CNN contributor says happy Vets Day with pic of Cuban soldiers

Hill later deleted the image from his Instagram account after one social media user noted that he had uploaded an image of troops hailing from a country that until May had been identified by State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism.

He explained that he was merely trying to honor West African freedom fighters.

“[T]his is a non-story. I attempted to post a West African female battalion. Posted the wrong pic and deleted,” he said in response to TheBlaze’s write up of his reported mistake. “I’m not afraid to post controversial stuff and stand by it. But that wasn’t the case this time.”

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“I wanted to give love to freedom fighters around the globe, especially women. Plus the image was beautiful!” he added. “My beliefs on Veterans and Veteran’s Day are clear. Probably different than your readers. But certainly transparent.”

Earlier on Twitter, Hill posted a series of notes on Veterans Day, explaining what the holiday means to him personally.

“For me, Veteran’s Day is not just about celebrating courageous service. It’s also about committing to end unjust war and invest in veterans,” he said. “It’s one thing to honor veterans. It’s another, more important, thing to invest in resources so they return home with dignity and honor.”

He added, “Too many veteran’s [sic] return home without proper employment options or medical support, including mental health resources. I often take my father to the local VA. And I’m always saddened by the conditions of the facility and the stories of the people there.”

“It is also important for our necessary investment in veterans to not distract us from our ever expanding military industrial complex. It means nothing to honor soldiers while placing them in harm’s way through our growing use of war as a primary instrument of foreign policy,” he concluded.