore. All of a sudden, they&#8217;re all realizing it&#8217;s a problem.”
Biden has used that story before, in 2018, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/10/joe-biden-lying-dog-faced-pony-soldier-new-hampshire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">talking</a> about North Dakota GOP Senator Kevin Cramer, and again in 2020 at a campaign event in New Hampshire, when he <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/joe-biden-dog-faced-pony-soldier-john-wayne-tyrone-power.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> a young woman the same thing.
Although Biden has repeatedly used that story, there has not been any conclusive evidence of such a scene. Slate <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/joe-biden-dog-faced-pony-soldier-john-wayne-tyrone-power.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed out</a> in February 2020 that the story is possibly a conflation of one John Wayne movie in which a Native American chief calls Tyrone Power a “pony soldier,” saying he’s lying, and another in which a narrator calls Wayne and members of the U.S. cavalry “Dog-faced soldiers.”

TOPSHOT-VIETNAM-US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY

Biden Rambles In Vietnam. They Turn Off His Mic.

President Joe Biden spent part of his overseas trip wringing his hands over the possibility that global temperatures could rise by 1.5°, calling the prospect &#8220;more frightening than nuclear war.&#8221;
Biden made the comments from a Hanoi, Vietnam, press conference – during which he also referred to those who didn&#8217;t buy into climate alarmism as &#8220;lying dog-faced pony soldiers&#8221; and claimed that he&#8217;d borrowed the line (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-joe-biden-calls-a-female-voter-a-lying-dog-faced-pony-soldier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which he&#8217;s used before</a>) from an old John Wayne movie.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: Joe Biden says climate change ‘is even more frightening than a nuclear war’ <a href="https://t.co/PF2tPdJmsC">pic.twitter.com/PF2tPdJmsC</a>
&mdash; Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanielTurnerPTF/status/1700899294314721354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Biden first called on his Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry, who he said had forgotten more about emissions than most could ever learn.
&#8220;Correct me if I get this wrong, John, but I&#8217;m quite sure I&#8217;m right,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And that is that there&#8217;s more carbon absorbed from the air into the Amazon region, into the ground — the ground — than emitted in the entire United States on the same basis.&#8221;
&#8220;Now imagine if people go in and do what we did, 150-200 years ago — and cut down the forest and start farming in that area,&#8221; Biden continued, going on to say that the larger and wealthier nations should be doing what they could to prevent developing nations from employing those same strategies.
&#8220;In addition to helping the environment overall — and the only existential threat humanity faces, even more frightening than a  — than a nuclear war, is global warming going above 1.5° in the next 20, ten years,&#8221; Biden added. &#8220;It would be real trouble, There&#8217;s no way back from that.&#8221;
During the same press conference, Biden referred to &#8220;climate deniers&#8221; as &#8220;lying, dog-faced pony soldiers&#8221; — a line he&#8217;s used before and claims he picked up from a John Wayne film.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
JOE BIDEN: “The Indian looks at John Wayne and points to the Union soldier and says, &#39;He&#39;s a lying, dog-faced pony soldier!&#39; Well there&#39;s a lot of lying, dog-faced pony soldiers out there about global warming..”
 <a href="https://t.co/YCya96xzyV">pic.twitter.com/YCya96xzyV</a>
&mdash; ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) <a href="https://twitter.com/alx/status/1700885355237626261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;My brother loves having these famous lines from movies, famous quotes,&#8221; Biden prefaced, adding, &#8220;And one of them is there&#8217;s a movie about John Wayne, he&#8217;s an Indian scout, and they&#8217;re trying — I think it was Apache or one of the great tribes of America back on a reservation.&#8221;
The president went on to say something about the headdresses and Union soldiers who were apparently trying to get the Native Americans to go with them somewhere, promising them they&#8217;d be taken care of.
&#8220;And the Indian scout points to the Union soldier and says, &#8216;He&#8217;s a lying, dog-faced pony soldier,'&#8221; Biden continued. &#8220;Well there&#8217;s a lot of lying, dog-faced pony soldiers out there about — about global warming.&#8221;
But despite Biden&#8217;s insistence that he stole the line from the Duke, TMZ <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/09/10/president-biden-john-wayne-dog-faced-pony-soldier-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the quote — as Biden delivered it — does not actually exist. Instead, it appears to be a strange mash-up of John Wayne lines crossed with a 1952 Tyrone Power film titled &#8220;Pony Soldier.&#8221;

President Biden Speaks On West Coast Port Workers New Contract Agreement

‘Even More Frightening Than A Nuclear War’: Biden Clutches Pearls Over Global Temps Rising 1.5°

'Even More Frightening Than A Nuclear War': Biden Clutches Pearls Over Global Temps Rising 1.5°

Climate Change

Global Politics

Global Warming

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> said on Sunday he does not want to isolate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china">China</a> as he works to shore up ties between the United States and other countries.
The commander in chief made the assertion <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k9h_iUzz2A">during a press conference</a> in Hanoi, Vietnam, after participating in a G-20 summit in India that Chinese President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xi-jinping">Xi Jinping</a> did not attend.
&#8220;So, really, what this trip was about — it was less about containing China. I don&#8217;t want to contain China,&#8221; Biden said. &#8220;I just want to make sure that we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away, everybody knows what it&#8217;s all about.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BIDEN: &quot;I don&#39;t wanna contain China&quot; <a href="https://t.co/S3ddEsiDgr">pic.twitter.com/S3ddEsiDgr</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1700876409131151482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Biden further explained that his itinerary was about &#8220;having India cooperate much more with the United States, be closer with the United States, Vietnam being closer with the United States.&#8221;
He also insisted that his travel abroad was meant to create &#8220;a stable base in the Indo-Pacific&#8221; and establish international &#8220;rules of the road&#8221; on matters related to the ocean, airspace, and space.
&#8220;I want to see China succeed economically, but I want to see them succeed by the rules,&#8221; Biden added.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized Biden during an appearance on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union.&#8221;
&#8220;The whole point of him going to the region, in my view, was to get our friends and allies and partners together in the event of an invasion of Taiwan and a greater invasion into the South Pacific Sea,&#8221; McCaul said, adding that Biden chose the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/09/10/sotu-mccaul-full.cnn">&#8220;wrong message to send&#8221;</a> because it was not one of &#8220;deterrence.&#8221;
Ahead of Biden&#8217;s visit to Vietnam, Beijing expressed disapproval of the U.S. approach to dealing with China&#8217;s neighbors.
&#8220;We believe that when dealing with relations with Asian countries, the #US should abandon the Cold War mentality of a zero-sum game, abide by basic norms of international relations, not target third parties and not undermine regional peace, stability, development and prosperity,&#8221; said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, as <a href="https://twitter.com/globaltimesnews/status/1698603237522428147">reported</a> in a post to X by China&#8217;s Global Times.
During his press conference, Biden stressed, &#8220;I think we think too much in terms of Cold War terms.&#8221;
The president said he spoke about &#8220;stability&#8221; with Xi’s No. 2 Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G-20 summit and their conversation &#8220;wasn&#8217;t confrontational at all.&#8221; Biden also said he hopes to meet with Xi &#8220;sooner than later.&#8221;

Biden Says He Does Not Want To ‘Contain’ China

Biden Says He Does Not Want To 'Contain' China

National Security

U.S.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre waved off criticisms of President Joe Biden&#8217;s behavior at a Tuesday afternoon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessean-who-conducted-daring-rescue-during-vietnam-war-to-be-awarded-medal-of-honor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Medal of Honor ceremony</a> recognizing Vietnam veteran Captain Larry Taylor, insisting that his abrupt exit from the event was &#8220;as planned.&#8221;
Biden, who has been wearing a mask and observing &#8220;social distancing&#8221; protocols since it was revealed that first lady Jill Biden has once again tested positive for COVID, first raised eyebrows when he had his face covering removed in close proximity to Taylor, 81.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
That time Covidian propagandists were all praising Biden for going back to wearing his mask again but then two minutes later he took it off and walked through a crowd of people without it anyway. <a href="https://t.co/C7xQl9ShK6">pic.twitter.com/C7xQl9ShK6</a>
&mdash; Five Times August (@FiveTimesAugust) <a href="https://twitter.com/FiveTimesAugust/status/1699399130685067559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Biden inspired further confusion when — with no announcement, explanation, or fanfare — he walked through the crowd (still sans mask) and out the door, baffling guests and photographers along the way. The ceremony concluded with the benediction prayer several moments after Biden left.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Joe Biden just BOLTED out of the room immediately after awarding the Medal of Honor to Army Captain Larry Taylor.
The ceremony continued on for several minutes afterwards.
Biden completely missed a concluding prayer. <a href="https://t.co/BjSdeHcLPD">pic.twitter.com/BjSdeHcLPD</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1699148013577318593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Critics wondered what was happening, calling out the president&#8217;s odd departure via X.
&#8220;He wasn’t supposed to leave yet. In East Room ceremonies they always ask people to remain in their seats while the president exits when the ceremony is finished. More mental confusion,&#8221; the American Enterprise Institute’s Marc Thiessen <a href="https://twitter.com/marcthiessen/status/1699149979321815534" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a>.
&#8220;He also starts to leave before saluting, only stops when he sees the salute, then jets. Man &#8230;&#8221; conservative pundit Stephen Miller <a href="https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1699154070932783133" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
But Jean-Pierre insisted that Biden&#8217;s exit, though unannounced, was part of a plan to ensure he did not risk exposing other attendees to COVID.
WATCH:
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Karine Jean-Pierre says that Joe Biden&#39;s mysterious and abrupt exit from the Medal of Honor ceremony yesterday was &quot;as planned.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/cNmdgAFhb1">pic.twitter.com/cNmdgAFhb1</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1699475553697271904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;The president took off his mask, as I said he would, to deliver some incredibly powerful remarks about this captain, Captain Taylor and what he did in service to our nation,&#8221; Jean-Pierre said at Wednesday&#8217;s press briefing. &#8220;For a brief time afterwards, he also did not have his mask on.&#8221;
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Jean-Pierre went on to address Biden&#8217;s exit, saying it was &#8220;as planned&#8221; and had been intended to minimize any possible COVID exposure to the others in attendance.
She doubled down on the issue a short time later.
WATCH:
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Karine Jean-Pierre doubles down on Biden&#39;s strange exit from the Medal of Honor ceremony yesterday:
&quot;That was done on purpose. That was done very purposefully.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/HBBtW2BkZS">pic.twitter.com/HBBtW2BkZS</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1699482239854092780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;That was done on purpose, that was done very purposefully so that, again, he wasn&#8217;t there for too long,&#8221; Jean-Pierre said, adding that Biden had spent some time with Captain Taylor and his family — with everyone wearing masks — in addition to his brief appearance at the ceremony.

President Biden Awards Medal Of Honor To Vietnam Veteran For Conspicuous Gallantry

‘He Left As Planned’: Press Sec Waves Off Biden’s Abrupt Exit From Medal Of Honor Ceremony

'He Left As Planned': Press Sec Waves Off Biden's Abrupt Exit From Medal of Honor Ceremony

Executive

Karine Jean-Pierre

Medal of Honor

Military

Politics

A Tennessean who conducted a daring helicopter rescue during the Vietnam War will be awarded the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/medal-of-honor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Medal of Honor</a> on Tuesday, more than 50 years after his heroic actions. 
Retired Captain Larry Taylor of Signal Mountain, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tennessee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee</a>, will be given the award by President Joe Biden for rescuing four soldiers under heavy fire from communist forces during a firefight in 1968. Taylor was deployed to Vietnam from 1967-1968, where he ran 2,000 combat missions and was fired at 340 times, <a href="https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/taylor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Army.
The act that earned Taylor the Medal of Honor occurred on June 18, 1968, during a battle in the hamlet of Ap Go Cong, then part of the Republic of Vietnam. Taylor was the leader of a helicopter light-fire support team that was tasked with helping four soldiers who had been surrounded by communist forces during a reconnaissance mission. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a> just announced that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USArmy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USArmy</a> Capt. Larry Taylor will be awarded on Tuesday the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MedalOfHonor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MedalOfHonor</a> for his heroic actions on June 18, 1968, as a first lieutenant with 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. 
📰 <a href="https://t.co/QOSCDBgMHh">https://t.co/QOSCDBgMHh</a> <a href="https://t.co/j7Xt8vCRfz">pic.twitter.com/j7Xt8vCRfz</a>
&mdash; U.S. Army (@USArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/USArmy/status/1697623687820615905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Taylor and another helicopter provided air support for the soldiers for about 45 minutes before the choppers ran low on ammo and left to scout out an escape route the reconnaissance team was supposed to take. 
He then returned and discovered that plans for a UH-1 “Huey” helicopter to rescue the soldiers had been scrapped “because it stood almost no chance of success,” <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/09/01/president-joseph-r-biden-jr-to-award-the-medal-of-honor-3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a White House press release.
“Running low on fuel, with the patrol team nearly out of ammunition, Taylor decided to extract the team using his two-man Cobra helicopter, a feat that had never been accomplished or even attempted,” the White House said. “When the team reached the site, Taylor landed his Cobra under heavy enemy fire and with complete disregard for his personal safety. The patrol team climbed aboard, grabbing on to rocket-pods and skids, and Taylor carried them to a safe location before landing them back on the ground.”
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Speaking last year on the anniversary of the rescue, a member of the patrol that Taylor rescued said he did not think he would survive the battle. 
“Who would have bet that any of us would have even the sun come up on the morning of June 19, 1968, let alone the dawns of another 54 years? Words are inadequate to describe your actions, nor my humble gratitude for the many years of friendship given you and me since then, so I will just say: thank you, sir,” Dave Hill said. 
Taylor, born in Chattanooga, also earned the Silver Star, a Bronze Star, 43 Air Medals, and two Distinguished Flying Crosses. After his service, Taylor went into the roofing and sheet metal business.

President Biden Awards Medal Of Honor To Retired US Army Colonel Paris Davis

Tennessean Who Conducted Daring Rescue During Vietnam War To Be Awarded Medal Of Honor

Heroism

The highly anticipated “Barbie” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">movie</a> just got banned in Vietnam due to content that government officials find offensive.
The Greta Gerwig-directed fantasy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">comedy</a> starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken was scheduled to premiere in Vietnam on July 21, the same day as the United States release. But now the Warner Bros. film won’t be able to count on any revenue from the country, per <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/barbie-banned-vietnam-movie-warner-bros-1235660317/">Variety</a>. 
The issue is that “Barbie” includes a scene with the U-shaped “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea. This region has been a point of contention between Vietnam and China for years. The line is shown on Chinese maps to indicate their claims over the area despite <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vietnam">Vietnam</a>, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan claiming parts of the same maritime area.
&#8220;We do not grant license for the American movie &#8216;Barbie&#8217; to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line,&#8221; Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Department of Cinema, a government body in charge of licensing and censoring foreign films, was quoted as saying in the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper.
“Barbie” isn’t the first film banned for including the nine-dash line. The Vietnamese government also blocked the DreamWorks animated film “Abominable” (2019) and the action-adventure film &#8220;Unchartered&#8221; (2022) for the same reason. Netflix removed the Australian spy drama &#8220;Pine Gap&#8221; in 2021 for their inclusion of the line.
Details about the plot of the “Barbie” movie have been kept under wraps ever since the project was announced. Gosling <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ryan-gosling-recalls-weird-sign-he-was-meant-to-play-ken-in-barbie-movie">joked</a> that Mattel would “box [him] up” if he revealed any details before the premiere. Earlier this year, Simu Liu (Ken #2) called the film “wild” and “incredibly unique.” He said, “I wish I could just show you what we do day-to-day because it’s crazy.”
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&#8220;People don&#8217;t have any idea what to expect [with the film], and I think that that&#8217;s the right vibe,&#8221; actress America Ferrera (Gloria) <a href="https://people.com/movies/barbie-movie-everything-to-know/">told</a> People magazine. &#8220;Whatever you think it is, it&#8217;s not that. It&#8217;s something else.&#8221;
The trailer indicates that “Barbie” follows the iconic doll as she leaves her perfect, stylized world and explores the “real world” after becoming disillusioned with her life and wanting more.

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