CAMP VICTORY, Iraq (July 4, 2007) – U.S. service members gather at the Al-Faw Palace for a Multi-National Force-Iraq Reenlistment, Naturalization and Independence Day Ceremony. During the ceremony 571 service members reenlisted and 161 became U.S. citizens. Sen. John McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham were among the special guests in attendance. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jennifer A. Villalovos (RELEASED)
My very good friend and writing mentor, former Army Sergeant, Vietnam Vet, PhD and Retired Methodist Minister, Lee Carey penned a great piece the other day over at Canadian Free Press. I do spend some time over there, not only because Sergeant/Doctor/Reverend Carey writes there, but also because the site’s raison d’etre, right up there on the masthead, boldly claims, “Because without America, there is no free world.” Who can argue with that?
In this particular piece, Dr Carey explored the Oath of Enlistment taken by those Americans who step up each and every day to write that check, “payable up to and including my life,” to keep America (and the free world) free.
I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
Lee gives a brief history of the oath, noting that “foreign and domestic” were added on 5 October 1962, during the height of the Cold War.
He goes on to write…
The “enemies” are unnamed. For while the oath is fixed in place, the enemies change over time. The leading foreign enemies of the 20th Century were clear. The Empire of Japan. The Third Reich. Then the USSR, the Peoples’ Republic of China and the Korean War. Followed by an episode of the Cold War turned hot in Vietnam.
The domestic enemies—those inside our borders—were Soviet spies, many known to exist but identified only by their code names, particularly in the era of nuclear arms development. Later came spies from the Peoples’ Republic of China entering America as foreign students in U.S. universities, not just searching for state secrets but for industrial secrets enabling the theft of intellectual property.
Dr. Lee’s money quote however, is right up at the top of the article, just under the masthead…
Today, the domestic enemies of the U.S. Constitution live in our midst as the Democratic Party and its allies. They put on a clown show, but we had better take them seriously. For they are not joking.
He is spot on. Lee then goes on to describe in detail two other major enemies of our republic, the Intelligence Community and the Press, finally and quite properly naming the Big Boss in all of this, the Democrat Party. It truly is a sad state of affairs when a by-the-book patriot such as Sergeant/Doctor/Reverend Lee has come to the well founded conclusion that allegedly “apolitical” entities such as our Intelligence Community and the ”Mainstream” Press, have well and truly devolved into enemies of the Constitution. Believing such about the Democrat Party? That’s not such a hard lift. Take the time to read his full article.
Mike Ford, a retired Infantry Officer, writes on Military, Foreign Affairs and occasionally dabbles in Political and Economic matters.
Follow him on Twitter: @MikeFor10394583
You can find his other Red State work here.
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