Unclaimed
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When I was a young boy I was told by my father stories of Americans being left behind in Korea and Vietnam. I remember several documentaries about such stories in my youth. The following is one such story and it appears that this man was left behind and now unclaimed by the American Government.
How can a government, which claims so much devotion to those who join the military, who fight and die for things like freedom and democracy, drop the support needed for those who deserve it the most.
http://www.thespec.com/news/world/article/924409--left-behind-in-vietnam-john-can-t-understand-why-nobody-came-for-him
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/30/john-hartley-robertson_n_3184682.html
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Ahem.
What! Are you saying we can't believe everything we read on the internet??? I feel so betrayed.
If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X
I'm annoyed at the producer and director of the film. Obviously they knew he was a fake. Also the family... who I guess was cashing in.
When you say it like that you make it sound so Sinister...
I found this link to the official government report which states his fingerprints proved he wasn't John Robertson. A DNA test would end all the speculation.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/pwmia/S134_4/2.pdf
Oh, but Peggotty, you haven't given Mr. Barkis his proper answer, you know.
Charles Dickens
From what I understand the family was getting money so they were delaying the DNA testing. I think they knew it wasn't him, but they had financial burdens and needed the money.
Alright this was a scam. But I'm sure there are actual cases of this kind of thing. In such cases, the government is effectively stuck between writing off their citizen or going to war. 99% of the time they will write off, because going to war not only sets the stage for repeating the incident in the first place, but also puts more of your people in significant danger of death and dismemberment. Or in a worst case scenario, potentially nuclear war. Is any person worth those risks?
The only time I could see it being worth it is if there was an actual continual threat to the population in general that would be removed by going to war. North Korea MAYBE would qualify, but only if you can convince China and Russia to let you. Even if they did, unless they actually helped (China especially), it would still be very messy, and not really worth it.
Nothing else in the East qualifies.
Nothing in the West qualifies.
Arguments can be made for the middle East and Africa and North Korea, and even those are powderkegs.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.