$500M in U.S. Mililtary Weapons Missing!

by Jack

shiitemilitia

 

Well it didn’t take long, we just gave this stuff to Yemen! But, now it’s missing. When the Yemeni government was taken over by force by the Shiite Houthi Movement, $500 M in US taxpayer purchased weapons disappeared from their warehouses.  But, where did it go?  That’s the bigger question.  I think its safe to assume it didn’t go anyone we like.  In fact, there’s a good chance that Al Qaeda has it.

The ongoing unrest that forced the United States to close its embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, last month also has caused Pentagon officials to admit that they’ve lost track of $500 million in military equipment, including helicopters, Humvees and ammunition, that it donated to the country, The Washington Post reports.

U.S. officials told the newspaper that they fear the “small arms, ammunition, night-vision goggles, patrol boats, vehicles and other supplies” may have slipped into the hands of Iranian-backed rebels or al-Qaida:

In recent weeks, members of Congress have held closed-door meetings with U.S. military officials to press for an accounting of the arms and equipment. Pentagon officials have said that they have little information to go on and that there is little they can do at this point to prevent the weapons and gear from falling into the wrong hands.

“We have to assume it’s completely compromised and gone,” an unnamed legislative aide on Capitol Hill told The Washington Post.

According to the newspaper, this is what is presumed missing:

• 1,250,000 rounds of ammunition
• 200 Glock 9 mm pistols
• 200 M-4 rifles
• 4 Huey II helicopters
• 2 Cessna 208 transport and surveillance aircraft
• 2 coastal patrol boats
• 1 CN-235 transport and surveillance aircraft
• 4 hand-launched Raven drones
• 160 Humvees
• 250 suits of body armor
• 300 sets of night-vision goggles

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33 Responses to $500M in U.S. Mililtary Weapons Missing!

  1. J. Soden says:

    And just last Fall, Obumble was touting Yemen as another of his “success stories” . . . . . .

    If that’s his idea of success, I shudder to think what he considers a failure!

  2. Toby says:

    Obama hooking up his pals.

  3. Harold says:

    Interesting how this Obama administration is hell bent on making weapons and ammo illegal to own in America.

    Then they arm the world’s current enemy. If this stuff could not be taken when we left Yemen, why wasn’t is destroyed on the spot? Obama had to know who was going to end up using it, so did Israeli leaders.

    Wake up America!

    • Post Scripts says:

      Harold, you’re right and that ought to be obvious to anyone with half a brain. I strongly think we could have taken those weapons with us, after all who’s going to stop us…Yemeni rebels? Ha. We’re the United Freakin States of America and a bunch of 3rd world goat herders can’t threaten us – we threaten them. One mighty roar from us and those blustering fools would be tripping over each other trying to get out of our way.

      This is a little piss pot of a country. But, to Obama they might as well be the USSR. He does not like to use our impressive might as a threat, even when it’s 100% justified. This dumba## president decided it would be better if we just let the Shiite rebels have our equipment and then hope it would stay in Yemen! Well, obviously it didn’t, Obama relies too much on hope.

      What do you think Putin would have done in this situation? Do you think he would have rolled over for a couple or goat herders with AK47’s? Obama v Putin, they are as different as black and white, no pun intended. Obama is an absolute disgrace as a president. I think he wants to humble the United States and bring us down. Everything he has done for the last 7 years has damaged this country. He’s a menace and given the damage he’s done, well, let me put it this way: I’m glad his dignitary protection detail is falling apart.

      I can only imagine that many of our Secret Service agents are now driven to drink. Being around Obama can’t be easy.

  4. Peggy says:

    Wise words from a liberal.

    President is not Commander in Chief of Foreign Policy:

    “Politicians should stop referring to the President of the United States as “the Commander-in-Chief,” as he is often referred to. Most recently, Hillary Clinton, whom I admire, said the following about Republican senators who wrote an open letter to Iran:

    “Either these senators were trying to be helpful to the Iranians or harmful to the Commander-in-Chief in the midst of high-stakes international diplomacy.”

    But the president is not the Commander-in-Chief for purposes of diplomatic negotiations. This characterization mistakenly implies that President Obama — or any president — is our Commander, and that his decisions should receive special deference. This is a misreading of our constitution, which creates a presidency that is subject to the checks and balances of co-equal branches of the government. The president is only the commander in chief of “the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States.” This provision was intended to assure civilian control over the military and to serve as a check on military power.

    The only people he is empowered to command are soldiers, sailors and members of the militia — not ordinary citizens.”

    Continued…
    http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5406/commander-in-chief-foreign-policy

  5. Georgia says:

    Who you gonna blame when Obama is gone and the same thing keeps happening?

    The Military Industrial complex is just a wall street profit center. Look at all the chemical weapons they dumped into the ocean. What about the 23 billion or so that was wasted on Iraq war contractor scams? The list is long.

    We have a military arms problem why not work to solve it instead of letting them cut your medicare for more military spending?

    Look at the new budget. They waste money for profit bottom line.

    • Post Scripts says:

      Geo. this is a one time explanation: The military manufacturers had zero, absolutely zero, to do with the missing equipment we sent to Yemen, other than being suppliers. The fact the equipment was sent in the first place was a decision based on the request of the former Yemen government.

      Washington was/is eager to ingratiate themselves with the Yemenis for strategic reasons. Those reasons were quite logically revolving mostly around our need for friends to fight Islamic terrorism. There is no doubt that military hardware manufacturers spend a lot of money in Washington lobbying. This is something we both don’t like. Lobbying is influence buying, it’s access buying and we are damaged by it. However, I am not so cynical to believe General Dynamics start wars to sell hardware. That’s kooky. Yes, they do (fairly) market to the military based on global conflicts. They made a ton of money on Iraq and Afghanistan. They (mil-manufacturers) sometimes sell very costly and un-needed military goods to the gov., but this is on your representatives and their need to stimulate their local economy…pork!

      “We have a military arms problem why not work to solve it instead of letting them cut your medicare for more military spending?” Geo.

      So far, Medicare benefits to patients has not been cut, in fact it was actually expanded under Bush. Are you talking about the cuts to doctor reimbursements under the new Obamacare to contain costs? Those cuts have not even gone into effect yet and maybe they never will.

      I agree that we DO have a lobbying problem in Washington. Those lobbyists has Congress spending 95% of their time working for special interests that are seeking gov. contracts or a competitive advantage over the competition. This does leave Congress much time to fix the big problems affecting the entire country. This is exactly why we’ve never been able to make any major reforms to the IRS, despite decades of complaining!

    • Post Scripts says:

      “Who you gonna blame when Obama is gone and the same thing keeps happening?” Geo.

      You are not listening, I already told you who… us! It’s all on us! We are ultimately responsible for everything wrong in Washington.

      Maybe we need to form our own lobby, one that is dedicated to rooting out corruption and blocking the re-election of bad representatives? -Jack

  6. Peggy says:

    Looks like Democrats in Congress are waking up and joining Republicans in speaking out against Obama’s Iran negotiations. It’s about time.

    Also, see MSNBC woke up and is moving to the right because of their failing ratings.

    363 Congress Members to Obama: Don’t Marginalize Us on Iran Deal:

    “More than 360 members of Congress have signed a bipartisan letter to President Barack Obama emphasizing their role in ongoing talks on Iran’s nuclear program, The Hill reported.

    The letter, initiated by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, a California Republican, and New York Democrat Eliot Engel, ranking member of the panel, emphasizes that the permanent sanctions relief which Iran has demanded during the Geneva negotiations on nuclear issues would require new legislation.

    Special: New study uncovers link between Flomax, Diabetes and Cancer

    “In reviewing such an agreement, Congress must be convinced that its terms foreclose any pathway to a bomb, and only then will Congress be able to consider permanent sanctions relief,” the lawmakers wrote.

    Members added that “Iran’s role in fomenting instability in the region … demonstrates the risks of negotiating with a partner we cannot trust.”

    An aide to Engel said that 363 members had signed the letter, VOA News reported.

    “It’s truly a very bipartisan letter expressing Congress’s strong feelings about things that need to be in the agreement,” Engel said Thursday during a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Iran. “Congress really needs to play a very active and vital role in this whole process, and any attempts to sidestep Congress will be resisted on both sides of the aisle.”

    Continued…
    http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Congress-bipartisan-group-Obama-Iran-deal/2015/03/19/id/631230/#ixzz3UrbxPntH

  7. Kirk Grosch says:

    I found where the two coastal patrol boats ended up.

    http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=72246

  8. Georgia says:

    I did not say it did mr post. I just would rather start working at our problems. All I ever see is Thanks Obama stuff.

    I do not care about the white house right now they are leaving. I care about the corrupt military industrial complex, the secretive CIA who answers to no one. WHy can’t we gather citizens and work to solve our issues? By continuing down this blame game path we are loosing our country faster than you may think.

  9. Jim says:

    Why are you folks blaming Obama for this? The same thing was happening 10 years ago under Bush. Back then not only were weapons missing, at least 8 Billion Dollars in CASH went missing in Iraq.

    I’m not so sure this is accidental. Weapons falling into the hands of insurgents and terrorists just prolongs this conflict, and runs up the cost to the U.S. taxpayers.

    Either negligently or intentionally, we are funding both sides in this war.

    • Post Scripts says:

      Jim, that 8 billion that allegedly went missing was a hoax. Please check it out for yourself. I did. Honestly, it was a hoax created on half truths. I believed it for the longest time too, so don’t feel bad. But, its now an old lie that lost its legs.

  10. Pie Guevara says:

    It deeply saddens me that brain washed morons like Georgia in #11 think our armed services are a “corrupt military industrial complex”

  11. Chris says:

    Jack, what is your source for the claim that the billions that went missing in Iraq during Bush’s tenure was a “hoax?”

    I did what you said and researched your claim and found numerous news sources such as CBS, ABC, and Vanity Fair had all reported on the missing funds. Here is an article from the Guardian on that subject:

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/feb/01/iraq.suzannegoldenberg

    I could not find any source claiming that all of these news sources were fooled by a hoax. Can you please point me in the direction of your source? This isn’t like the time you claimed Obama had a reputation for vetoing legislation when in actual fact he has the lowest number of vetoes in over a century, is it?

    • Post Scripts says:

      Chris, barely 5 minutes after your 30 day suspension was up and you are back trying to impugn my credibility? Unbelievable.

      Okay, you asked where I got my “hoax” information about the missing billions. Do you think this question is a gotcha moment? It’s not, sorry to disappoint.

      Alright, so once again you were unable to find the source that I used, Re: those alleged billions of our money that went missing was largely untrue, as in a urban myth. Starting over from scratch, I did a search and in less than 10 seconds I had the information I was looking for, it was so easy. Ironically, I had only to look as far as the leftwing Huffington Post and CNN. “As the decade-long Iraq conflict finally comes to close, so too does the mystery of a stockpile of American cash worth billions lost during the war.

      Almost all of the nearly $6.6 billion worth of U.S. currency that went missing in the early days of the Iraq conflict has now been accounted for, according to a new report from the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, cited by CNN.

      In 2004, between $10 billion to $20 billion worth of cash — depending on reports — was air-shipped to Iraq. The money was made up largely of Iraq’s own assets and intended to finance reconstruction projects, CNN reports. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times reported that the government had accounted for almost all of these funds, except for $6 billion that was thought to have disappeared.”

      It’s bad enough that you did not have the wherewithal to find this information yourself and thought you could put me on the spot to demand proof, but you had to go another step and insult me with, “This isn’t like the time you claimed Obama had a reputation for vetoing legislation when in actual fact he has the lowest number of vetoes in over a century, is it?”

      Obama does in fact have a reputation for making it a case of “my way or the highway,” playing partisan politics and being unwilling to seek any sort of compromise with the opposition party. The fact that YOU don’t think so… does not change what millions of other Americans think about him. Where does this come from? Well, here’s an example: Washington Times: “President Obama’s State of the Union speech Tuesday set a record for most veto threats as he promised to nix legislation to. . . . ” http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/20/obama-sets-modern-record-veto-threats-state-union-/#ixzz3V2dfQuhz

      He’s been an intractable or bullying president on many significant issues. Nobody in the opposition within Congress or the Senate would think he’s been a fair and bipartisan kind of president.

      • Post Scripts says:

        Leftwing CNN says, “New evidence shows most of that money, $6.6 billion, did not go astray in that chaotic period, but ended up where it was supposed to be, under the control of the Iraqi government, according to a report from the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction or SIGIR.

        The report details the transfer of cash from the U.S. to the Central Bank of Iraq. Much of it was originally assets of Iraq, some was part of the Oil for Food program imposed during the regime of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and some was funneled through the United Nations for relief and reconstruction projects, according to the report.

        The report focuses on money left over from shipments of more than $10 billion in U.S. currency shipped to Iraq – much of it in shrink-wrapped bricks of hundred dollars bills – and the $6.6 billion remaining when the temporary overseer of Iraq, the Coalitional Provisional Authority, went out of business in the summer of 2004 with the creation of a new Iraqi government.

        Earlier, the money had seemed to be missing. The inspector general himself, Stuart Bowen, said flatly in June, “It has not been properly accounted for.”

        The official accounting had used more bland language. “SIGIR concluded that weaknesses in DoD’s financial and management controls left it unable to properly account for and articulate the disposition of remaining DFI (Development Fund for Iraq) funds,” a 2010 report said.

        But the inspector general’s new report says almost all the $6.6 billion was properly handed over to Iraq and its Central Bank. “SIGIR was able to account for the unexpended DFI funds remaining in DFI accounts when the CPA (Coalitional Provisional Authority) dissolved in June 2004,” the new report says. “Sufficient evidence exists showing that almost all of the remaining $6.6 billion remaining was transferred to actual and legal CBI (Central Bank of Iraq) control.”

        While the bulk of the money was transferred to the Central Bank of Iraq, $217 million remained in a vault in a former presidential palace and was held by the U.S. Defense Department and most was doled out for a variety of projects and payrolls, the report says.”

        This is not to say that billions have not been wasted, that there was not massive fraud and theft…there was. However, the report of pallets full of shrink wrapped billions flown in on US planes story that went missing was false.

  12. georgia says:

    Mr Pie, name calling is not honorable.

    The military Industrial Complex where most the spending goes is part of the military budget. It is sad you want to pretend like there is no wasted spending.

    Even WW2 has a history of the banks supporting both sides for profit. Gen Smedley Butler had it correct. “War is a Racket”

    Well the new budget wants to take from the people and give to the military budget once again. Endless war for profit. And oh yea put this war on another credit card and more tax cuts for the wealthy, same ol plan GW implemented. Worked out so well before let’s do it again! GW never put his wars on the books. The Obama Admin had to do it and take the hit. yet the deficit is falling, falling too fast.

    Just because you rely on the media for information and do not read the actual documents does not make the media reliable or truthful.

    For a man who has swastikas on his twitter timeline you have no credibility to call others names.

    Why not discuss actual facts? The facts are there. Why not?

  13. Pie Guevara says:

    TO REPEAT: It deeply saddens me that brain washed morons like Georgia in #11 think our armed services are a “corrupt military industrial complex” and that she (?) is so damn ignorant as to not recognize WWII warplane enemy kill markings.

    I will be adding DNC and Che Guevara kill markings to my Dream Bird you idiot.

    *SIGH*

    Does the military have corrupt people working in it? Does the Roman Catholic Church? Does the US government?

    To characterize our military as “corrupt military industrial complex” is neither factual nor fair. It is also a form of name calling unabashed hypocritical morons like Georgia love to commit.

    Up yours, Georgia.

  14. Pie Guevara says:

    Re #16: The ass is back.

  15. Pie Guevara says:

    Re #17: By the way, I wonder if this “Georgia” ass has anything more to tell me about myself. You know. What I am and what I think. Sheesh, such jerks are so annoying.

  16. Chris says:

    First, Jack, thanks for having me back.

    I did not mean to impugn your credibility; I was asking a legitimate question.

    I see that the missing millions were accounted for, but I disagree that this makes the earlier reports that it was missing a “hoax.” Rather, it was not accounted for, and now it is.

    I don’t think it is asking much to ask you to cite your sources; people don’t always have time to do a search on every issue others bring up.

    “Obama does in fact have a reputation for making it a case of “my way or the highway…”

    That may be true, but that is different from the claim I was referring to. You had said that Obama had a record for “vetoing,” specifically. You went further and said that this record was not made up by Republicans. But…then it turned out that Obama has the lowest number of vetoes in a century and a half.

    Now, you can still argue that Obama is intractable in other ways. But your specific claim about vetoes was incorrect.

  17. PieGuevara says:

    Well, well, well. The ass is back nitpicking as usual. Nothing changes.

  18. Peggy says:

    A 5th grader knows why Obama’s veto record is so low. He had Harry Reid as his “obstruction czar,” resulting in Obama’s legacy of the “do nothing Congress.”

    Krauthammer: ‘Harry Reid is a living veto pen’:

    “Charles Krauthammer told viewers Monday on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that “Harry Reid is a living veto pen.” Krauthammer, a syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor, was reacting to President Obama’s interview on NPR, in which he threatened to “pull that (executive) pen out.”

    Compared to his predecessors, Obama has rarely used the presidential veto — in part because legislation he didn’t like typically died in the Democrat-controlled Senate before reaching his desk.

    Krauthammer said Obama had Harry Reid to thank for not using his pen more often. “Harry Reid is a living veto pen and he saved the president and he saved democrats from red states who were running for reelection having to cast the vote that would be unpopular.” Charles Krauthammer added that now that republicans control congress, they should “pass everything that (they) believe and want to see passed.”

    “It’s win win. If the president vetoes it, it proves what in fact the president actually said himself in the same interview,” said Krauthammer. “One of the reasons he did not have to veto, as he said himself, Harry Reid blocked so much in the senate that he did not like. So in fact, this is the way for republicans to retroactively reshape their image.”

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/12/29/krauthammer-harry-reid-is-living-veto-pen-1730022062/

    Obama veto threats at record pace to begin new Congress:

    “WASHINGTON — The Obama White House has threatened to veto eight bills taken up by the Republican House in January — the most veto threats to begin a new Congress since the Reagan White House first started issuing formal veto threats in 1985.

    The spurt of veto threats has rankled congressional Republicans, who say that President Obama isn’t giving bipartisanship a chance. But the White House blames Republicans, saying they’re bringing up bills they already know he opposes.

    Whoever’s at fault, the amount of veto brinksmanship appears to be at a modern high. Counting a verbal veto threat on an Iran sanctions bill that hasn’t been drafted yet, Obama’s veto threat count so far this year rises to nine. By comparison, Reagan issued five veto threats by this point in 1987, but those threats were on different versions of just two bills.”

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/01/27/obama-veto-threats-january-pace/22357299/

    How Reid holds veto power over Obama:

    http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/harry-reid-energy-agenda-110365.html

    Obstruction Leader Harry Reid to Attempt Historic Filibuster on Override of Keystone Veto:

    http://freebeacon.com/politics/obstruction-leader-harry-reid-to-attempt-historic-filibuster-on-override-of-keystone-veto/

  19. Harold says:

    Thank You Peggy for this post.

    However to even have to post such a obvious fact, just supports the many times PS has had to clarify the attempt to post misinformation based on spin and plausible deniability of the Liberal mindset.

  20. Jim says:

    Jack you are correct, they claim that accounted for the missing funds. My error.

    However it seems that much of that money was used as payoffs to warlords and insurgents, who are are now terrorists.

    We are funding and arming both sides of this conflict.

    • Post Scripts says:

      Jim, that’s okay, I believed it too for the longest time. Next, on the payoffs, I absolutely agree with you. There is no doubt in my mind we were fleeced by rampant corruption in Iraq, we paid off bad guys, we did all kinds of stupid things that only a bloated bureaucracy with too much money and too many little bosses could do! Yes, we were arming both sides, no doubt about it. What a shame and the Iraqi’s will suffer for it for another hundred years. We did them no favors by dumping Saddam without having a good plan to replace him.

  21. Peggy says:

    Harold, I agree with you. But, with the liberal media repeating the lies from this administration we have no choice but to constantly put the truth out there in every means possible.

    Learned something new this week. It was Glenn Beck who was the first if not amongst the very first to introduce Zuhdi Jasser years ago to the US population. This is probably a little known fact and like the facts it was Republicans who pushed to free the slaves and march with the Civil Rights protestors. And it was FDR, a Democrat, who forced all Japanese Americans to give up all of their property they couldn’t carry and forced them to live in internment camps.

    The Democrats have become experts at rewriting history and muting the truth to take credit for past Republican’s achievements. This is why post from Dems are presented as facts they believe and like Jack did we all need to point out the truth or we’re letting them rewrite current events for future history falsehoods.

    Muslim author Zuhdi Jasser discusses the Muslim Brotherhood, Caliphate on radio:

    http://www.glennbeck.com/2012/06/27/muslim-author-zuhdi-jasser-discusses-the-muslim-brotherhood-caliphate-on-radio?utm_source=glennbeck&utm_medium=contentcopy_link

  22. Chris says:

    Peggy: “It was Glenn Beck who was the first if not amongst the very first to introduce Zuhdi Jasser years ago to the US population. This is probably a little known fact”

    Well, of course it’s a little known fact; very few people know who Zuhdi Jasser even is.

    “This is probably a little known fact and like the facts it was Republicans who pushed to free the slaves and march with the Civil Rights protestors. And it was FDR, a Democrat, who forced all Japanese Americans to give up all of their property they couldn’t carry and forced them to live in internment camps.”

    You won’t believe this, but I’ve taught both of these facts to my eighth grade English class this semester alone. We read The Diary of Anne Frank, and for some historical context we read a lot about WWII. I had my kids compare and contrast the Holocaust with Japanese internment. Of course I explained that FDR was responsible for the latter, and they had to know that to get one of their test questions correct.

    We’re reading civil rights era poetry now, and my kids’ background knowledge is terrible; when we started reading Langston Hughes, many of them said that he was writing to help end slavery, even though they knew his birthdate. More than a few kids really thought that Martin Luther King fought to end slavery. Apparently they don’t learn much about either the Civil War or the civil rights era until high school. I pointed out that Abraham Lincoln signed the law abolishing slavery, and that he was a Republican; many were surprised by this. When I asked why, some said they felt the Republican party was racist, but couldn’t explain why they thought so.

    They don’t know my party affiliation, of course, and one kid is convinced that I voted for Romney in the last election, since I never answer him when he asks. I like bringing up politics in class, but I never give my own opinion. I just want them to have the tools to come to their own conclusions, armed with the facts.

    • Post Scripts says:

      “They don’t know my party affiliation, of course, and one kid is convinced that I voted for Romney in the last election, since I never answer him when he asks. I like bringing up politics in class, but I never give my own opinion. I just want them to have the tools to come to their own conclusions, armed with the facts.” – Chris

      That’s is very appropriate. I wish all teachers would behave that way.

  23. Peggy says:

    Good going Chris! You are giving those kids a true education of our history. Please keep it up.

    I know you’re not a David Barton fan, but he does have a huge collection of US history original documents. When Beck was on Fox he had Barton on for Founder’s Fridays. He presented so many little known facts rarely taught in school I began reading and trying to learn as much as I could.

    There were a couple of shows they did on black history that not only blew me away, but also the blacks who were in the audience had never been taught the significant contributions blacks made to our founding.

    Here are a couple I hope you’ll take the time to read and pass on to your students. They are in transcript form, but still very interesting.

    ‘Glenn Beck’: Founders’ Friday: African-American Founders:

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/2010/05/31/glenn-beck-founders-friday-african-american-founders/

    ‘Glenn Beck’: Founders’ Friday: Black Heroes in American History:

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/2010/06/28/glenn-beck-founders-friday-black-heroes-in-american-history/

    Videos:
    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=glenn+beck+david+barton+black+founders&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=F82C8383150B4AF1C93BF82C8383150B4AF1C93B

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=glenn+beck+david+barton+black+founders&FORM=VIRE3#view=detail&mid=46C9180574A44A8A280346C9180574A44A8A2803

    There are several more if you find these of interest.

    I have to admit Chris I wasn’t looking forward to your coming back to PS, because it was nice having civil discussions without expecting barbs being flung from you. But, if your above comment is an indication of your future participation to be civil and respectful I am looking forward to them.

    Just to let you know if you do decide to revert to your old ways I will not respond.

    Again, welcome back.

  24. Chris says:

    Peggy, I think it is wonderful to highlight the unknown contributions of African-Americans in our history, and Barton and Beck do bring up a lot of good points in that discussion.

    But I disagree with Barton’s diagnosis for why this history has been covered up. He concludes that the reason most people haven’t learned about these great Americans is because the left wants Americans to see the Founders as “evil,” (his words), and acknowledging that they were helped by African-Americans would get in the way of that. I think the far simpler and more likely explanation is that their contributions weren’t recognized due to racism.

    And this goes back to what seems to be Barton’s entire motivation for bringing up these issue: for him I suspect that it’s not so much about recognizing the accomplishments of blacks as it is exonerating the Founders and making white people feel better about themselves. This was his main purpose in his book “The Jefferson Lies,” which was debunked by voices on both the right and the left, and dropped by Barton’s Christian publisher due to its many, many inaccuracies and leaps of logic. So he’s talking about the contributions of blacks, but he’s doing so in a way that still centers around the feelings of white people, and I’m uncomfortable with that.

    I agree that some on the left paint too harsh of a picture of America, but it’s also true that some on the right want to paint too rosy of one, as can be seen by the attacks on AP History currently taking place in some states.

    I will have to look into some of the black historical figures mentioned and see if there is any way for me to bring them up in a lesson (I teach English, not history, but I am always looking for ways to teach across the curriculum), but I doubt I will be using Barton as my source. Most of the primary sources he uses are available to others as well anyway, so I don’t think he contributes much of value to the study of history.

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