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not politics dog. just kids dying for an ever-changing bottom line. why is that so difficult to understand?

 

Exactly. It's not politics if the point you're making is that the war should end.

 

Pretty damn personal to me, too. Because there but for the grace of god ...

And don't think that doesn't hit home to me, just because I'm not a soldier. It has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with people I'm close to watching their kids die. Sorry if I have a major fucking problem with that.

 

i don't buy the "just support the soldiers and STFU" approach either. it reaks of "you're either with us or against us."

 

Do you have to be personally affected to have a valid opinion now? Isn't that the sort of thinking that gets us in trouble in the first place?

 

I'm not a soldier, but I know some who are.
Perhaps TBF can explain this to me -- why do soldiers, even the ones not in Iraq, always tend to defend any skirmish?
I understand wanting to believe we are fighting for something. In this case, we clearly aren't -- or, if we are, it's not one of the first 10 or so reasons we were told we were fighting.
I've said many times I support the troops and want them all to come home safely.
Apparently that makes me either a Communist or a coward.
I'll take either title if it means I don't have to be a warmonger responsible for the deaths of thousands for no reason like our Commander-in-Chief.

 

Are you saying soldiers who defend their mission are warmongers?

 

I'm referring ONLY to our Commander-in-Chief -- that would be the president.

 

Just askin'

 

BTW, I am asking an honest question.
Why are soldiers so quick to justify missions, even when the vast majority of the country has declared it indefensible?
I'm thinking if it were my life on the line, I'd be really damn curious what the cause was. If it was protecting our country, that would be worth it.
If it were just to satisfy a grude carried by the President, that might be a different case.
I understand the soldiers have no choice. They do what they are ordered to do.
But TBF is not on here defending this war because of orders (I assume) and the soldiers I know don't jump on people for making statements like "bring the troops home" because of orders (I assume).

 

i guess if you resign yourself to possibly dying for "the cause," you wanna at least feel like the cause is worth dying for ... if that makes sense.

 

I'm not defending the war at all. I want it over NOW. No, I want it over yesterday. I want someone in Congress to do what they said they were gonna do about six months ago -- end this shit, 'cause it ain't gettin' no better (pardon my Southern dialect).

I realize my initial argument wasn't the most tactful, and that's what I criticize some here for. And, for that, I appologize. I let my emotions get the best of me. That is not a characteristic I'm proud of. People criticizing the war doesn't bother me in the least. I do it, and in 34 days, I'll be handed a commission from the President. I'll still want it to end now. But what I won't do is sit idly by while people distastefully (in my opinion) toss around statistics like dead soldiers and names -- like that guy did a couple months ago -- to do it. And, no, I'm not resigned to die for "the cause." I'm not a fucking sheep. On the other hand, when so much has been invested, people (read: the Army) want to see the job finished. Can it be finished? That's another argument.