The Veteran

 

While in England at a large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the
 Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of
 empire building' by George Bush.
 
He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of
 its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond
 our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is
 enough to bury those that did not return."
 
It became very quiet in the room.
 
************** 
 
Then there was a conference in France where a number of international
 engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break
 one of the French engineers came back into the room saying "Have you heard
 the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to
 Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb
 them?" 
 
 A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three
 hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear
 powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they
 have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a
 day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water
 each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting
 victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such
 ships; how many does France have?"
 
Once again, dead silence.
 
***************** 
 
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals
 from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a
 cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers
 that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting
 away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly
 complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn
 only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak
 English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'
 
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe its because the
 Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to
 speak German' 
 
  You could have heard a pin drop!