Why I Support Our Troops

POSTED BY: SignyM
UPDATED: Tuesday, August 2, 2005 15:49
VIEWED: 13777
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SIGNYM

Monday, July 25, 2005 4:36 PM

This isn't a come-on.

If you've read my posts, over time you may have noticed that I dwell on the notion of personal responsibility for freedom and justice. It's an appropriate question, seeing as it's Firefly's central theme. Becasue of that, some people assume that I'm laying the responsibility on our armed services, blaming our troops for everything from illegal warfare to atrocities and barbarism. Nothing could be further from the truth. If there is one thing I know about the military, it's that even the generals have to follow orders from the President. The enlisted have no choice in where or how long they serve, what their objectives are, why they're fighting.

Nope, that responsibility belongs here: in the comfortable yet uneasy, ignorant US civilian population. The ones with the power of the vote. We sit on our asses and second-guess the troops. But then we vote for Bush, and throw them into a meat grinder for no reason. I think we need to ask ourselves: "When do I become Mom (or Dad) Tam, so comfortable... and so afraid... that I will rationalize any horror to isolate myself from MY PERSONAL responsibility?"

I choose to support our troops by opposing George Bush. He and his Cabinet have been humping for Mideast invasions for YEARS, and it's all because of oil. I respect our troops more, I feel more responsibility for them, than Bush does.

HERO

Monday, July 25, 2005 5:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
blaming our troops for atrocities and barbarity.

Hey, nice backhand. American soldiers do not commit atrocities and barbarity. If you really supported them you'd ackowledge that our soldiers not only do the best they can, they do the best that has ever been done by soldiers under any flag (with the possible exception of the British...those guys are all class and have been for decades). Not only do they fight fair, they are all volunteers, and they all are subject to to Uniform Code of Military Justice. Our enemies cannot claim the same thing. Matter of fact we treat our enemies better then anyone could possibley imagine (at least we do once we stop shooting at them). The meals at Gitmo are better then local school lunches, the cells are better in the local county jail, and I don't have health insurance, but I bet those prisoners have the best health care they've ever had.

Quote:

I choose to support our troops by opposing George Bush. He and his Cabinet have been humping for Mideast invasions for YEARS, and it's all because of oil. I respect our troops more, I feel more responsibility for them, than Bush does.

Its fine to oppose the President. Thats what Democracy is all about. I do not believe the President wanted a war in the Middle East or anywhere else. But neither is he one to back down from a fight, thats part of the reason I voted for him. Before 9/11 the President's main foriegn policy focus was on tensions with China. Domestically his main concerns were taxes and education.

9/11 made us take a long hard look at the Middle East and right there in the middle was Saddam looking back at us. He has no one to blame but himself (and a few hijackers and Osama Bin Ladden). We looked at the Middle East, we saw it wasn't working, and we set out to change the dynamic in the hopes of defeating Bin Ladden and anyone who supports, harbors, or otherwise encourages people to fly planes full of innocents into buildings full of innocents.

If thats what you oppose you've got a lot of company. Some look just like you, others wouldn't be allowed to get on an airplane, and some would gladly join you in a mass demonstration just for the opportunity to blow themselves up killing you and your fellows and anyone else. You've got issues, thats fine, just be careful who you stand next too during the protest march.

H

SIGNYM

Monday, July 25, 2005 5:21 PM

Hero has quite a flexible "enemies list". It could be Saddam, maybe Osama, or the Islamic Republic of (fill in the blank), or maybe it's just "them". I think we need to empty our arsenals and our barracks to make Hero feel safe.

HERO

Monday, July 25, 2005 5:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Hero has quite a flexible "enemies list". It could be Saddam, maybe Osama, or the Islamic Republic of (fill in the blank), or maybe it's just "them". I think we need to empty our arsenals and our barracks to make Hero feel safe.

Yep. I'd count all of 'them' as my enemies. 'Them' terrorists and 'them' that supports them. 'Them' versus US, I'll take US anytime (even when Clinton was President, although maybe he coulda paid more attention to 'them' and less to Her).

H

CITIZEN

Monday, July 25, 2005 5:59 PM

Quote:
original post by Hero:
Yep. I'd count all of 'them' as my enemies. 'Them' terrorists and 'them' that supports them. 'Them' versus US, I'll take US anytime (even when Clinton was President, although maybe he coulda paid more attention to 'them' and less to Her).

Yes It never ceases to amaze me that when one of the few presidents that get in the White House who have a chance of gaining the respect of the world rather than just their fear he is denegrated for things completely unrelated to his leadership.

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

CHRISISALL

Monday, July 25, 2005 9:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hero:
although maybe he coulda paid more attention to 'them' and less to Her.

Okay, THAT was funny. Really funny.
But your'e makin' it too much a black and white thing.

Hey, didn't you just get sentanced to 'gnawing' or some such thing?

No relation to a judge Chrisisall

SKYWALKEN

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 12:07 AM

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OPUS

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 2:08 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
I think we need to ask ourselves: "When do I become Mom (or Dad) Tam, so comfortable... and so afraid... that I will rationalize any horror to isolate myself from MY PERSONAL responsibility?"

October 23, 1983 The Islamic Jihad sends two suicide truck bombers into the Marine Barracks and French Barracks in Beirut. The truck bomb crashing into the Marine barracks kills 241 while the French lose 58 in their attack.
November 15, 1983 A U.S. Naval Officer is assassinated by the November 17 terrorist group in Athens, Greece.
March 16, 1984 The Islamic Jihad kidnaps and kills U.S. Political Officer William Buckley in Beirut.
June 14, 1985 TWA flight 847 from Athens to Rome is hijacked by Hezbollah terrorists. 153 are held hostage for seventeen days. One passenger, a United States Navy sailor is killed by the terrorists.
October 7, 1985 The Achille Lauro cruise ship hijacking by four Palestine Liberation Front terrorists kills one U.S. citizen as his wheelchair bound body is dumped into the sea.
April 2, 1986 Palestinian terrorists calling themselves the Arab Revolutionary Cells detonates a bomb on TWA flight 840 as it approaches the Athens airport, opening up a hole in the cabin and sucking out four United States citizens, including one infant.
April 5, 1986 Libyan terrorists bomb a discotheque in Berlin, killing 3 U.S. servicemen and injuring 230 others. In response to this, the United States bombs Tripoli and Benghazi, attempting to kill the Libyan dictator Moammar al-Qadhafi
December 26, 1987 A Barcelona bar known as a U.S. military hang out is bombed, killing one U.S. citizen
February 17, 1988 A U.S. Marine is kidnapped and killed by Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon
December 21, 1988 Pan Am flight 103 is bombed by suspected Libyan terrorists and crashes in Lockerbie, Scotland killing 259 people.
February 26, 1993 A bomb explodes in the basement of the World Trade Center in New York, killing 6 and wounding more than a thousand.
March 8, 1995 Two U.S. diplomats are killed by unknown gunmen in Karachi, Pakistan.
June 25, 1996 A fuel truck explodes outside the United States military's Khobar Towers building, killing 19 military personnel and wounding 515.
February 23, 1997 A Palestinian gunman opens fire on tourists on an observation deck at the Empire State Building, killing one and wounding others.
November 12, 1997 Four U.S. businessmen are killed in Karachi, Pakistan by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Council.
August 7, 1998 In near simultaneous explosions at U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, Al Qaeda terrorists kill 291 and wound 5,000 in Kenya and kill 10 and wound 77 in Tanzania.

All before 9/11, all before Bush II. That's just a partial list. At what point do horrors done to us count? At what point is it okay to fight back?

You're statement about "horrors", presumably being done by the US is offensive and disgusting in comparision to true horrors done by those we fight against.
"Just following orders" isn't a valid excuse so attempting to seperate your disdain for the president and the actions of the troups is bullsh**! Every soldier has the right to refuse illegal or immoral orders. So by extension, if you're honest, you have to condem every soldier over there for failing to refuse what you see as illegal and immoral orders.
With all due respect, I think you hate Bush more than you care for the troops.

HKCAVALIER

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 3:06 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Opus:
At what point do horrors done to us count? At what point is it okay to fight back?

Um...hrm...I don't see any Iraqis on your list. At what point does a third party become the enemy? At what point is it okay to realize we're fighting the wrong people?

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

SUCCATASH

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 3:20 AM

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