Robert O'Neill, the SEAL who killed Bin Laden, calls Trump's military parade "third world BS"

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I agree with the overall sentiment that military parades are the kind of thing I'd expect from North Korea or the Soviet Union, not the US of A.

But the fact that this guy killed Bin Laden doesn't really give his political opinion any extra credibility.
BTW, he also said this: "Yes. Third World. If Russia or France were powerful enough to take over the world, they would. We are yet we don’t. That’s called First World."

Just what in the holy hell is he talking about?
 
America's wars of aggression are what is truthfully "third world shit".

A military parade is a defensive action, a message of "look at how strong we are, don't fuck with us", which is surely why it doesn't appeal to this Navy SEAL. He just want to go out there and randomly kill some more third worlders, with a surprise attack, after playing the pacifist card for a couple of more years.

America needs to learn how to "carry a big stick" once again, instead of looking like a bunch of pussies after their wars, pretending that they're pacifist, then going full crazy with a massive invasion again, to save face.

Crazies like Osama Bin Laden would've been kept in check if he hadn't come to think that America had turned weak and flaccid. A couple of military parades and some tough-talk on the part of the President, goes a long way into solving that problem. That's mostly what is enough to keep third world bandit groups like ISIS from forming. If they had known in the first place that they were going to be squashed like a bug, you would've never even heard of them.
 
Phelly2 said:
I agree with the overall sentiment that military parades are the kind of thing I'd expect from North Korea or the Soviet Union, not the US of A.

But the fact that this guy killed Bin Laden doesn't really give his political opinion any extra credibility.
BTW, he also said this: "Yes. Third World. If Russia or France were powerful enough to take over the world, they would. We are yet we don’t. That’s called First World."

Just what in the holy hell is he talking about?
Click to expand...
He's talking about walking quietly when you carry the big stick.
 
Phelly2 said:
I agree with the overall sentiment that military parades are the kind of thing I'd expect from North Korea or the Soviet Union, not the US of A.

But the fact that this guy killed Bin Laden doesn't really give his political opinion any extra credibility.
BTW, he also said this: "Yes. Third World. If Russia or France were powerful enough to take over the world, they would. We are yet we don’t. That’s called First World."

Just what in the holy hell is he talking about?
Click to expand...


He is saying they have parades because they aren't the big dog on the block. They are posturing whereas as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world we don't have to.
 
TheGreatA said:
America's wars of aggression are what is truthfully "third world shit".

A military parade is a defensive action, a message of "look at how strong we are, don't fuck with us", which is surely why it doesn't appeal to this Navy SEAL. He just want to go out there and randomly kill some more third worlders, with a surprise attack, after playing the pacifist card for a couple of more years.

America needs to learn how to "carry a big stick" once again, instead of looking like a bunch of pussies after their wars, pretending that they're pacifist, then going full crazy with a massive invasion again, to save face.

Crazies like Osama Bin Laden would've been kept in check if he hadn't come to think that America had turned weak and flaccid. A couple of military parades and some tough-talk on the part of the President, goes a long way into solving that problem. That's mostly what is enough to keep third world bandit groups like ISIS from forming. If they had known in the first place that they were going to be squashed like a bug, you would've never even heard of them.
Click to expand...
 
woodguyatl said:
He is saying they have parades because they aren't the big dog on the block. They are posturing whereas as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world we don't have to.
Click to expand...
Yea, I got that. And I agree with what YOU said.

But instead of just saying that, he went ahead and called France and Russia third world countries (they're not) and then suggested that they would just take over the world if they had our military power (yea, if they want to die in a nuclear winter).

My point is he comes across as an uneducated brute with a twitter filter not unlike Donald Trump's.
 
[QUOTE="

My point is he comes across as an uneducated brute AND REGULAR FOX NEWS ANALYST with a twitter filter not unlike Donald Trump's.[/QUOTE]


He wasn't the most articulate but I have a very low standards after having tried to read the text of some Trumps speeches.
 
Phelly2 said:
I agree with the overall sentiment that military parades are the kind of thing I'd expect from North Korea or the Soviet Union, not the US of A.

But the fact that this guy killed Bin Laden doesn't really give his political opinion any extra credibility.
BTW, he also said this: "Yes. Third World. If Russia or France were powerful enough to take over the world, they would. We are yet we don’t. That’s called First World."

Just what in the holy hell is he talking about?
Click to expand...

Well he may be wrong about 1st world vs 3rd world but the fact that he accomplished things in the military that most soldiers can only dream of does in fact give his opinion on a proposed military parade more weight than your average flag-waving civilian or even average military member.

That's like a sports fan trying to claim a retired NFL player's analysis of a team's game plan has no more weight than any regular Joe's. Of course it does.
 
Phelly2 said:
Yea, I got that. And I agree with what YOU said.

But instead of just saying that, he went ahead and called France and Russia third world countries (they're not) and then suggested that they would just take over the world if they had our military power (yea, if they want to die in a nuclear winter).

My point is he comes across as an uneducated brute with a twitter filter not unlike Donald Trump's.
Click to expand...
Yeah, he took a tongue-in-cheek shot at France for being a historically military failure of a country (they are, whereas others have been historically much more dominant), but you need to keep in mind who is talking: Rob O'Neill is a former member of SEAL Team 6. SEALs are notoriously brash and frat-boyish compared to other units in the military. Look how books and movies about SEALs or former SEALs have come out in the last 15 years. American Sniper, Lone Survivor, 13 Hours, Zero Dark Thirty, Act of Valor, others that were much smaller or not in theaters, and others prior to the Global War on Terror. (Now compare that to the number of movies about Delta Force, Green Berets, Rangers, Marine Special Ops, and the rest of the Spec Ops community. See my point?) He's also the guy who stepped forward after a super-classified mission, did an interview with Esquire magazine, and then stepped forward again to say, "I was the one who killed Bin Laden." He's been cashing in ever since. He's definitely not coming to come off as polished at all, he'll be purposefully abrasive, and he's going to talk tough with the sort of stuff that's going to get him on news shows and get him paid.
 
Madmick said:
He's talking about walking quietly when you carry the big stick.
Click to expand...

Roosevelt wasn't exactly a pacifist though. He took part in probably ever war ever fought in his lifetime (personally), was a big proponent of military parades/soldier glorification/heroism, denounced any attempts to make war appear tragic or bothersome, and was heavily campaigning for increased military funds all up until his death (rightfully so, as it would've made America better prepared for WW1).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preparedness_Movement

"The notion that armaments led to war was turned on its head: refusal to arm in 1916 led Berlin to make war on the U.S. in 1917. The very weakness of American military power encouraged Berlin to start its unrestricted submarine attacks in 1917. It knew this meant war with America, but it could discount the immediate risk because the US Army was negligible and the new warships would not be at sea until 1919 by which time the war would be over, with Germany victorious.[16][17]"

When he talked about "speaking softly, but carrying a big stick", he was talking about making boasts that you cannot back up (which you could certainly criticize Trump for). Not that he was of the opinion that you shouldn't appear as strong as possible.

Trump, as a business man, knows the value of looking strong. But he does not necessarily understand that you shouldn't be trying to over-play your hand, and get caught bluffing.
 
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King of Fists said:
Well he may be wrong about 1st world vs 3rd world but the fact that he accomplished things in the military that most soldiers can only dream of does in fact give his opinion on a proposed military parade more weight than your average flag-waving civilian or even average military member.

That's like a sports fan trying to claim a retired NFL player's analysis of a team's game plan has no more weight than any regular Joe's. Of course it does.
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Have to disagree with you here.

A retired NFL player's analysis on a game plan has credibility because he can draw from his expertise.
Just like a Navy SEAL's analysis on a BATTLE PLAN would have credibility.

But a more apt analogy here would be a retired NFL player giving his opinion on kneeling for the national anthem, or on the price of tickets. It's a political opinion.

I'm a Border Patrol Agent, but that shouldn't give me extra political clout to decide on the fate of dreamers.
 
TheGreatA said:
Roosevelt wasn't exactly a pacifist though. He took part in probably ever war ever fought in his lifetime (personally), was a big proponent of military parades/soldier glorification/heroism, denounced any attempts to make war appear tragic or bothersome, and was heavily campaigning for increased military funds all up until his death (rightfully so, as it would've made America better prepared for WW1).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preparedness_Movement

When he talked about "speaking softly, but carrying a big stick", he was talking about making boasts that you cannot back up (which you could certainly criticize Trump for). Not that he was of the opinion that you shouldn't appear as strong as possible.

Trump, as a business man, knows the value of looking strong. But he does not necessarily understand that you shouldn't be trying to over-play your hand, and get caught bluffing.
Click to expand...

Military parades don't make you appear strong. They aren't even done for international consumption. With the exception of veterans parades and the evolution of France's historical parade, they are just that old school, flag waving patriotism and tubthumping nationalism/jingoism for local consumption.
 
This guy is too well spoken for a marine.

Of course they had to find someone who can kill bin Laden but also be comfortable on tv
 
sub_thug said:
Yeah, he took a tongue-in-cheek shot at France for being a historically military failure of a country (they are, whereas others have been historically much more dominant), but you need to keep in mind who is talking: Rob O'Neill is a former member of SEAL Team 6. SEALs are notoriously brash and frat-boyish compared to other units in the military. Look how books and movies about SEALs or former SEALs have come out in the last 15 years. American Sniper, Lone Survivor, 13 Hours, Zero Dark Thirty, Act of Valor, others that were much smaller or not in theaters, and others prior to the Global War on Terror. (Now compare that to the number of movies about Delta Force, Green Berets, Rangers, Marine Special Ops, and the rest of the Spec Ops community. See my point?) He's also the guy who stepped forward after a super-classified mission, did an interview with Esquire magazine, and then stepped forward again to say, "I was the one who killed Bin Laden." He's been cashing in ever since. He's definitely not coming to come off as polished at all, he'll be purposefully abrasive, and he's going to talk tough with the sort of stuff that's going to get him on news shows and get him paid.
Click to expand...

Yea, I mean, he's a top notch special operator. He has my respect in that regard. And I can't blame him for cashing in on his claim to fame. I'd probably be doing the same.
 
Phelly2 said:
But instead of just saying that, he went ahead and called France and Russia third world countries (they're not)
Click to expand...

Russia definitively is a third world country in the modern definition of the term.
 
Phelly2 said:
Yea, I mean, he's a top notch special operator. He has my respect in that regard. And I can't blame him for cashing in on his claim to fame. I'd probably be doing the same.
Click to expand...
I blame the hell out of him because he was supposed to be a Quiet Professional. His former teammates do not answer his phone calls, texts, or invite him to unit functions anymore. That is the price of being in the spotlight. Hope it was worth it, Rob.
 
Ruprecht said:
Military parades don't make you appear strong. They aren't even done for international consumption. With the exception of veterans parades and the evolution of France's historical parade, they are just that old school, flag waving patriotism and tubthumping nationalism/jingoism for local consumption.
Click to expand...

Military parades (for example by Russia or North Korea) have a pretty big viewership in social media nowadays. Russia has clearly integrated its military parades and other shows of strength, into serving as foreign propaganda that enhances their portrayal as a military super-power that doesn't suffer from internal divisions (which is far from true, in actuality, but that is the portrayal). Same goes for North Korea. Nobody actually thinks that these parades are intended for the domestic populations, who are well brain-washed already. They're a part of foreign policy, to establish their military might to the rest of the world.



We can continue to say that America is "above that", but it appears that they sometimes have more trouble establishing themselves as a threat, than the likes of Russia or even North Korea. Even though Russia and North Korea haven't partaken in a formal war for decades, and are realistically probably in shambles if they ever attempted the feat. People still continue to believe in the myth of their military strength, regardless.
 
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