Great Military Comebacks!!

[Sgt Mike]

4 Stories:

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire building' by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'



A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day; they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day; and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such ships. how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'



Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied
'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...

A group of American retired teachers recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.


'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.


'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.' The American said,
'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.' 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!'



The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained.

Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to.'

You could have heard a pin drop

[KD57]

[Clint]

Yes, let's arrogantly boast about our accomplishments and act like we didn't notice all our faults and mistakes.

True patriotism involves scrutiny and improvement, not nation-bashing and smartass remarks about wealth.

[themeatmanlandry]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

Yes, let's arrogantly boast about our accomplishments and act like we didn't notice all our faults and mistakes.

True patriotism involves scrutiny and improvement, not nation-bashing and smartass remarks about wealth.

Damn, did LCA accidentally log on as Rowdy today?? Did you pen that into a manifesto in your cabin in the hills? Are you typing this from a ledge with a parasol and a megaphone?



Sorry, buddy. I couldn't resist.

[Clint]

No prob. I actually agree with him on quite a few things.

I just don't get the point of that stuff. What, like no one appreciates what our veterans and our money have done? Like we don't screw up?

What's the point, exactly?

[busa-boy33]

Oh America screws up alright... and one big one is called the NAFTA super highway..

[themeatmanlandry]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

What's the point, exactly?

Propaganda. That's the point. It makes us feel good about the decline that we are in to reminisce about "the good old days" when we were tops at everything. Like an old man telling folks about how great of an arm he used to have.

Our great, great grandkids will have to put up with the same %%%% from the Indians and Chinese in another hundred years.

[BigAl]

You may want to ask the indians about the first quote.

Al

[themeatmanlandry]

Originally Posted by BigAl

You may want to ask the indians about the first quote.

Al

I'm referring to the dots (browns), not the feathers (reds).

[Low&Slow]

Good job Sgt Mike, I love a good comeback.

[drgibson]

Why is it that someone always has to drop a bomb of negitivity.

Sometimes it would be nice if we didn't feel the need to distroy every thread we disagree with.

[jgreth]

[points up at Clint]

[Thundurburd]

Hey, I like the post. Thanks Sgt Mike.

"Reality... what a concept." -- Robin Williams

[Clint]

Originally Posted by drgibson

Why is it that someone always has to drop a bomb of negitivity.

Actually, Don, the reason I mentioned it was because the quotes themselves are horribly negative. They're reminiscent of the attitude that's gotten us into so many messes lately. Can you not see that? Look a little deeper than the cheap chuckle they bring, my friend, and you'll see that people like me are working toward something positive. Landry gets it.

P.s. No need for the abiguity. I can take the criticism.

[themeatmanlandry]

Is the whole discussion rendered moot if someone finds that it may not be true anyway??



[EDIT] . . . but we DID save the world 65 years ago . . . and no one seems to remember that . . . or the debts we've forgiven . . .

[Clint]

Thank you for that. I fully expected to find it at Snopes.com, but didn't.

No, the discussion, for me at least, is about a realistic and helpful world view. It's more important every year. It's not moot.

[themeatmanlandry]

I see this country headed for a pretty mundane century. If it weren't for our agriculture and military, I really don't think we'd matter much after another 20 years or so.

We've sold off our factories and accompanying jobs, and now it loks like we're headed towards becoming a country that sells itself stuff and fixes it. That's sad, but I believe that we've done it to ourselves.

We've done it by allowing our politicians to entertain big money interests, and we've done it with our own greed (by expecting a king's pay for a pauper's skillset). I worry for our kids.

[EDIT] I mean, what other country in the world would actually take its citizens' tax dollars and use them to build a highway right through the middle of the country in order to transport goods that are manufactured at our old jobs now held by someone else in a foreign land??

[Clint]

I don't worry about them. They won't have the unrealistic expectation that the country should be as it was years ago. They'll learn to adapt and work with the world as it is. Teach them to think, and they'll be happy and productive.

[themeatmanlandry]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

I don't worry about them. They won't have the unrealistic expectation that the country should be as it was years ago. They'll learn to adapt and work with the world as it is. Teach them to think, and they'll be happy and productive.

Who called this guy negative earlier?? That is an over optimistic approach if I ever saw one.

I wish I could spur that type of hope out of the situation we are looking at. In the end I'm sure everything will be fine, but I don't see how.

[Clint]

Well, it comes from the only kind of faith I consider viable: faith in my parenting, and faith in my children. I'm pretty cynical about some things, but nobody can take away my hope.