Always ready to recruit the embittered and disgruntled at any opportunity, the Communist Party USA has established a special veterans committee. The target – demobilized Iraq War veterans.
From the People’s World;
With the Iraq war officially over, leaving 4,500 U.S. troops and 100,000 Iraqis dead plus tens of thousands wounded, the soldiers who fought and experienced the horror are returning home. They’re stepping out of one war zone and into another.
Faced with high rates of unemployment and discrimination in hiring, many are coping with horrific injuries and post traumatic stress disorder, fueling drug and alcohol abuse, and divorce and record suicide rates.
The experience is causing veterans to draw basic conclusions about the real nature of U.S. foreign policy and even capitalism.
Understandably there’s been an influx of veterans, including combat veterans, into the ranks of the Communist Party USA and Young Communist League.
Among those who joined recently, and are organizing a new CPUSA veterans committee, is Greg, who served as a military police at Bagram Air Force base in Afghanistan.
He said he still gets nightmares from what he witnessed travelling back and forth between Bagram, Kabul and Kandahar.
“A lot of veterans like myself go to war and want to do the right thing for our country,” he said.
“We come home and can’t even find jobs, not even part-time. I’ve found a lot of companies are hesitant to hire veterans, because veterans may have mental or physical issues. That shouldn’t be.”
Greg said he’s also experienced racism and ageism.
“When I got home my old company hired me back like they were supposed to. But soon after, that they laid me off which happens to a lot of veterans,” Greg said.
“That really pushed me over the edge. I had read a lot of the history of the party. The next day I got on line and joined the CPUSA,” he said…
Another veteran, Frank, joined the CPUSA in September. He grew up east of Los Angeles, amid the foothills of the picturesque San Gabriel Mountains. Orange and avocado groves surrounded his hometown.
By the time he graduated high school they were replaced by a growing population and industry associated with the Vietnam War buildup.
Frank was drafted and spent two years in the Army. He was trained as a tank commander and saw combat in Vietnam, serving a tour of duty.
“Little by little, I realized in Vietnam, this supposed capitalist democracy wasn’t working. This wasn’t what the Vietnamese people needed. They would be much better off with socialism,” Frank said.
“When I got back there weren’t a lot of jobs for tank commanders and I had to deal with a lot of other things, nightmares of the things I’d seen. These young men and women returning [from Iraq] are dealing with similar things,” he said.
“There has to be a better way. Socialism is the way we have to go if there’s ever going to be equality between people and countries. And that’s what led me to join the CPUSA,” said Frank.
If tensions rise as far as expected in 2012? If the left needs to use muscle to intimidate its GOP or Tea Party opponents, how useful could dozens, or hundreds of disciplined, battle hardened former soldiers be during strikes, marches, occupations, or riots?
How valuable could weapons trained veterans be too the communists, if things get really violent?
Trained saboteurs, snipers, drill sergeants, intelligence officers, reconnaissance experts – all trained by courtesy of the US taxpayer. Will they be turned by the communists against their former masters?
Why is the Communist Party USA deliberately recruiting US veterans? Veterans are generally more patriotic than the general public – not easy recruits for the left.
Why then are the communists going out of their way to recruit them?
Just how hardball does the left plan to play in 2012?
Is the FBI monitoring this development?
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