Iraq & Afghanistan Body Counts

[jarhead]

Thanks SRK, Some people will never get it and I have neither the time nor patience to argue with Mr wagner. My time would be better spent going out and talking  a hedge post

[jerry wagner]

What gives you the right to act as world police?  

Lets see, the first amendment for starters, secondly he's done his time defending and that in itself earns him the right more than any of the rest of us that haven't served!

Allow me to rephrase since apparently the question was taken to refer directly to him in person as opposed to the country.  Why does this country believe that they are singularly the world police?  And correspondingly if so, why does it not subject itself to the same standards?

[srkruzich]

What gives you the right to act as world police?  

Lets see, the first amendment for starters, secondly he's done his time defending and that in itself earns him the right more than any of the rest of us that haven't served!

Allow me to rephrase since apparently the question was taken to refer directly to him in person as opposed to the country.  Why does this country believe that they are singularly the world police?  And correspondingly if so, why does it not subject itself to the same standards?

Because we are.  When a country becomes the greatest one on earth, both economically and militarily, along with it comes the responsibility to utilize those resources to stop evil.  Its morally and ethically right.   

AS far as your second question i don't understand what your asking. 

[flintauqua]

Yea Flint, that's what I would do--cut and run. The pacifist said the same thing about Viet Nam. "Just bring our troops home and everything will be hunky dory". Tell that to the 1.4 - 2.2 million Cambodians that died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Jarhead you completely mistook my post.  I'm not a pacifist!  I believe in defending this country and it's national interests.  What exactly is our national interest in the two current wars.  In Vietnam we were trying to push back the advance of communism, a poli-economical system.  Fundamentalist Jihad is not a political or economic system, it's the radical branch of a major world religion.  Three hundred years of Crusades speak to the futility of fighting a war over religion.  If we (the West) would leave, in ten years there will be a hell of a lot less of them around because they would kill each other off.  Let the spooks take out command and control, which in this case is money and training bases.

As for the "Killing Fields" of the Khmer Rouge - There are 6-7 billion people on this Earth, the U.S. cannot continue to be the only "protector" nation for the Globe.  We do not have the resources.  We outspent the Evil Empire of the Soviet Union until they went bankrupt.  It's time to start thinking about what's going to happen when China comes to collect on all the T-bills we've floated over the past 30 years that made that happen, and continue the spending orgy that has occurred over the past 20.

[Diane Amberg]

So do we re institute the draft to come up with enough trained qualified young men to go open a can of whoop ass on 'em? I don't see another 200,000 people lining up to go fight, if that's what it would take to get it done and get 'em home as winners.The National Guard is about done in as it is. Congress held things back during Viet Nam, would they do it again? How many fronts can we successfully fight on, pretty much alone. We don't seem to be getting a lot of support from other countries on this.

[srkruzich]

So do we re institute the draft to come up with enough trained qualified young men to go open a can of whoop ass on 'em? I don't see another 200,000 people lining up to go fight, if that's what it would take to get it done and get 'em home as winners.The National Guard is about done in as it is. Congress held things back during Viet Nam, would they do it again? How many fronts can we successfully fight on, pretty much alone. We don't seem to be getting a lot of support from other countries on this.

LOL as good as a draft sounds, i don't think our servicemen would want draftees in there.  Personally i think any able bodied man that is on welfare cause he can't or wont get a job should join up and serve. then they would have a job and get off the welfare.  Problem solved. They also might learn the skills to keep em off welfare and again i said they might.  No guarantees on that.

[kshillbillys]

LOL as good as a draft sounds, i don't think our servicemen would want draftees in there.  Personally i think any able bodied man that is on welfare cause he can't or wont get a job should join up and serve. then they would have a job and get off the welfare.  Problem solved. They also might learn the skills to keep em off welfare and again i said they might.  No guarantees on that.

Amen to that Steve!! There's a lot of them able to get off welfare they just don't have the will to get off of welfare. They were probably raised that way and will live that way for the rest of their lives because they are lazy scum sucking bastards!!

[flintauqua]

I agree with this line of thought.  Is that okay?  Cause you know, since I'm out here in the Center, I'm supposed to be 'uber-liberal' and all.

[Varmit]

The whole approach of "lets just let them kill themselves" really worked prior to 9/11 didn't it?  As for the "natives" not wanting us there, try asking the women who are now allowed to go to school or who can now take their children to hospitals where they actually get treated.  As for hospitals and schools and bridges being built that is something you won't see on the news.  You have to remember the type of war that we are fighting, it is not a convential war.  It will take years to complete.  So long as there is a threat to our country it must be answered.  Our CIC needs to grow a pair and quit worrying about the constitutional rights of our enemies and start worrying about the security of our nation.

Personally, I think that EVERY able-bodied man should serve, at least one tour in the military.  Also, I think that the physical standards for the military should be lowered, at least for those who want to enlist.

As far as the U.S. being the "worlds police force" I don't see this war in that context.  This isn't about bringing these radicals to justice in a court room, it is about finding the enemy and killing them.

[Diane Amberg]

Without the draft, how do you get them to join up? Ya can't shame 'em into it and speculation on the welfare rolls is just that, speculation. It's easy for all of us to sit here and talk about what "they" should do, but that doesn't actually solve the problem. As far as a" conventional war", none of them are any more and probably never will be again. Yes, we do hear about the infrastructure repairs and such that have been going on for some time.The guys coming home talk freely about it. We've had some really good discussions at the back table at the fire house. I've learned a lot from those guys. So what is it you want the Pres. to do that can actually be done."Grow a pair" translates to what?