It's the troops who are doing everything the administrtion orders them to... sure, they're being ordered to, but that makes it right? How can a person not support George W Bush and his administration, but yet support the troops who are doing all the killing for him? Remember... it's the troops torturing and killing all those people over there... not the administration. Where the fuck's the logic in supporting the troops?? I do not support murder of any kind, but most of all I could not support the illegal invasion, murder, and rape of a country. It's not George Bush or his cronies pulling the trigger... news flash, it's the troops! Stop being damn hypocrites. If you support the troops, you support all that they have done and continue to do... Abu Grahib, Fallujah, etc etc.. Or maybe everyone who supports troops all support what they are *being told to* do?
Many of the troops don't feel that this war is right but, they made a comitment to the service. Not everyone fighting supports Bush but they do care for their country.
I dont think its a matter of supporting the troops "actions" its a matter of supporting the courage these peeps have....This war is a war supporting greed and oil fields...and the only liberating our leaders RILLY are interested in is cash flow... Not every American thats in Iraq are gung ho military killing machines..alot of the ground troops are reservists...and ive know many reservists , and its scary to think they carry woepens.. Yr point is understandable , but i think its very poss to support the troops , and hate the war...these vets get shit pay , and our gov dosnt do much for them when they come back...
what if there was a war and nobody went?Reservists are in it for the money.Many of the troops are misguided youth while many don't mind giving up their ethics for a small salary.Any support I give is out of pity
It's both... for the troops, it's half and half... not all of the troops are like the ones at AG but I won't support the wrongdoings, ignorance, and nonsense at AG and all of Rumsfeld's horseshit. I've had the pleasure of meeting Rummy... I do know a hand of military people around here who don't like the Bush administration and don't agree with all of it but they have no choice. That's like my friend's dad who is an officer in the Navy. He's getting out and he told me about what he's heard from other officers. The draft could likely be thrown into effect and he's not surprised if they do reinstate the selective service act anytime in the next few years. He's scared that he'll get pulled to Syria or Iran in the next year or two and he's been working 23 years, so he can retire as soon as his contract thing is up, which is almost here. He got his CDL and he's going to become a truck driver for UPS instead, as soon as his time is up... I just feel sorry for guys like that, and I feel even more sorry for the young troops that go into the military so they can get a college education, but die before they can ever do it, but it pisses me off because it's kind of like when someone does something wrong at your school and everyone gets punished for it wether they have a choice or not. I have no military in my family (a good thing...). I just want this B.S. to end so nobody gets hurt over greed and stupidity... everyone does. I know we're all just hanging on until the 2008 election... but who'll know what kind of damage will be done by then.
If you watch Farenheit 9/11 an awful lot of troops are massively anti the war...and as obvious as it may seem going awol isn't easy....I'm not saying I support the war but i don't think we should hate the troops since a lot of them are scared young men who it may have seemed to them that they had no options but to join up...
I agree with the OP to a point...the problem is...if the troops dont' follow orders they'll get court martialed (I think I prolly butchered the spelling of that, sorry guys), which means AT THE LEAST they'll get a dishonorable discharge, which looks bad on your record. And as far as the reserveists go...they didn't sign on for this...most of them didn't anyway...no one expected this shit to happen. But...I am guilty of breaking up with a guy because he was joining the Navy. I couldn't deal with someone close to me supporting the military like that. We shouldn't necessarily hate the soldiers we should hate the situation and those putting the troops in that situation.
Thanks. That says it much better than I was going to. And a lot more diplomatically too. "...unless a man has found something he is willing to die for, he isnt fit to live" Martin Luther King Jr.
Hey all, reading the opening statement to this thread makes me believe that some people are quick to make conclusions based on media propaganda first off some people join the service because they love our country and want to protect what this country stands for, freedom of speech the right to protest if you think the government is wrong. the fact that we all can sit here and talk about what ever we want is a testament to what our troops "believe" they are fighting for. You ever hear the saying one bad apple spoils the bunch. well that's how it goes the media doesn't want you to hear about the marine who died protecting children s/he was charged with protecting as they were escorted by our troops to school. Because good news doesn't sell all they want you to hear is about that one bad apple. And those people who are torturing and degrading prisoners and such are not carrying out the oath they pledged to this country. I'm not for this war at all I've lost 2 close friends to this war, but they died protecting children on there way to school. they died because they believed that every one has the right to be free. the fact that women can vote and are not subjugated and women can hold office in Iraq now is the legacy they left behind. so yeah I don't support the troops that will through the oath they swore to this country out the window so they can torture prisoners, but I do support those who believe in freedom and believe that it is a right every one has, not just Americans. Regardless of this administrations short comings, and the corruption of it's president and representatives, we need to support our troops, protest this war on oil, and get our troops home. Peace and love all
Well I'll die for peace and if peace isn't the answer I'll at least die in peace.The troops are there cause they think killing can be justified.It can't.
why do i support the troops? Because my dad is one of em and he is over there. Supporting the troops doesnt mean supporting their orders, it means supporting their well being and mindset. supporting the troops could be something as simple as sending my dad a carepackage...so your saying if i send my dad a CD, socks, and some cookies that im supporting murder?
I have lots of friends or family of friends who were encouraged to join up during the end years of the Clinton administration when I guess there wasn't much foreseeable problems. The only reason they joined was if they hadn't done that, they wouldn't be able to go to college. Now, they can't leave. I support the troops by not supporting the war. They are two completely different things and you can't be for the troops and for the war at the same time.
i dont really support anything america does anymore and will be laughing my ass off when those corporate pigs crash and burn im sure you all are amazing beautiful people you just have assholes running your country some by your own doing and some are in power and you have no control over it i dont condone killing in any way the people that enlisted themselves into the army, marines, navy whatever had to know they had to know that they might have to kill someone so the men and women who are killing for 'freedom' or whatever are killing and thats it they are killing other people, other human beings and that just aint right the US had no right what so ever morally or legally to go over to another country and start murdering other human beings what happened sept 11 was horrible but killing more innocent or not so innocent people doesnt correct or make the events of sept 11 any better the troops are doing the governments will so in that aspect they are innocent but they are still killing if you have family members in the army and you support that then good for you if you are standing up for what you believe to be right then good for you but that belief is most likely based on ignorance please dont get offended im not trying to offend anyone im just saying what i believe to be right if anyone in my family ever joined the army i would not support that in any way there are always solutions to our problems that doesnt involve killing/murdering people america is fucked up and itll take some serious action to fix it i do not support your troops and never will every individual is different and im sure all of the men and women in the army are good people but i will not support their actions
what about the cooks and the doctors and the people who bury the dead? they dont kill people. you are stereotyping because its obvious you dont know anything about the american military.
Our war in Iraq is contriversial with only limited support in The USA. But if this helps bring peace and democracy to Iraq and surrounding nations, we will need to revaluate the move, in light of this new information. The conduct and motives for the war receive a lot of attention in the mainstream media. The Administration is under a microscope, which is good thing. Journalists expend a lot of energy writing about The War and The Presidents conduct of the war. One war that journalists and media are ignoring, is the war on drugs. Pot smokers and thier plight are ignored by the media. It seems that we are being sacrificed by the media in thier partisan campagain to attack Bush. I am always reading about the prisoners of Abu Gareb or Guantanmo Bay or the circumstances of Jose Padilla. Yet when Al Gore's son was arrested for a joint, the media was silent. The United States just had an election and nowhere did I hear about relief for persons convicted of marajuana offenses. I am always reading about the death penalty, or the 10 commandments, or The Patriot Act but our crusading civil libretarians have sacrificed us to electoral politics. I would like to hear a little less about the war in Iraq and hear a little more about the war on American citizens.
Deserting in a war zone can be a capital offence of treason. Maybe the troops feel alright about it because they're preventing a war from spiling over on the Korean peninsula, killing millions. They're starting operations to curb ethnic violence in the Congo, preventing the government from slaughtering its own people, and are trying to find a way to curb ethnic slaughter in the Sudan. They're the largest humanitarian force on the planet, and are providing countless hours of man power and millions of dollars for tsunami relief in Indonesia and the Phillipines. Some of them support the militarys efforts to reconstuct Iraq, but most want to go home too. If they left today, Iraq doesn't have a policie force sufficient to protect the country yet, so it would fall into ruin. Some would rather leave anyway and let the Iraqi people govern themselves right aweay... even if that could lead to countless thousands more deaths. Its a very complicated moral iussue, and shouldn't be judged so hastily by children who have no idea what life and death means.
as an ex-soldier myself, I can support the majority of the troops who are out there doing their job, many of whom probably went in thinking about nothing more than the college money (like my young, dumb self did)...however, soulreb does have a valid point...I cannot support those who carry out the torture of prisoners, and especially those who seem to relish in it...I know that at least when I went in, we were taught from basic training on that we had the right to refuse UNLAWFUL orders, and we were also taught the main points at least of the Geneva Convention, and further, we were taught that any order given that would violate the Geneva Convention was an UNLAWFUL order...so the concept of those involved in torture and abuse of prisoners "just following orders" doesn't fly, and it is very reminiscent of what a bunch of people said at another little gathering in Europe, at Nuremberg