Many of us grew up watching World War II newsreels of heroic Americans vanquishing evil villains and liberating the oppressed. Powerful imagery abounded of ecstatic citizens of Paris or Rome showering our G.I.s with flowers, kisses, wine and more. Countless European towns, villages and hamlets also welcomed U.S. liberators with joy incomprehensible to those who’ve never been subjugated by evil tyranny.
And then there were the concentration camps, where survivors clinging to life suddenly realized they were not going to die horrible deaths. They saw these motivated young American G.I.s as no less than liberating angels dispatched by God.
As a history lover, I’d watch these scenes of joyous liberation and lament that I’d never get to experience the wonders that the Greatest Generation enjoyed as they helped good to triumph over unspeakable evil.
Then — unexpectedly — in 1991, I did get a taste of a tumultuous heroes’ welcome from a grateful population that we Americans rescued from hell.
I was one of a half million servicepeople sent to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait from the evil clutches of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. American forces moved from Saudi Arabia through mine fields into burning Kuwaiti oil fields to engage an enormous Iraqi army. My USMC infantry battalion was part of an unstoppable 1st Marine Division assault. In short order the Iraqis sought a ceasefire.
By then we were dug in next to the great airport near Kuwait City. We celebrated the quick ending as we’d worn the same uniforms for weeks and were braced to battle it out for months if necessary.
We loaded onto trucks and transports to return to Saudi Arabia. Our route took us through a devastated Kuwait City. There was no electricity but there were plenty of shell holes — along with dead bodies.
As we rolled south, we eventually saw a few native Kuwaitis. And then many more. Soon the streets were lined by Kuwaitis. These Arabs welcomed us with joy. As with Paris in 1944, there were tears, hugs and flowers.
We’d given these people new lives, freeing them from spending the rest of their existence being oppressed by Hussein’s secret police. One had to be there to fully appreciate the affection that flowed to us.
It was wonderful beyond words. We loved being loved.
America’s long been that heroic entity, going back to World War I when a million doughboys went “over there” to France in 1918 to help win the “war to end all wars.” The weary French loved seeing the handsome young Yanks joining their cause!
We reprised that role during the Cold War, spending countless billions of dollars and deploying countless Americans around the world to finally vanquish Soviet Communism and free the ancient states of eastern Europe.
We’d earlier offered up tens of thousands of American lives to keep South Korea free in the 1950s — as opposed to becoming part of the horrific North Korean nightmare.
So why are we not as beloved today as we once were? A review of our history finds some less heroic chapters.
In 1953, our CIA sponsored coups in Iran and Guatemala that had tragic consequences. The CIA’s 1961 Cuban Bay of Pigs fiasco solidified a Communist Cuba that still endures. We’re still recovering from the misbegotten American involvement in Vietnam. Invading Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003 respectively resulted in years of conflict with mournful results. By fomenting other Latin American regime changes we created mistrust of a previously beloved America.
Which brings us to 2026 and Venezuela. And yes, oil is part of this equation, as it was in Kuwait in 1991.
News that President Trump apprehended Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro was unsettling, exciting or horrifying — depending upon whom one talked to.
What next?
There are many scenarios, which we won’t go into here. But what should happen — in the short term—is prudent pondering, by both Trump supporters and Trump adversaries. Supporters should consider tough questions, the type that should have been vigorously asked in the 60s when we were sucked into an inescapable Vietnam quagmire. Adversaries suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome should also pause and ponder. Too many have already instinctively condemned the whole Venezuelan exercise, when there is still much to be understood. This commits them to hoping for a bad outcome for Trump — and thus for America.
So, let’s wait and watch for a bit. We’ll soon know whether Maduro is more Castro than Noriega — or vice versa.
And let’s also ponder what Americans once did to be beloved as the heroic liberators of Paris, Rome or Kuwait City — as opposed to the sordid schemers as seen from Teheran, Guatemala or Havana.
State Rep. Mike Moffett (R-Loudon) is a former Marine Corps infantry officer who now chairs the House Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs.