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David Garshaw| Guest columnist

In representing the American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Unit 18,Jenny Tracys column in the Herald-Times on May 13, 2022, thanks veterans for their honor and dedication to Americas values. She writes, The ALA works diligently to adhere to the purpose of supporting and advocating for veterans, active military, and their families. Sharing with children the significance of Veterans Day provides an opportunity to teach about the concepts of courage and sacrifice, as well as hope.

As we shared in the work of the Kiwanis Club of Bloomington in support of children, Jenny has been my friend for years. I support what she writes, but, sadly, there is much beyond patriotism at work that makes the military needed. Since WWII, there has been no military intervention anywhere that has served the values Jenny, I and most Americans, particularly not the elite, share.

Not often recognized is how the domino theory of the spread of Communism was false propaganda that fostered the wealth of the military/industrial complex. How? When the U.S. lost the Vietnam War, was there anyclue communism was spread to other dominos? No,and the CIA, State Department and the Pentagon made sure not to mention it. In addition to the scare tactics of Sen.Joe McCarthy in the 50s, John and Allen Dulles did their best to undermine the world for the benefit of themselves and Americas wealthy elite.

Mayor's corner: How Meridiam fiber benefits Bloomington, updating public transportation

Stephen Kinzer writes, … the brothers shared abiding faith in 'American Exceptionalism'which condones overthrowing governments and advancing American business interests as if these were a noble global good. Both men built personal fortunes as lawyers and partners in Sullivan & Cromwell. Their work frequently allowed them to act simultaneously in a governmental role and as client representatives, benefiting their firm, themselves and the client. They advanced the firms international legal and lobbying scope and influence, which continues today.

Fromahrp.org, … the brothers drove Americas interventionist foreign policy on behalf of major corporate interests; economic preoccupations dominated their world view. Kinzer shows how they were jointly responsible for acts of extreme geopolitical myopia, grave operational incompetence and misguided adherence to a creed of corporate globalism. He shows how their ruthlessly confrontational view of the world isresponsible in some or even large measure for the Cold War and anti-Americanism around the world.

Fortified with confidence, they went forth to do battle, serenely and secretly, on behalf of capitalism and Christianity and against communism. They created secret prisons, recruited underground armies, and prompted killings and bombings around the world, most especially in Iran, Guatemala, Lebanon, and the Congo. …

… the brothers confronted … Ho Chi Minh, the champion of Vietnamese independence. They dismissed the assessment of various world leaders who were convinced that Ho was more of a Vietnamese nationalist and an anti-colonialist than he was a dedicated communist loyal to the Soviet Union. Their effort to dislodge Ho failed and helped propel the United States into a protracted, bloody and losing war in Vietnam.

More in opinion: Why won't the MCCSC school board listen to parents about start times?

I went to Vietnam in 1969 and served as a combat platoon sergeant. In a VC ambush, Joe Wysong of Richmond, Indiana, died in my arms with an AK-47 round in his heart. All for nothing. In Vietnam, 58,000 Americans died. Millions of South Vietnamese died murdered for the benefit ofSullivan & Cromwell,Lockheed Martin,Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics,Northrop Grumman,Halliburton, not to forget folks in Congress who benefitted from the deep pockets of this ilk.

On the disastrous history of the United States of Americas interference in other counties since the Korean War, 1953, there has been nothing honorable about what we have done to people. Even today! Charles Fredericks writes, It is clear that Ukraine is undergoing war crimes committed by Russia against a civilian population that made no threatening move towards them, but our analysis should not end there. …The common enemy of every nation, and life itself, are twin evils that avail themselves of any political system regardless its configuration, and they consistently reinforce each other: the global arms industry and the fossil fuel industry.

Now, lets talk about guns and millions of Americans deprived of health care …

The Rev. David Garshaw of Bloomingtonis a clergy member with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

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Columnist writes all US wars since WWII are greed and profit driven - The Herald-Times

In 1948 the Korea Peninsula was divided between a Soviet-backed government in the north and an American-backed government in the south. War broke out along the 38th parallel on June 25, 1950. On that day, North Korean troops coordinated an attack at several strategic points along the parallel and headed south toward Seoul. The United Nations Security Council responded to the attack by adopting a resolution that condemned the invasion as a "breach of the peace."Read More...

Links go to DocsTeach, the online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives.

While the end of World War II brought peace and prosperity to most Americans, it also created a heightened state of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. Fearing that the Soviet Union intended to "export" communism to other nations, America centered its foreign policy on the "containment" of communism, both at home and abroad. Although formulation of the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and the Berlin Airlift suggested that the United States had a particular concern with the spread of communism in Europe, America's policy of containment extended to Asia as well. Indeed, Asia proved to be the site of the first major battle waged in the name of containment: the Korean War.

The division of Korea into two halves had come at the end of World War II. The United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily divide Korea and oversee the removal of Japanese forces. In August of 1945, the Soviet Union occupied Korea, which had been under Japan's control since 1910. The United States quickly moved its own troops into southern Korea. Japanese troops surrendered to the Russians in the north and to the Americans in the south.

The U.S.-Soviet agreement temporarily divided Korea along the 38th parallel, a latitudinal line that bisected the country; this avoided a long-term decision regarding Korea's future. This line became more rigid after 1946, however, when Kim Il Sung organized a communist government in the north the Democratic People's Republic. Shortly after, nationalist exile Syngman Rhee returned to Korea and set up a rival government in the south the Republic of Korea (ROK). Each government hoped to reunify the country under its own rule.

On June 25, 1950, North Korean troops coordinated an attack at several strategic points along the 38th parallel and headed south toward Seoul. The United Nations Security Council voted 9-0 to adopt a resolution condemning the invasion as a "breach of the peace." The Security Council did not have a Soviet delegate, since six months prior, the Soviet Union had left to protest the United Nation's refusal to seat a delegate from China.

President Harry S. Truman quickly committed American forces to a combined United Nations military effort and named Gen. Douglas MacArthur Commander of the U.N. forces. Fifteen other nations also sent troops under the U.N. command. Truman did not seek a formal declaration of war from Congress; officially, America's presence in Korea amounted to no more than a "police action."

However, the entry of the United States into the conflict signaled a reversal of policy toward Korea. Although it backed the government of Syngman Rhee, the United States had begun withdrawing its troops from South Korea in 1948. As late as January of 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson had implied that the Korea Peninsula lay outside the all-important "defense perimeter" of the United States, a statement that some took to mean that the United States would not defend the ROK from communist attack.

The decision to intervene in Korea, however, grew out of the tense atmosphere that characterized Cold War politics. On the eve of the North Korean invasion, a number of events had made Truman anxious. The Soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb in 1949, ending the United States' monopoly on the weapon. In Europe, Soviet intervention in Greece and Turkey had given rise to the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, which funneled aid to war-torn Europe in the hopes of warding off communist political victories. In early 1950, President Truman directed the National Security Council (NSC) to conduct an analysis of Soviet and American military capabilities. In its report, known as "NSC 68," the Council recommended heavy increases in military funding to help contain the Soviets.

Events in Asia also contributed to an increased sense of insecurity. In 1949 China underwent a revolution that brought Mao Zedong and his Communist party into power. The nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, had retreated to the island of Formosa (Taiwan) while they continued their war with mainland China. Mao quickly moved to ally himself with the Soviet Union, and signed a treaty with the Soviets in 1950. The Truman administration faced criticism from Republicans who claimed he had "lost" China. They criticized him for not providing enough aid to the Chinese nationalists. The suggestion by Secretary of State Dean Acheson that the administration recognize the communist government of China only gave them more ammunition for their attacks.

The Truman administration also faced internal criticism regarding its commitment to anti-communism at home. Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had recently begun his infamous hunt for communists within the U.S. Government. Although McCarthy was just getting started, the recent trials of Alger Hiss and others for espionage left the Truman administration apprehensive about its anti-communist credentials. Truman and his advisors found themselves under increased domestic pressure not to appear "soft" on communism abroad.

Thus, when North Korean troops invaded the South, the Truman administration seized upon the opportunity to defend a non-communist government from invasion by communist troops. Determined not to "lose" another country to communism, and interested in shoring up its anticommunist credentials, the Truman administration found itself defending a nation a world away from U.S. soil. Yet Truman's response was not merely a response to internal pressure. The invasion of South Korea made Truman genuinely fearful that the Soviet Union and China intended to expand the sphere of communism throughout Asia.

President Truman released a statement on June 27, 1950, illustrating his concern with communist aggression and expansion. He argued that "communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use armed invasion and war." Truman's statement suggests that he believed the attack by North Korea had been part of a larger plan by communist China and, by extension, the Soviet Union. The President believed that the Korean situation was similar to that of Greece in 1947. He informed his advisors that he believed the invasion was "very obviously inspired by the Soviet Union." This gave America a moral imperative to act. "If we don't put up a fight now," Truman observed to his staff, there was "no telling what they'll do."

His concern over the future of anti-communist governments in Asia showed in his public statement. Truman pledged to defend Formosa (Taiwan) from attack and to support French forces in Indochina, a conflict that would eventually escalate into the Vietnam War. Yet Truman had no wish to provoke a full-scale war with the Soviets. By blaming "communism" in the statement, as opposed to the Soviet Union, Dean Acheson later explained, the administration sought to give the Soviets a "graceful exit" and not provoke open confrontation with Russia.

Truman's statement also reflected a new military order. Although the United States took the lead in the Korean action, it did so under the rubric of the United Nations. Truman made it clear that his actions fell within the measures recommended by the United Nations, and reminded "all members of the United Nations" to "consider carefully the consequences of this latest aggression in Korea" and that America "will continue to uphold the rule of law."

Truman's statement was released to newspaper reporters. That afternoon, Truman attended a meeting of the United Nations and proposed a resolution urging all UN member nations to give assistance to South Korea. The meeting had been originally planned for the morning but was postponed to accommodate one of its members. Secretary of State Dean Acheson later reflected that the Soviets liked to point out that since the U.N. meeting occurred after the President's statement, Truman could not truthfully claim that his decision to commit forces was influenced by the wishes of the United Nations. When it did meet later that day, the United Nations passed his resolution, although a handful of dissenting countries abstained.

Materials created by the National Archives and Records Administration are in the public domain.

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US Enters the Korean Conflict | National Archives

In political circles and polite conversation, people often use the terms ''Marxism,'' ''socialism,'' and ''communism'' interchangeably, as if the three philosophies are the same. However, they have important distinctions. Each philosophy builds upon the other. Marxism is the theoretical framework which lays the foundation for the economic and political philosophies of socialism and communism.

1 The Basics of Marxism

Karl Marx, writing with Friedrich Engels, developed a theory of social and economic principles and a sharp critique of the capitalist form of government in the mid-1800s. Marx believed that workers, under the capitalist system of government, sold their labor and that this labor became a commodity. This commodity, or "labor power" translated into surplus value for the capitalist, but not for the worker. Marx concluded that this created an inherent conflict between the working class (proletariat) and the ownership class (the bourgeoisie). Because capitalism has this "built in" inequality, Marx argued that the working class would eventually take power over the ruling class, reconstructing society. This reconstruction would take place in stages. The next stage after capitalism, according to Marx, would be a socialist form of government.

2 The Economics of Socialism

Socialism advocates public ownership of property and natural resources rather than private ownership. The socialist system of government values cooperation over the competitiveness of a free market economy. Socialists believe that all people in society contribute to the production of goods and services and that those goods should be shared equally. This differs from the capitalist system in which individual efforts trump the collective and the free market determines the distribution of goods. Examples of socialist policies include a living wage, free higher education and universal health care. Advocates of socialism believe that capitalism creates vast inequality and that it ultimately leads to imperialism, a hyper-form of capitalism.

3 Communism: The Last Stage

The communist doctrine differs from the socialist worldview because communism calls not only for public ownership of property and natural resources, but also for the means of production of goods and services. Karl Marx argued that capitalism, with its strict adherence to free market principles, divided people because of competition. He believed communism was the solution. According to Marx, communism would give people a chance to develop into their very best. He concluded that communism was a natural progression from socialism and would occur in two stages. First, the working class would gain control of society and push the ownership class out. Second, society would evolve into a classless one without government. According to Britannica.com, Marx and Friedrich Engels defined communists in their "Communist Manifesto" as, "The most advanced and resolute section of the working class which parties every country, that section which pushes forward all others."

4 Marxism, Socialism and Communism Throughout the World

Many countries have adopted various forms of Marxism, socialism and communism. The former Soviet Union is the most famous example of a communist system of government, lasting from 1922 to 1991. The People's Republic of China has a communist government, although, China has developed a more mixed market economy with private ownership and state ownership of entities such as media. European countries like France, Italy and England have mixed economies with free market and socialist policies such as universal health care and free collegiate education. The United States, a capitalist mixed economy, has examples of socialist policies such as public schools, libraries and health care support in the form of Medicaid and Medicare for low income people and senior citizens.

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The Differences Between Marxism, Socialism & Communism

Theres been discussion lately whether the U.S. is spending too much money supporting Ukraine. The argument is that its likely to be long and protracted, more people will die needlessly, and Russias eventual victory is likely. Further, that money could be used to help Americans here at home who are hurting.

I think its time for a reality check.

When World War II ended, most but not all of the animosity stopped: old allies who had fought a common enemy (Nazi Germany) were suddenly at odds. Because of agreements deemed necessary during the war, the Soviet Union gained control over a huge swath of Eastern Europe and established governments sympathetic to its communist philosophy and worldview. In a sense, it was a secular religion, a deeply held set of beliefs that guide peoples lives. Part of that philosophy included the spread of communism worldwide and the eradication of capitalism as an economic force. Since the war had devastated much of Europe, national economies there were in a shambles. Communism began to look good compared to what capitalism had brought, and communist parties sprang up in many European nations. (Unfortunately, were seeing many people question capitalism these days.)

The United States responded to the potential spread of communism in several ways. There was an information campaign, in which outlets like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe transmitted shortwave radio programs around the world to counter propaganda coming out of communist nations. On the economic front, the Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, provided over $15 billion to spur rebuilding efforts on the continent. At the same time, the U.S. sponsored the NATO alliance of North Atlantic nations to act as a military shield against potential aggression from the USSR. It was a policy of containment, in which the USSR would not be allowed to force a communist government on other nations.

When The Wall in Berlin fell and the USSR collapsed, it looked as though the Cold War was finally over. Eastern Europe had shaken off the Soviet yoke, and Russia would concentrate on rebuilding its economy from the shambles created by 70 years of inept and misguided leadership. To be fair, weve had our own share of bungles here in America. But the Cold War never really went away: it cooled down a bit for a while, as politicians and oligarchs in Russia played musical chairs with the seats of power there. Putin is now firmly in control, and KGB-trained Putin is a hard and fast Chekist, someone who believes that the national security police must dominate throughout the entire structure of a nation. Indeed, Putin has been quoted recently as saying The KGB is now at the highest levels of the [Russian] government. Putins actions in Syria, Georgia, and now Ukraine demonstrate his unwillingness to leave well enough alone: he pushes limits wherever he can, with little regard for who is hurt in the process. He has no problem engaging in scorched earth campaigns.

The Eastern European nations who joined NATO after the collapse of the Soviet Bloc werent forced into doing so: they had experienced Soviet domination for over four decades, and they want no more part of it. Poland in particular, part of my ethnic heritage (Im a second-generation American), has a long memory that includes Stalin splitting Poland between the Nazis and Russia until Hitler turned on Stalin. Among other things, Poles also remember the Katyn Massacre, in which over 20,000 Polish military personnel were killed, shot from behind by the Soviets, and buried in mass graves in the Katyn Forest. Czechs remember Soviet commandos landing in helicopters in 1968 to put down the Prague Spring, a brief turn toward democracy which the Soviets would not tolerate. Long-neutral Sweden and Finland, which shares an 800 mile long border with Russia, looked at what happened in Ukraine and quickly decided it was time to join NATO.

We cant attack Russia directly. They have nukes, lots of them, and we cant risk nuclear confrontation by a direct or even an indirect attack, although we should be prepared to remind Putin that we also have nukes lots of them as JFK reminded Khrushchev in 1962.

So, the question boils down to this: Shall we say that the efforts and treasury and lives spent in the Cold War amounted to nothing while Russia under Putin tries to break out of the containment his nation created for itself, and grab more territory? Or shall we reinforce our past efforts and continue to support Ukraine against naked aggression? The world is waiting for our answer, and that answer will play a major part in determining for them whether we are prepared to honor our commitments.

John Sukovich is a Newberry County resident and a retired professor of business and other IT courses from Midlands Technical College. Sukovich served in USAF intelligence in Berlin and Pakistan during the Cold War.

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The costs of war, even if its cold - newberryobserver.com

A mystery has finally been solved for Anwar, a Uyghur American, who asked that only his first name be used for fear of "too much political attention."

Anwar said he had been "unable to speak or even just communicate" with his family in Xinjiang for five years. Then, he saw his cousin's mugshot in what is known as the Xinjiang Police Files, documents and images leaked from within China and released to the public last month by the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and news media.

"I could only hope and pray for the best as I sat combing through each picture of the leaked Xinjiang Police Files," Anwar said.

Arzugul Abdurehim, cousin

After spending hours combing through countless images, Anwar found the face of his cousin, Arzugul Abdurehim, now 42, in the files.

"Anger, frustration, despair and anguish all bubbled up within me as I looked upon the mugshot of my cousin; I could tell she was handcuffed," Anwar said. "We had grown up together, and to me, she was my little sister. She was just a typical Uyghur mother, caring for her children and trying to provide them with the best."

Anwar's cousin was 39 when she was arrested for "reeducation" in 2018, according to the Xinjiang Police Files.

Anwar said he believes his cousin's crime was "her identity, that she is Uyghur."

"These pictures are only from 2018. The genocide has only gotten worse since then. I hope my other family members and loved ones are alive," Anwar said.

Metyar Ghopur, classmate

Mehmet Ali Sultan, a naturalized Uyghur American who has lived in the United States since 2011, also sifted through photos from the Xinjiang Police Files and saw familiar faces of Uyghur detainees from his hometown of Konasheher county. He found out his former high school classmate, Metyar Ghopur, was detained in 2017 by Chinese authorities.

"If it weren't for the leaked files, I would not have been able to learn of the arbitrary detention of my friend and former classmate," Sultan said in a phone interview with VOA.

"I filtered my search to only people over 30, saw a face I hadn't seen in over a decade, and recognized him immediately," Sultan said.

Ghopur's reasons "for internment" are described as "terrorism involving capital" and "digging into the expansion line."

"When I recognized his face, I was shaking and could barely hold back my tears," Sultan said.

The data within the files

Ghopur's and Abdurehim's images are two of thousands of photos taken at police stations and detention centers, including mugshots of more than 2,800 detainees. The cache of information hacked from a network of computers within Xinjiang is described by Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation as the "largest and most significant leak" so far.

The youngest Uyghur detainee in the files was 14-year-old girl when she was detained and the oldest, 73 years old.

In addition to photos, the leaked files include documents and speeches related to the Chinese government's mass detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, leaked to one of the foundation's researchers, Adrian Zenz. The foundation says the information has been authenticated and peer-reviewed by teams of researchers and investigative journalists.

"The person who unexpectedly reached out to the author to provide the files acted on a solely individual basis, attached no conditions to their provision or publication, and wishes to remain anonymous due to personal safety concerns," according to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation website.

Xinjiang Police Files revealed classified speeches by senior Chinese officials, internal police documents about protecting the detention camps, or what China's state media describes as vocational education and training centers.

A rule at the centers if "students" try to escape is to fire warning shots and then "shoot (them) dead" if they fail to comply, according to internal police documents from the leaked files.

Beijing, through its state media, has said in the past that the centers help students with their Mandarin language skills and give them vocational training. One center was described as similar to boarding schools where "students here go to class, play sports, and they go home once a week," reported state broadcaster China Global Television Network (CGTN) in 2019.

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation said the Xinjiang Police Files provided "a groundbreaking inside view of the nature and scale of Beijing's secretive campaign of interning between 1-2 million Uyghurs and other ethnic citizens in China's northwestern Xinjiang region."

"This is an unprecedented cache of documents directly from Xinjiang police computer servers," said Andrew Bremberg, president of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.

"This was a hack, in fact not a leak, that someone kind of smuggled out but a hack of tens of thousands of documents that provide the most in-depth understanding of what is actually happening in Xinjiang over the last several years," Bremberg told VOA.

China's response

When asked about the legitimacy of the leaked data during a regular Chinese Foreign Ministry news conference on May 24, spokesman Wang Wenbin said the files were "the latest example of the anti-China forces smearing of Xinjiang."

"The lies and rumors they spread cannot deceive the world, nor can they hide the fact that Xinjiang enjoys peace and stability, its economy is thriving and its people live and work in peace and contentment," Wang told the press in Beijing.

The United States, some other Western countries and human rights groups have accused China of committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Beijing has repeatedly called the accusations lies and has denied abuses.

VOA Pashto Service's Shaista Lami contributed to this story.

Editor's note: VOA took all precautions before posting photos from the Xinjiang Police Files website used for this story.

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Lost Relatives and Friends Found in Leaked Xinjiang Photos - Voice of America - VOA News