I agree. I also acknowledge that my opinion is strong sometimes so the thread isn't to criticize but to get the conversation going and for all of us to try to understand why we strongly oppose or support American hegemony and realize the price the hegemony demands. They, the soldiers, are the ones asking the question (hence I will post my promised links) and its an important one to ask if these wars are ever to cease because they affect us all in various ways as America is the empire we all live under. The documentary I watched, that featured Dr. Bacevich, one soldier struggled to come to terms with the loss of his comrade. He had to come up with a reason, convincing himself, that the loss of his friend’s life wasn’t for naught.
No one knows what happens to Damascus that it will stop being a city. The Bible doesn’t specifically say, or who it is that does it...so you can’t blame Israel for it already.
Why not? Didn’t they sign up for that? What do you think they signed up for?
To "defend" their country, no doubt, given that they are fodder, granted paid fodder, of the so called "Defense Department." Everybody knows that we Americans, filled with largesse and a desire to "liberate" the oppressed worldwide, are only ever "defending" ourselves and spreading Freedom on the wings of snow-white Raytheon war jets.
So, then they can be blamed for what they do?
Unlike the foot soldiers, those who can be blamed are the decision makers at the executive level and policy wonks among the chattering class, such as David Brooks, as @DavidSon was perceptive enough to note, who cheer them on: the war mongers and bishops (and above), not pawns, on the chessboard.
Without the people signing up they would have no one to command, right? So, for whatever reasons people sign up, they know they will have to use force and maybe kill people. They can be blamed for signing up to do that can’t they?
But you will criticize their superiors harshly? Without the troops willingness to engage in battle by signing up for it, their superiors couldn’t use them...Yes, I suppose so. Please re-ead my statement, the one you quoted. When I composed it, I took care to add what I think is an adequate adverb, harshly: I will not harshly criticize nor will I blame the American soldiers. Get it?
I am enjoying our discussion, but I am also busy knitting a new Shawl for Iran. The last one, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, didn't work out too well. Would you like to help me? Afterward, we could do some exciting bungee jumping.
I already told you that I think a common perception among soldiers is that they are signing up to "defend" their country. I have no issues with self-defense. It is in large part because I will not usually "turn my other cheek" that I do not presume to call myself a Christian. What is often overlooked in the "defense" equation, though the military elites and decision makers from West Point and the Pentagon know the subterfuge well, is that offense often goes trick-or-treating, that is to say masquerading, as defense.
Sure, but signing up to defend means using force, I mean they are signing up for the armed forces aren’t they? You’ve got those that re-enlist and make a career of the military, are they being duped too? I don’t think so, they’ve been in long enough to know what that means.
America is largely on a military footing. My guess is that, before long, there will be two and only two career options in this country: manufacture meth in your basement or join the Army.
I doubt it.
You were smart to doubt because we could add a third, possibly fourth, option: become a hamburger engineer at franchise fast-food restaurants.
Funny how we aren’t the only country in the world to do that...
No we aren’t. However we have the largest military in the world and spend more money on our military then the next ten largest militaries in the world combined.
And China doesn’t? They have a bigger army than we do, with the killing of girls babies for all those generations they have way more men for their military industrial complex then we will ever have.
How many countries has China invaded or occupied in the last ten years?