Troops

^ Not send damn troops over there?! That way ppl won't go to Iraq and kill people, and won't have to come home and feeling like killing themselves. Makes a lot of sense to me.

At the afterschool program that I run, we "sponsor" a soldier who is stationed in Columbia. He originally signed up for the Vietnam war but was sent to Columbia and has chosen to stay there because of the problems that they have. He says that he sees the US Military actively helping where they are needed there. He rarely asks for things for himself -- he asks for books, toys, and clothing for an orphanage near where he is stationed. He tries to promote goodwill toward the US and the Military by helping the needy where he is.

I don't support the war in Iraq. My cousin did 3 tours, 2 in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, and while we are lucky that he wasn't hurt or in any "true" combat, he is a different person than who he was when he left, and not in a good way. I support the troops who signed up to better their lives for whatever reason (they couldn't go to college, they wanted to learn a trade, they needed the money, whatever) who are now in danger of losing their lives for this "cause." I would be happy if they would bring them home safe and sound.

i think people have started to forget about the troops.i dont support the war in iraq but i definately have mad respect for the troops fighting for our country.

1) Do they get enough respect?
I don't think they do. It's not like they were the ones who decided to go to war, that was the politicians. They're just doing the dirty work. Some people like my cousin and my uncle believe it's their duty and they're in Iraq now. I definitely think they deserve respect, even though I disagree with the War for Oil completely.

2) Do you respect them?
I do.

3) Do you think the people that want our troops out now are disrespecting them?((As the counter protesters at peace rallies have claimed))
I do think people are blaming soldiers for a lot of the fighting. While there are a lot of badly-botched missions and a couple of horrible cases of misdemeanors, people have to understand a few things. First of all, these are KIDS over there. nineteen year olds. they don't know how to fight a war. secondly, they know nothing of the culture. A supposed "massacre" happened last year when a fight broke out between a muslim group of men and an american troup. They muslim men were offended when they realized that the american observation tower looked straight into an area where the muslim men's wives were almost naked. but the americans knew nothing of this, because they had no idea what was going on. This is the type of thing that causes all these horrible mishaps that give soldiers bad reps.

4) The opposite of question 3. Do you think the people who want them to stay in war disrespecting them
Actually, I think most people who want them to stay in war are the type of conservative, veteran types who very much have a "stand behind the troops or in front of them" attitude.

5)Troops out now or keep them there?
I think they should be pulled out as fast as possible

6)Any other comments you feel go along with this
None except that I'm open to debate with reason.

Cyanide Hell....:

-ugh- Perfect example of bush being a Heartless warmongering Oilconsuming fool. I thought he couldn't get much lowwer but this is a new low for him

While I don't support Bush, the blame is not entirely his. The blame belongs to anyone who signed for war, most conservative republicans, and anyone who uses oil to an extent.

Meaning everyone is to blame. If instead of raising our oil consumption over the years, we lowered it, drastic and pathetic measures like the war on "terror" and drilling in alaska wouldn't be necessary. It's sort of an all are punish'd, all are blamed type of thing.

LASTLY a couple pointers for people:

1. The war on terror is the war we have going on in Iraq today. However, it was not unfamiliar territory. In nearby Afghanistan the U.S. has had soldiers for many years. After 9/11, the country was in great despair and the Bush Administration took this as a time to seize an opportunity. The opportunity being that there was blame to place and someone to invade. What better place than an oil-rich, tragedy-stricken country? And so under the false pretenses of finding "weapons of mass destruction", we charged into Iraq seven years ago. Victory was proclaimed, and yet, things have not improved by much. While we overthrew the Taliban and Bin Laden, the Taliban have re-grouped in Pakistan and grow stronger. Our NATO forces (Iraqi and U.N soldiers) are weak and most places are still very dangerous.

2. Supporting the troops is not the same thing as supporting the war. They did not start nor cause the war.

3. The pull-out of all the troops could not be immediate. Even if we signed a paper saying they would be out in the next couple of months, it wouldn't work. Our forces came into that country and knocked out the old pillars of stability and decided to hold it up by ourselves, meanwhile getting ready to drill for oil in the background. If we leave now, the pillars collapse completely. While we haven't made things better, the safest villages and cities are the ones that are troop-occupied.

4. There aren't just American forces over there, there are British and many U.N. soldiers. Keep that in mind. Many of them come back with Post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses such as depression. Currently the american soldiers are not very well provided for. Many of them are kicked out of the army and many more are left in the dark.

This is quite the touchy subject for me, but it's something I enjoy talking about.

1) Do they get enough respect? -- I actually think they do, for the most part. Some are treated like crap, but they are generally supported and respected.


2) Do you respect them? -- With every inch of my heart.


3) Do you think the people that want our troops out now are disrespecting them? -- No, I don't. I believe that the people who want our troops out are just wanting their families back. I want them home myself.


4) The opposite of question 3. Do you think the people who want them to stay in war disrespecting them? -- Not disrespecting them, no. But for the life of me, I can't figure out why someone would want them to stay over there in the first place.


5)Troops out now or keep them there? -- Out as soon as humanly possible.


6)Any other comments you feel go along with this. -- As a soldier, this topic is hard-hitting and quite personal. I just want to thank everyone who supports our troops with whatever they're doing. I'm glad that some of you seem to understand that just because someone is in the Army doesn't mean they support the reasons they are fighting.

I think that troops get enough respect, I think. I'm not really sure, where I live, we have like hundreds of people that actually take days to go to the airport and welcome the troops home. They have signs saying stuff like, "Welcome Back" and all the families are there and they just run up to their troop and just hug and kiss them. I certainly respect them, I have family in the army. I want the troops to come home soon. They should come out kind of like little by little, but they should all be out of Iraq by next year. Support the troops!

1) Do they get enough respect?
You guys oughta know better I guess. From what I see in the news & such, they are very warmly thought of by the average American citizen

2) Do you respect them?
Yes but I also really want them to come home alive & in one piece.

3) Do you think the people that want our troops out now are disrespecting them?((As the counter protesters at peace rallies have claimed))
I support the peace rally people but I think the blame lies with the authorities and not with troops themselves, who are just doing a job

4) The opposite of question 3. Do you think the people who want them to stay in war are disrespecting them
No. it's just different opinions and priorities

5)Troops out now or keep them there?
I'm a hippie when it comes to these things so i say Out. Now.

6)Any other comments you feel go along with this
The waging of war is not a simple thing, but to an idealistic fool like me it is actually pretty simple. When it comes down to it, war is young men dying for something that is not even their battle but their leader's or politician's battle. of course they've been convinced that it is their battle & they shd be proud to be there, but i've never supported unnecessary death. i've never supported anything that could cause such mind-numbing emotional and physical trauma. and i never will.

Faye Merci:

LASTLY a couple pointers for people:



While we haven't made things better, the safest villages and cities are the ones that are troop-occupied.
.

I will have to disagree with you. I am currently in contact with the father of a dear friend of mine who is in Iraq at the current time. While it is true that SOME small villages are safe because the troops are inactive, he said that some squads are active and have made the cities very unstable. Some but a very few have committed war crimes, such as the miss use of bombing with out reason. So that is not always the case

On a lighter note i agree with the other points.
And thank you all for replying

But to get even more discussion.. hear this
!) Do you think we will need to get a draft
2) What do you think of draft.
3] Is it the right thing to do? why?

I completely disagree with the war in Iraq, but I do have respect a lot of people in the military. I have a hard time expressing this because I have some very strong opinions on how I dislike patriotism, but I do support people that join the military because they want to defend those that they are close to and protect people. I have a hard time respecting people that join to fight for "our country" and who think that America is the best country that ever lived, it should dominate, ect. Dont get me started on how I think this attitude is wrong. (I met a veteran like this the other night and I really wanted to spit in his face)But those who want to protect people and give them good lives, I support them with all my heart and hope they have a great life and that they return home safely

Cyanide Hell....:

On a lighter note i agree with the other points.
And thank you all for replying

But to get even more discussion.. hear this
!) Do you think we will need to get a draft
2) What do you think of draft.
3] Is it the right thing to do? why?

No there is no need at all to get a draft. the conflict is too small in comparison to major scale ones. if you haven't noticed the assault part of the war is over and troops are just there as peace keepers. the only reason we would need a draft is if there was a massive assault that needed to be underwent.

i think in the times that we live in now the draft has become out of place. before when you were called up to serve your country you went because you felt like what you were doing was right, with conflicts like the second world war it wasn't a question of if you were gonna go it was when you were gonna go. i think the draft is testament of a societies character , like when it came time members of the society were willing to step up and fight for the beliefs of the society they were fighting for .
but these days looking at things retrospectively its easy to see that the draft has lost its place in this age because of the prominence of high speed information such as the Internet and television, this that the horrors of war are being blasted into our living rooms every night and suddenly the prospect of war doesn't seem so patriotic, but don't get me wrong if you choose to stand up and fight for your country, for its ideals well we truly are in awe, because it takes alot to make that decision.

MigRacer:

No there is no need at all to get a draft. the conflict is too small in comparison to major scale ones. if you haven't noticed the assault part of the war is over and troops are just there as peace keepers. the only reason we would need a draft is if there was a massive assault that needed to be underwent.

That is true but that is at the moment. There are several people in the white house who are currently trying to get an attack on Iran. So therefore we would most likely need a draft. But your other feedback was very good and i agree with you.

1) Do they get enough respect?

The soldiers are out there fighting for peace and liberty, basically. Risking their lives so that other people can have that. That's a huge thing to do, and I think that they don't.

2) Do you respect them?

Like I said above, they're doing a huge thing. While I don't agree with the methods they're using to do it, the soldiers themselves are extremely brave people (or people that like money, but I /hope/ that that's not why people are enlisting) to be doing that, and for that, and many other reasons, they have my respect.

3) Do you think the people that want our troops out now are disrespecting them?((As the counter protesters at peace rallies have claimed))

I don't, because I think they're concerned about the soldier's health, and of the people in Iraq as well. Violence shouldn't be the best option, and in war, violence is almost inevitable.

4) The opposite of question 3. Do you think the people who want them to stay in war disrespecting them

I can get why people would want to keep there, but I guess it really depends on the people themselves. Wanting to keep them there to ensure peace and stability in the area...I don't think it's disrespecting the troops, but you have to realize that it's their lives that they're putting on the line, and just by being there, they'll more than likely be injured, physically or mentally.

5)Troops out now or keep them there?

I'm for taking them out. I don't really get the causes for going to war-3000 American troops killed, countless Iraqis, but we're not getting anywhere, and I don't believe it's so terrorists don't attack the USA-they could do that now; the troops in Iraq wouldn't make a difference. I think that peace in the region isn't the President's main goal, however much I want to believe him. As for helping the Iraqis themselves, the suicide bombings...many of them are directed at the troops, but they kill so many more civillians. I'm for peace, and while I think that we should keep on training the /Iraqis/, I think we should get out of there, for both them and us.
6)Any other comments you feel go along with this

) Do they get enough respect?
In America, I have noticed that they get a lot of respect. They feel proud enough to feel that they can wear their uniforms around the streets. Military get reduced price access to 'The Tourist Tour', and in some places, they get in free. In the UK, however, I have yet to see this respect, and patriotism. In the UK, the military isn't given the respect they deserve. I think that if a person is willing to die for you and your country, then you should give them more respect than the average person.

2) Do you respect them?
yes. yes, I do respect them. They are willing to fight, and die for something, that they might not necessarily believe is right, and I think that takes an inordinate amount of strength. I think if you only respect someone for one thing, then being willing to die for something, deserves the respect.

3) Do you think the people that want our troops out now are disrespecting them?((As the counter protesters at peace rallies have claimed))
no. I think they just want to stop the deaths. I think that most of the people who want the troops out respect them a lot, and they don't want to see them dead, or see them kill a person.

4) The opposite of question 3. Do you think the people who want them to stay in war disrespecting them.
no. These people are respecting their wishes to fight for their country, and make a living, and do something they want to do.


5)Troops out now or keep them there?
Depends where from. Iraq, yes, but slowly. You can't just pull out, and hope everyone is fine, because it doesn't work like that, you have to get people used to being able to do things on their own, and being able to go out in the streets, and you have to stop people wanting to kill each other I guess.

I'm 100% against the war in Iraq. I sometimes wish American's could see our news, or any type of coverage of the war from another country... maybe that'll open theyr eyes to what's really going on.

But that said, the troops are not getting enough respect. They are good brave men (and woman!) It's such a waste that theyr spending theyr lives so far away from home