You need to go back and check your history before WWII, what we were doing while Hitler killed millions of jews. You should have watched the history last night, the show about Saddam killing hundreds of thousands with gas,(75% women and children) kind of like the holocaust! How bad do you feel, enough to give up everything you own, and give it to underprivedged Americans? Shame on America and the rest of the world for not going in there sooner! Shame on you for putting dollars over human beings because they don’t live in your neighborhood! I would say you are an isolationist
Jimmy,
Let me ask you a simple question.
If the Israel and the Jews were gone tommorrow would the extremists hate us ay less?
Will,
Please explain your comment about the money being put to good use in Iraq. I haven’t seen anything good come out of Iraq. All I see is our infrastructure here getting worse and worse.
I agree with you David. I think they knew what they wanted to do before moving into the white house.
Good point Greg, this is what I started the thread for.
I think very few are happy with the current situation in Iraq but please let’s not forget that at the time there was very wide spread support for our actions there.
IMO we have no good choices left.
If we stay we lose more good men and women in country that may not be ready for freedom.
If we go we will be perceived as weak and become even more the target of those who stand against the American idea of freedom.
There is no doubt that this is a touchy subject. I would hope that the powers that be will not get us into another war without having the will to win it. You cannot fight a war and be politically correct. To win a war you have to be willing to do what ever it takes. Since WWII we have been the superpower because we did what needed to be done then. Do you think the current leaders could have dropped the bomb on Japan? That is why we have been the superpower for the last 50 plus years. Everything that has happened since ( Korea, Vietnam and Iraq) has just proven to the world that we no longer have the will to do what needs to be done to win a war. We will always be viewed as a weakling as long as we coddle our enemies instead of killing them.
C’mon Will.
You don’t think Halliburton, Kellogg, Brown and Root and a horde of other no-bid contractors are lining their pockets?
I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night.
Yeah, follow the money.
To answer the question asked above: Read the books, then ask me.
I have found that 90% of Americans have a pathetically poor understanding of the root problems of the Middle East conflict in general, and unfortunately our current administration is in that percentage. Understanding a culture is the first step. It is clear to me that a gross misunderstanding is driving this whole thing. History has proven that societies forced into sudden and drastic changes will always react negatively to the ideas and ideals being thrust upon them, no matter how noble or sensible they may seem to those doing them “the favor”. I’d write more now, but I have a full day ahead. See y’all tonight…have a great day, everyone!
Robert, Thanks for your input. I don’t believe I started this thread to start an argument about patriotism, I started it to bring about the awareness of what needs to be done at home, here in the US.
Right now the US government is bribing troops to serve in Iraq and it should end and the money we waste over there could be better spent here i the US, help US families that need it.
Robert, I have re-read your statement and you scare me.
To talk about your seven year old daughter in those terms is unspeakable.
IMHO
To brag about making hero’s that’s unspeakable as well, to brag about taking bullets…
I don’t know what to say.
How, exactly (and, please give examples. Ones that are well known, documented and easily verified) is the US government ‘bribing’ troops to serve in Iraq?
That ‘it should end’ is debatable (part of the democratic process, not merely a dogmatic or fiat statement).
How is the US government ‘wasting’ money, ‘over there’. I would state that there is already too much money ‘wasted’ over here. It is a trusim that governments ‘waste’ money. If they were efficient, they would be corporations, not governments.
In Iraq, there is plenty of work to be done (rebuilding a countries infrastructure). This work is best done by the best, most qualified and most experienced people who know how to do the job and get it done right. These people are companies who have done the work (many times) before and know how to manage the job and keep waste out of the mix. This is something governments, by their very nature, cannot do.
Governments are swayed by forces other than reality (politics, special interest groups, political agendas and correctness, graft, re-election campaigns, the media, voters, leftists, dictators, etc) and have too much on thei plate that has no relation to getting the job done. That is why they subcontract such jobs out to companies.
I can tell you, right now, that my nephew, who flies choppers for the Army (1 tour in Afganistan and on his second tour in Iraq) is not bribed.
This is silly talk. It is also the kind of talk that will get you punched in the nose by anyone who has been in, is there now or simply understands reality, as opposed to just spouting out recycled media BS.
Realize. Words have meanings and statements have to be back up with facts. Insinuations are the tools of petulant children and should be treated with no more seriousness than a 2 year old brats tantrum.
Think on this.
Will, I too have a nephew in Iraq, he is 35 and has a wife and two small children at home.
He has been part of home land security since the beginning, here at the Pease airport and with TSA at Logan, in Boston.
They have gone through hard times, be sure of that. the bribery that I spoke of is they offered him $35,000.00 to sign up again and go to Baghdad, sin up for 18 months in Iraq but 6 more years in the army. That to me is bribery.
JMHO
I would, respectfully, disagree (but honest people can honestly disagree).
I would call it an incentive. He is an adult and can make his own decisions.
We have an all voluntary military now. Give people the right to make their own decisions.
Surely, your nephew should work this out with his wife and make his own decision.
In any case, I will be braying for him to make the decision that is best for him.
Usually, that is all one can do. 
Will you are absolutely right, it’s somewhat of a personal thing for me. I thought he should have stayed at home but I’m not him, thanks for you input, I accept it with the knowledge that we have something in common.
IE children in the military.
That is something that we all shouyld learn. Disagreeing without being disagreeable.
I love to argue, not in the negitive connotation, but a free exchange of intellectually honest ideas. But some people take it personally. That is not my intent.
Ultimately, we are all adults and make our own decisions.
Thanks for understanding this point.
No problem Will, I guess I have an advantage over most. I argue with building inspectors about interpretation of codes all the time, if it did this in a inappropriate manner I would be screwed.
As someone who had a lengthy military career, let me clear up this erroneous statement. The military has had reenlistment bonuses for many decades. Long before the War on Terror started. To call it a bribe is an insult to those who are professional soldiers in the service to this country. That is an emotional, irresponsible comment. If someone has made the decision to wear the uniform and service the citizens of our nation and an opportunity to earn a bonus and a reward for their dedicated service, and their training, others who choose not to provide that needed service should gather the facts before making such a statement.
I have avoided saying anything on this thread up to this point as I find the whole argument of why we are there a mute point. I could not let this comment go by unchallenged as it is blatantly false and offensive. As military people, we learn early on not to allow emotions to control our thoughts and actions, as that can get a person killed. We rely on our training.
Doug,
With all do respect, I apologize if I offended you, but to insult me because I have my own opinion is just as offensive.
Well said Doug. A greenie for you:-)
To bolster your argument on bonuses I would add this.
It cost much less to retain a trained soldier than to recruit and train a new one to the same level of expertice.