Thanks for the video (above, from Dustin) and photo (below, from McKenzie) – they and others wondered about military helicopters flying over West Seattle around 10:15 this morning.
Absent something like a sports-game flyby, it’s not easy to find out why a military helicopter’s passing by, but we’ve finally heard back from a source at Joint Base Lewis-McChord who says those were Apaches and a Chinook, “visiting the (Museum of Flight, at Boeing Field) for their organizational-day activity.”
Gotta love those CH47 Chinooks. That THUMP, THUMP, THUMP is the sound of Liberty.
Perhaps. But you generally aren’t on the receiving end of something you don’t want to be on the receiving end of, unless your cohorts (used loosely) are guilty of behaving very badly. Yes there are exceptions, but in general, you don’t get the Apache or Chinook treatment without good reason.
Knowing that Seattle is within minutes flying distance of four separate military airfields, you wouldn’t think such sights would get people riled up.
Tell that to the veterans of the illegal Iraq War who came back in caskets or maimed or emotionally damaged.
Those of us who have been to Iraq (and my husband rescued by a crew in a Chinook) take offense to your stereotyping and mockery of combat veterans.
You think I’m joking? Currently we are waging what is essentially an undeclared war, congresionally unauthorized war against Russia with massive deployment of military hardware and troops to NATO countries. On top of that risking a nuclear confrontation. Service personnel deserve much, m uch better. The only publication pushing back on the onslaught of war jingoism has been a piece in Harper’s.
I am pretty negative about America, but this is a terrible foreign policy take.
You’ve been consuming Russian propaganda, diversify your sources and think a little (before you jump to America bad).
An undeclared war where not one American soldier has fired a shot or been shot at by Russia. An undeclared war where we deploy military hardware and troops into other close and important NATO allies who specifically requested it. We are NATO and NATO is us, if a NATO country is attacked we are treaty bound to act as if it were a direct attack on ourselves. If a NATO country feels threatened we are treaty bound to treat the threat as if it were a direct threat to us. Nuclear confrontation wont happen, I will bet literally any amount of money on this and IF I am wrong, if Putin wants to think he can use nuclear blackmail to enslave entire countries and it escalates to a nuclear confrontation then… good I welcome it. I’d rather not live in a world where tinpot dictators can swing a big nuclear stick around and get whatever they want. Cry piss and s–t about it all you want, Russia will lose and its illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine will fail.
You do know that we aren’t the only country that flies these things, right? Canada, Japan, Morocco, and Singapore do as well, just to name a few.
Absolutely correct. Anne and Resident are clearly ignorant of our most recent military history.
I know a lot of Ukrainians that would disagree with this assessment.
Sure about that, Ron? You might want to ask Ukrainians, if they want to be cannon fodder for what is a geopolitical power struggle, mostly about energy. This is no longer about territorial borders, this is about regime change, like a lot of other illegal U.S. interventions. Wake up.
https://harpers.org/archive/2023/06/why-are-we-in-ukraine/
Your solution then, would be to allow Russia to nakedly conquer Ukraine? The unavoidable truth is that Russia invaded Ukraine with full intent to annex it, just as Hitler tried 80 years ago. So you’re okay with that? Or you’re just opposed to NATO providing arms to Ukraine? Please do explain.
Our friend here is more likely than not a paid Russian troll. This man or woman probably isn’t even in the United States, but maybe- it doesn’t matter. Fine to ignore Moscow’s script under “her” username. The logic of – “Putin invaded a sovereign county and is targeting innocent civilians and killing them by the school bus load” is only useful to those not following the full scale invasion and Putins war crimes. Thank god we’re helping to protect civilians in occupied Ukraine from people like this AI lady and her friend Putin. Gross.
It’s very sad to see people who can’t hold two independent, compatible ideas like “American imperialism bad” and “Russian imperialism bad” in their head at the same time.
And yes, I am sure about it. There’s no support for rolling over for a fascist invasion in Ukraine.
The inevitable straw man argument. Who claimed that, Ron, except in your fanciful imagation?
Fascism is an interesting choice of words, Ron, because in many ways you are witnessing it in the United States right now, at this point in American history. Think about the heightened state of war jingoism, and the attempts to suppress anything other one narrative about the war in Ukraine, the monitoring of social media for “mean” comments about U.S. generals, such as accusations of warmongering. All you know about the Ukraine conflict is what the Pentagon spoonfeeds you, and in this respect, little has changed over the decades except the technology. Yes, it can happen here.
Again, I don’t think you’ve talked to any actual Ukrainians about how they feel. The ones I know are very grateful for US and EU support in driving out this Russian invasion. I’d suggest examining why your position that we should abandon them to their fate is shared only by the most extreme right wing politicians in both the US and EU.
You ever seen the capabilities of these aircraft when performing rescue operations, support following hurricanes and earthquakes, food and medical airlifts? That’s hero work.
As a “Vet” all I have to say you was best said in a movie;
“I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a (wo)man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post.”
Your false sympathy for vets is disgusting!!!
I won’t give your small-minded, vile hominen any more air han it deserves, other than to say I have an older cousin who was in Vietnam and came back pyschologically wounded and never really recovered. There are thousands like just him, Don’t ever address me on the comment thread again, and I’ll do you the same favor.
This is the most amusing comment I have ever read on the West Seattle Blog. The un-righteous, foot-stomping entitlement in that comment is fantastic! I don’t think any veteran wants to go to war for people who have opinions and scorn for others the way you do. Good golly.
I was working next to Harborview yesterday and got to see a couple of these Apaches up close. One flew in and landed on the helipad then took off followed by another one about 5 minutes later. I figured it was some kind of training. Pretty cool to see them operate that close.
Scarlett. Unacceptable. These soldiers sacrifice their lives and their freedom so you can sleep well at night and shout far left catchphrases under the guise of righteous indignation. You owe them your thanks, not your disdain. This is akin to spitting on veterans of the Vietnam conflict and you should be called out for it.
Scarlett is right. I agree with her. This is all jingoism. Just like Blue Angel flyovers. You don’t have to default accept and like the military’s existence and excess spending.
Textook war jingoism. If you can’t present a rational rebuttal, you attempt to shame your opponent with ad hominens and non-sequiturs. Save it for others. By the way, you might want to ask Vietnam War veterans how they feel about a country that forced them to participate in killing, a war that had nothing to do with defending the U.S. Maybe what they want is not “thanks” but a sincere national apology.
You conveniently avoid answering the questions reasonably posed to your position. Which makes sense if you have no answer to any of them. Your simple-minded reference to Vietnam demonstrates a lack of depth. Vietnam was a tragedy and a stain on American decency … and it has absolutely nothing to do with what is happening in Ukraine or our military support of Ukraine, anymore than what happened in Vietnam has anything to do with why WWII was an unavoidable fight. Understanding these nuances are about being able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Uh-uh, Scarlett. You don’t get to accuse me of the same crap you do to others. And you have a very distorted view of what many, if not most Vietnamese vets think of their service in that war. To a man, every Vietnam veteran I know and have known, have been proud of their service and angry that the citizens like you in this country would not support their efforts. Instead of holding our politicians accountable, people literally sprayed hate for and at the people who are only doing what they were ordered to do as military members of the United States Armed Forces. The reality is that they don’t and didn’t have a choice without ruining or ending the remainder of their lives. Truly, your takes are disgusting here. Then ground lies scarlet with the blood of the people who were maimed and died for you, Scarlett. There’s no way around that fact – and you choose to dishonor them for your political agenda. Truly, it’s reprehensible, even if you’ll never admit that.
I’m using language precisely, but you are throwing emotion-laden language around that does nothing but distort and muddy, rather than clarify and illuminate.
Why should I “thank” someone for killing others in an unjust war, sometimes civilians as what happened in Vietnam? I can only profess my deepest empathy and express my sincerest apologies for a government that put them in that terrible position, and a vast portion of the country who fell back on war jingoism and derided anti-war protesters in the 60’s and 70’s. Who’s more to blame, Danimal – a few protesters who spit – claimed at least – on returning veterans or a governent which put them there, or fellow citizens who did NOTHING to push back on war propaganda? Who’s dishonoring whom, Danimal?
As far as Vietnam, you might to tell that spiel to those who lost their lives, a limb, and came back psychologically damaged for the rest of their lives, like my much older cousin who served in Vietnam, now a drunk. Or, an Iraq War veteran who will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, as I saw getting on a bus downtown.
Tell it to the judge. And the next shiny war will be heralded with the same shiny talk about shiny noble causes, or protecting democracy (a joke, really) or protecting others from tyrants – until it isn’t, of course.
This is exactly why I don’t talk “politics and or religion” people will always agree to disagree.☮️🇺🇸
I understand the sentiment, but these are critical issues and times for this country and the world. I’m at a loss for words to describe this bizarre sociological phenomenon that is occurring at the moment, this detachment from what could be an incipient full-scale war, with nukes being “casually” mentioned. Absolutely “Twilight Zone’ bizarre.
“In war, truth is the first casaulty.”-
– Aeschylus
And we have to learn this lesson over, and over, and over, ad infinitum.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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