I don't want to distract from the coming barrage of response to your ridiculously inflammatory piece of rhetorical excess, but I thought someone ought to point out some of the blatant untruths and misrepresentations before the firefight begins.

It's rather hilarious how our generals find the courage to criticize their Secretary of Defense and their Commander-In-Chief only after retirement

You overlook the obvious fact that while they're emplyed by the government they're paid to speak for the government, and once they leave that job they are usually paid to speak against the government, or at least to criticize and analyze and dispute policy by the news media. That's the primary explanation for the phenomenon of generals changing their tune once they retire - they're still just saying what they're paid to say.

Poor bastards, I think, they're mostly underprivileged kids who didn't have any career open to them besides the Army.

Again, untrue. Studies have been done on this. Most enlistees come from middle-class backgrounds and do have other options, but choose to go into the military for a variety of non-economic reasons.
Heck, most Americans have -- they voted against the war.

Really? I missed that national referendum.

That's WITHOUT the cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan included.

Another misrepresentation. While THIS year's coming expenses are not fully represented in the budget, the budget DOES include overages for the past year. No spending for the Iraq war has ever actually not been included in a budget, despite the constant misrepresentation of supplemental appropriations.

Why do we keep making our arms manufacturers rich with our tax dollars when we need that money to educate our children?

Federal money only makes up a tiny portion of education expenses, generally only for very limited and specialized programs, so cutting military spending would not produce any immediate improvement in education, which we're already spending too much on anyway.

I could go on, but let me step back and let others focus on your reprehensible attitude towards the troops and the military as a whole.

Dave

Infact this is wonderful articles, all brainless american soldiers should think about.Not a single weapon of mass distruction was found in iraq and if they had .. then none of it would had range of reaching to USA. Why USA needs to poke its nose in everyone's matter?. USA is not next world power. Thats greatest mistake which americas did and they will pay for it.Insurgents in Iraq are only those people whose families have been killed by american bombs. Huh ! "operation iraqi freedom" , american soldiers should learn for their freedom now, as they havent learned any lesson in vietnam.

Adam,

I'm just curious. Did you, as a South African, do the compulsory military service required under the apartheid regime? Or did you get out of it somehow?

Heck, Adam, let's be fair. Were you too young to serve when you left?

"If you get yourself killed, it's because you're dumb"

Totally should have seen that roadside bomb, yeah!

thank you Adam for having the courage to say what most of us think but are afraid to admit...I have often wondered why these soldirs enlist...is it for the money ? or are they just plain stupid..I can excuse the guard because like Bush they thouht they never would have to fight..
i have also wondered ..how does Islam brainwash ppl to become suicide bombers ?..I think I am getting close to the answer by just watching our once proud country lose it's moral compass..we deserve all the crap our country will get for years to come..I only hope we have some powder left for the day China takes us on..
I fought in the korean war and I never met a single soldier who wanted to be in the army but we did what we told because we had no choice..WE WHERE DRAFTED !!!

Hey, I'm only expanding on what the only US president who actually ran our Army, Eisenhower, warned us about: the military-industrial complex of the USA. This complex -- and its psych ops of making us believe our military are noble heroes -- has always been responsible for our hideous foreign adventures. Picking on small countries for corporate gain is their MO, and I think it's cowardly.

Adam,

My son is in the Marine Corps.

I know you intentionally write controversial articles to bring attention to your work. That's fine, that's your right.

That said, I find many of your articles demeaning and hurtful to military families for no reason other than to see how many comments you can garner.

Donnie Marler:
You're right -- I write to provoke, because I'm really angry about where the current administration has taken our country.

I don't want to be hurtful to military families. When I read about our kids who die every day in Iraq, it breaks my heart. I write what I write to maybe help stop this from happening, and to make people think twice about what our country is up to.

I think it's also up to the military to think about what they're being used for, and to stand up against it, like Lt. Watada has.

I believe Bush/Cheney and their Iraq War are an utter and horrific betrayal of everything that is good about America, and that is what drives me to write what I write.

If I've caused you hurt, I apologize, and I hope for your sake your son hasn't been deployed to Iraq, because if that is the case, my heart is breaking for you.

Editor...where did my post go? I guess Nalle needed more room to post his "mini-novel" responeses...

BTW...Nalle there is a trend - your responses are getting longer than the original articles!

Gee so much for freedom of speach..I guess you have it at Blogcritics as long as urine controle of the edit funtions!!

JOM

"I write what I write to maybe help stop this from happening, and to make people think twice about what our country is up to."

The way you write makes people more likely to ignore you as a crackpot. It remeinds me of when I was attending the Univeristy of Washington, and a bunch of students went and blocked off part of a highway during rush hour to "raise awareness" about the Iraq War. Although they perhaps had good intentions, the only thing the caused tobe raised was the middle finger.

JOM: As you already know full well, even if you still simply can't get your head around it, this site operates a modified freedom of speach (sic) policy. You can debate somebody's ideas vigorously but not attack them personally. Your post did, it's gone, end of story.

Adam,

Understanding where you come from is why I don't take what you write personally very often.

I don't agree with how and what you write, but America isn't about what you or I agree with, it's about each of us having the right to express our beliefs.

Trust me when I tell you that no one despises war more than those fighting it and their families waiting and worrying at home.

As for Lt. Watada, I will respectfully disagree with your assessment of his actions. I don't pretend to know what's in his heart, but I don't agree with how he went about it. I respect a true conscientious objector and I know there are those driven by their faith and beliefs to not take up arms.

Until I suffered a serious injury in an accident, we were a middle class family. There is a long tradition of military service in my family, and my son had always planned to join the Corps after high school. The tragic events of 9-11 only cemented his resolve to serve. He is not stupid, he is not a coward, and he believes with all his heart and soul in America and what she stands for.

Perhaps people think differently here in the Midwest as opposed to our large cities? I don't know. If you ask my son what he's fighting for, he'd tell you the kids in the playground, the old people on their porches, and to protect the slow and gentle way of life he knew as a child.

He won't mention oil or world power or the establishment of democracy in other nations. He is the father of two children. He simply wants to protect what their future will be.

I love my son with all my heart. I don't want to lose him, and I'm not sure I could bear it if I did, but it was his choice and I respect it.

I believe the only way for us to come together and solve our problems is through rational and reasoned dialogue. I don't despise democrats any more than I worship republicans. I'd just like to see the public and political debate take on a much more positive and respectful form.

"A sinister cabal of superior writers"

I guess there's always an exception.

Donnie

I respect your son for doing what he believes. That is noble and a characteristic that is not seen much among youth. I also respect your tone.

However, If you ask my son what he's fighting for, he'd tell you the kids in the playground, the old people on their porches, and to protect the slow and gentle way of life he knew as a child.

That has nothing to do with the Iraq war.

Had you raised him to be aware of world issues so that he doesn't become a victim of rhetoric like so many Americans were?

Donnie:
Thank you for your reply.

You say "I'd just like to see the public and political debate take on a much more positive and respectful form."

I guess I'm just too angry to be all that "positive and respectful." Bush/Cheney, the Iraq War, and the needless militarization of America just drive me crazy.

I'm looking forward to the next President being Hillary, Edwards or Barack, so I can stop being this angry, although I have no doubt any one of them is capable of driving me crazy, but not to the degree that Bush/Cheney does.

Bush must be the only president we've ever had who's inspired so many Americans to start wondering whether he's the worst president we've ever had. As it is, I think he's the 3rd worse, but certainly the worst president we could've had to take us into the challenges of post-9/11.

Wish that we had an MLK, a Mandela or even a Gore, but instead we got this entitled, inexperienced, moronic, crazy ideologue and liar. There I go again, getting all non-positive and disrespectful, but I haven't figured how not to try and fight fire with fire.

The average of military enlistees come from homes with a household income of 41k. Meaning 20K/year per working parent.

Is it me???

Would these parents be able to put children through collage? In Texas, the average price tag for tuition and fees, room and board, books, transportation, and other expenses for one year ranges from a low of $9,128 (at a public technical college) to a high of $22,255 (at a private college or university).

While the continuum for what defines the middle class is from $35k - $75k, the average income for the families of military recruits is $41k. We see that it would be difficult for those families to afford $9K+ a per child, per year.

The military is often a solution because of economic issues. The kids are always promised a great education and in most cases the courses that they need are not available in the bases that they are assigned to.

Zedd, you don't know what you're talking about. You can attend a city or state college near your home for a couple of thousand per year, and there's almost always some financial aid available.

Ash, you are the lowest form of life on the planet, and you do not belong in my country. If I had my way, you'd be in an orange jump suit and on your way back to Africa.

All that needs to be said about the stupid article is that it's not the military's place to disobey the commander-in-chief. That would be true even if he was an invertebrate like Clinton. The bottom line is that you couldn't have a military if the chain of command was not respected and abided by.

From a US Service Website....

The GI Bill/Montgomery College Fund
The Army also provides a variety of other financial aid programs, the most popular of which is the Montgomery GI Bill. Full-time students can earn $9,400 for college and more than $22,000 in salary just by serving part time over a six-year enlistment period. You can also earn up to an additional $350 more per month depending on your job in the Army. Full-time soldiers can receive up to $28,800 in educational support through the G.I. Bill.

Soldiers are also entitled to the benefits of the College Loan Repayment program, which is an excellent way to defray the cost of long-term financing. Full-time soldiers can receive up to $65,000, while reservists can earn a maximum of $20,000 in order to pay off their federally insured loans. These amounts are contingent upon the length of enlistment and the soldier's Military Occupational Specialty.

JOM

Adam,

You still haven't answered my question. When you lived in South Africa, did you do the compulsory military service for whites or did you get out of it somehow?

If I weren't a police volunteer here, and someone who does guard duty for the village once or twice a month, I wouldn't ask.

So wait, it's Bush's fault that Adam thinks soldiers are dumbasses?

What would you expect of an army consists mostly of mercenaries, paid to kill in far away lands ?

Here goes an extream example:

Tearful soldier tells court of Iraq rape-murder
By Andrea Hopkins 2 hours, 34 minutes ago

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier under court-martial at a Kentucky military base broke down in tears on Wednesday as he described how he and others planned the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, murdered along with her family.

Sgt. Paul Cortez, 24, is the second U.S. soldier to plead guilty to raping the girl and killing her and her family in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, in March 2006. The soldiers then poured kerosene on the girl's body and lit her on fire in an attempt to cover up the crime.

Minh,

Based on your logic all Latinos are rapists..

JOM

and murderers...

Point1. The US does have a mercenary army from a technical (political and legal) point of view.
Point2. As Machiavelli aptly put it centuries ago, a country that resorts to a mercenary force to fight its wars, is in its descending phase.
Point3. A mercenary army is the only feasible way to fight wars far away, for obscure, not readily and easily explainable reasons to the public.
Point4. A mercenary army, unlike a national army raised from the ranks of the people on the basis of a draft, is simply a group of professionals whose job is to fight and die. Ergo, such an army is not loved or respected by the people on whose behalf it wages war, any more than an instrument; expensive to be sure, but an instrument.
Point5. The tradition of the US has been to raise big peoples' armies. Therefore, an army composed of professionals contracted to fight, is outside the collective psyche of the US.
Point6. A mercenary army is an excellent, sacrificial tool of foreign policy (the French foreign legion was created for this specific purpose). As such, it will never be considered highly by the politicians, unless and until their butt is on the line. Witness the attitudes of both parties regarding the war in Iraq, until the political costs started rising. The massacre of the French foreign legion at Dien Bien Phu (which in large part was composed of ex- Waffen SS soldiers!) determined a political storm in France, not because of love for the men killed, but because of the money lost to no avail. The memoirs of a number of people (politicians and soldiers back then) were revealing.
Point7. An army composed of professionals (with signed contracts!), is not an army of a nation by any stretch of the imagination. It is simply what the British have repeatedly called "invisible individuals" (actual expression of a number of officers with whom I have talked in the course of the years).

Based on your logic all Latinos are rapists..

JOM, it's your words, not my logic.

He is only 1 of 4 men involved. I'm not sure he's latinos, just by his name. He may be half latino half chinese or 1/4 latino 1/4 Jewish 1/4 German or what ever combination you may think of.

Ruvy:
I was of military age the last year there was still a draft, before military service became compulsory for whites. I wasn't drafted, though many of my friends were. Some of them fled to England when South Africa started fighting in Angola, like US soldiers flee to Canada.
I came to know one thing, though: all my friends who were drafted absolutely hated their time in the army.

Truth is, you are not that bright are you???

JustOneMan

The military says that they will educate them but don't. Like I said, they place them in bases where the courses that they need are not available so they don't get a collage education, the most of them.

Heck right now they REALLY can't go to collage now can they?

Aw, c'mon, they're absolute heroes compared to the ones that carpet-bombed the peasants of Indochina into oblivion...

I didn't know it, but there's a growing number of soldiers standing up against the Iraq War. Check this from The American Conservative of all places (do you read it, Dave?).

I loved this article. I am a moderate who voted for Republicans from 1996-2002. Even I knew this war was a shame to begin with. How could you not? But America was so caught up in the fake patriotism that was promoted by this administration. And the troops: sorry, they are NOT heroes. I know that's a harsh thing to say, but really, think about it! If I were in the military and sent to war, I would get out of it even if it means going to jail. Sometimes, you have to defend things. What's popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular.

Yikes zedd. Why would perents flatten their kids and glue colorful paper to them? Sounds monstrous.

Yes Adam, the whole premise for this article is a nonsense. The President is the commander in chief, and that means the military has no choice but to go along with it. Orders are orders, as the Germans were fond of saying. But in this case, as it relates to the US military in Iraq, it's true.

As for not questioning the unwinnable tactics, my guess is that at the time, they didn't realise those tactics would make the war unwinnable.

And good on Watada for not going. Nevertheless, the US should be planning a withdrawal from Iraq, probably shouldn't have gone there in the first place the way it did, but having done so, now needs to come up with some winnable tactics that will ultimately facilitate an orderly pull-out. Don't hold your breath, but.

Lumpy

They don't have to be flat.

That's funny. I type often times with my kids standing right next to me asking me a million questions or telling me who is cute at school. When I refocus on what I am typing, its not with the same focus as when I started the statement.

Earlier on u suggested that the military does not follow through on educatiional promises. My observations contradict that. Izlm one of very few at my workplace who were not in the military, and my colleagues got good tech training while in service and many got degrees both while enlisted and afterwards on the GI bill. They had it easier because there was no war on and fewer demands on their time, but they are paying now because many are in the reserves and are getting sent to iraq.

But the point is that the military really does provide good educational opportunities.

Chris

#37 -- February 21, 2007 @ 23:15PM -- Zedd

This is not my post. I think the person wanted to address me and got confused and placed my "name" in the Name slot.

I don't think that it was intentional.

The branch with the highest numbers in as far as education levels for enlisted personnel is the Air Force

- 99.95 percent of the enlisted force have at least a high school education

-- 73.6 percent have some semester hours towards a college degree

-- 16.2 percent have an associate's degree or equivalent semester hours

-- 4.8 percent have a bachelor's degree

-- 0.7 percent have a master's degree

-- .01 percent have a professional or doctorate degree

This is from the official website of the US Air Force.

Zedd: Yes, you were right. It apppears Lumpy got a little confused and accidentally deleted their name, typed in yours and then innocently made the comment. Yeah, right...

Lumpy: As a regular, I presume you know that is a BIG no-no. If you didn't, you surely do now. Do it again and I'll ask for permission to ban you.

Zedd gee.. I guess you didnt go to "collage". Or if you did what "collage" did you graeate frum...moron


Zedd your spewwing more bullshit...these guy can go to anywhere from a trade school, community college or even get a degree online from a major institution...

SO SHUT THE FUCK UP IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT...MAYBE YOU SHOULD GO BACK TO "collage"

JOM

Just One Man;
Is there any particular reason why you haven't enlisted and volunteered for Iraq yet?

MCH asks:

Just One Man;
Is there any particular reason why you haven't enlisted and volunteered for Iraq yet?

Maybe he doesn't want people thinking this of him:

Perhaps the biggest cowards in the world are the US military.

-Adam Ash-

Or maybe he's the former in this statement:

"You and I sit on our fat butts while these kids are out doing the dirty work of our warmongering elite, and we're complicit in the nobility-of-dying-for-your-country con game, along with our media, when our troops are actually the victims of our screwed-up society."
- Adam Ash

Adam, for what it's worth you lost me at the opening paragraph ... the people doing the country's bidding aren't cowards. They were spun a line, and really had and have no choice but to go. It's ridiculous to open on that, and I'm against the waging of an ongoing war in Iraq. But it's not 1776. Did you really think it through, old boy, before you committed it to (virtual) paper?

I'd agree the generals are incompetent, and that Bush is just plain off the air. I generally enjoy what Adam writes, even if I don't always agree with it. But - and with all due respect of course - I'm beginning to understand why Adam is so eager to publicly own up to a belief in masturbation.

My military background is not something that I care to post and/or embellish some some others in this fucking place...

JOM

When I initially entered the WWW eons ago it was prevelant to chide people on their spelling mistakes. It later became apperant that the one who would poke would be the first in most cases to make the next spelling or gramatical mistake. You should be jumpy now for you have brought attention to yourself.

I will explain this to you once, pay attention. I am confident in my ability to reason and I have a keen ability most of the time to hone in on the essentials of a topic. I will misspell and make errors. I don't feel bad about it so don't bother to make comments to me about it. However, if you see an error in my thought process, lets discuss. I will warn you however, you will have to bring something that is much more substantial than the trivialities that you have presented on these threads thus far.

Damn right Zedd

JOM
Zedd your spewing more bullshit...these guy can go to anywhere from a trade school, community college or even get a degree online from a major institution...

First I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of changing your spelling of the word "spewing" in the quotes above. You had misspelled it. I am not familiar with the double "w" version of the spelling. If I am wrong do forgive.

Now---
Is that what you did when you were in the military? You attended community college in your spare time?

Considering that my husband, a devil dog, Semper Fi Marine and my brother the Airman, for years, spoke/speak incessantly about the problem of not having the opportunity to get the education that is promised you while you are IN the military, I should think that maybe YOU have another story to relay based on YOUR military experience.

As for getting the GI bill for college after 6 years in the military, WHATEVER!! Anyone could have worked and gone to school little by little to finish at 28yrs old without going to the military. How is that a benefit? What is even worse for military personnel is that many marry early because of loneliness so by the time they finish the 6yrs they are committed to a family and bills and school is on the back burner. Finishing college at 28 is hopeless. Perhaps finishing at 32 or not at all is more realistic.

THAT is the reality. Your fantasy is nice but its just a fantasy. I am baffled by why you got so angry BTW. What I posted was just the truth. Why did you get so mad? Pull yourself together. Are you alright?

What branch were you in?

JOM

Are you Asian?

You said "these guy can go....."

I am always interested in people's subcultures.

zedd, you missed another jom spelling/grammar error:

"Zedd your spewwing more bullshit"

shouldn't it be "you're?" and shouldn't there be a comma after your name?

meh.

Oops! I'm a failed editor.... sigh!

Am I reading all this correctly, is what I want to know? Perhaps all of us should realise that we all occasionally live in grass houses, and therefore should not stow thrones.

The only thing I find amazing concerning Adams blog is someone would actually respond to such a redeculas belief. I equate this to an Elvis sighting. If a nut falls from the tree is it still a nut?

STM

That is the point that I was trying to make. I'm a goober. Mistakes will happen. They just will.

However it is always inevitable that when someone chooses to criticize another's accuracy in spelling or grammar, they always seem to make the next mistake on the thread.

I was just highlighting that fact so that we can just move on. Even though my error WAS a dumb one and funny one to boot.

STM #53

I'm a little slow today, well, actually most of the time these days.

That is funny!!!

"What branch were you in?"
- Zedd

Zedd, just for the record, JOM has never served.

MCH

Oh, he sounded like an authority on the military. I thought that he must have.

Served? How do mean guys? What, like serving hamburgers or ice creams or crispy skin duck with fried rice? Or served someone in a shoe shop? I don't understand what you mean by served.

Please explain, and enlighten me further.

...or tennis?

Volleyball? MCH knows about that...

Butler?

Vassal?

Knight?

Served up a storm? Gave me a serve?

The potential list here is endless.

Obviously then, I have served - I used to work at Kentucky Fried Chicken when I was 16, in the days before it was KFC. Although I worked in the commissary mixing coleslaw, I had to go on the front counter a few times.

People always thanked me for my service ...

"MCH
Oh, he sounded like an authority on the military. I thought that he must have."
- Zedd

Yeah, seems to be a rampant trait with the conservative war-wimps, Zedd.

Stan,

LOL. Your sense of humor is a real asset on these threads.

Thank you for your service...

I'd say a lot of people on this thread...especially the guy who wrote it have no idea about and are definately not authorities on the U.S. Military!

I hope you at least drink good tequila AA...or is that Quervo rotting your brain???

Andy,

Just scrolled through the thread. There are only a handful that I know have been in the military...

[Entire comment deleted]

Oh that last one was for you too MCH...you have no idea who I am or what I did or didnt do...

JOM

JOM,
I know you didn't serve in the military, that's all I need to know about you.

[Entire comment deleted]

Oh....if MCH said I wasnt in the military I guess I wasnt...he knows everything about everyone in here...he even knows how many hemorrhoids Clavos and STM have...

JOM

i think we can all tell you weren't ever in the military.

JOM: lol. But lighten up old boy ... we love ya ... we just like a good piss take.

MCH

Keep preaching that message. Maybe they will be shamed into behaving in a more responsible way instead of playing toy soldiers with our youngsters.

This is why you infearer americans will be concured by the forces of (Holy be her name, Muhammad). We will destroy all the infidels, Jews, hump-back whales, and the forest they deficate in. Our camels will ride throughout your cities, rape all the womem and prune the hedges. Al Gore will worry about global warming and thats well and good. Here in the desert the sand flows like rivers on rose pedles. My speling not the best. Sobeit. Years ago I lived in california and even panned for gold. Much liked that. Pretty place. america sucks I think. What the fuck do I know. Im just an arab.

Lol. Fantastic stuff Natademu. God help us (wouldn't mind my hedges pruned though, if you get over this way). Hello there SR/VI ... good to see you wearing another disguise.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is, truly, some of your best work ....

"MCH
Keep preaching that message. Maybe they will be shamed into behaving in a more responsible way instead of playing toy soldiers with our youngsters."
- Zedd

Well, I have to be careful, Zedd. They instituted the "MCH Exception" for that very reason.

@ Mr. Ash
I'm a former soldier who btw attended private high school, came from a solid middle class family, and had been accepted to such schools as Notre Dame and Tulane before enlisting in the US Army.Since leaving the Army, I know work at a Fortune 100 company where several of my successful coworkers are - you guessed it - young military veterans. I completely reject your outlandish stereotypes that soldiers are dead-end losers and cowards, no better than mafia hitmen.

If you've never served, you cannot understand what it means to fight and possibly die for a friend - it's one of the most noblest acts of human nature. You said you would fight for your cousin twice-removed. Then why do you question soldiers' loyalty to their adopted family, the brothers and sisters serving alongside them?

As for your allegations that soldiers revel in killing civilians, I hope you realize that the US military has conducted itself with far more professionalism and restraint towards civilians than any modern war going back to WW-I. Last time I checked, the soldiers at Abu Ghraib are in prison, the psychotic rapist/murderer will likely get a life sentence (if not stand before a firing squad), and the vast majority of American soldiers are not targeting schools/mosques/public markets. Despite your allegations of Americans cowering in free fire zones, many units are now actively going out and trying to help the local communities at great risk to themselves.

My rant btw is not a rah-rah support of the war. After WMDs were not found I no longer supported the war and have voted for politicians that feel the same way. That is how democracy is supposed to work - the people in the end must decide how the military is to be used, not the members of the military themselves. While I respect Lt. Watada, he is wrong. A democracy cannot survive if its armed forces decide to fight when/where they please. You may think it's noble that soldiers refuse legal orders not to go to war, but do you want the military to also make up a "political statement" by overthrowing the government and install a generalismo? Do you want ancient Rome, where each ceasar's power relied solely on the whims of the military? That's the Pandora's box you want to open when you call for soldiers to rise up politically.

Excellent comment, JD.

"Adam,

I'm just curious. Did you, as a South African, do the compulsory military service required under the apartheid regime? Or did you get out of it somehow?"

When did MCH move to Jerusalem?

JD. Excellent comment and I also agree with Clavos #78. God Bless.

JD - you are the MAN! BC needs a few more commenters like you!

Those that do not serve...for whatever reason...will never understand those of that do or did...

JD:
Listen, you and I disagree about Lt. Watada. But we agree that soldiers fight for their buddies, as I said in my piece.

And hey, what about the rumors around that if Bush orders an attack on Iran, that many generals are ready to resign this time? That's what I'm talking about -- the right of the military to stand up against crazy civilians. Generals can resign. Lieutenants can refuse to go.

I agree with you that American soldiers are generally more noble than many others -- witness in WW2, everyone would rather be liberated by Americans than any other armies, because they'd get hot showers and Hershey chocolates, while the Russians would rape them.

But our Army is not lilywhite, and our interrogators have been torturing Arabs like crazy. Read about the confessions of a former torturer on my blog today, if you want to know what some of your fellow soldiers have been up to -- with nobody holding them accountable, because our great Army sanctioned this torturing. Another example of the Army bending over for crazy civilians. This Army torturer's book is coming out in June, and you'll hear plenty about it then.

Meanwhile, read about what he says by clicking on this

"My rant btw is not a rah-rah support of the war. After WMDs were not found I no longer supported the war and have voted for politicians that feel the same way."
- JD Zappa

Dittos, JD. See concurring sentiments at the Veterans Against the Iraq War web site.

"Support the troops, oppose the policy"

AA - by your logic you must be a racist pig...I mean, after all, you're white and from South Africa...aren't all the white folks from south africa responsible for Apartheid?

You want to lump all the military together in one big soup bowl..I don't see why everyone else can't just lump all the white south africans into one big group too...

just a thought.

TORTURE IS A GOOD THING.

America was attacked at Pearl Harbor. Thank goodness for the brave men like my grandfathers who were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect our nation. Thank goodness for my grandmothers who had to work harder to support the war and their families. Even if we hadn't been attacked, we should have fought that war. Why? Because there was a man named Hitler and who knows how many more innocent men, women, and children he would have killed.
So men and women continue to serve in our nation's military, because we never know when our nation could be attacked. And we never know when another Hitler will try to kill and torture innocent people and we might need to come to their aid. And I can personally tell you that many military members could have chosen a different career path, but decided that they were willing to put our country's beliefs before their own personal wants and desires.
It takes guts to choose a job where you never know when you'll be needed. You never can fully predict where you'll be. You just know that you need to be there when you are needed to be there. Driving through the streets of Baghdad not knowing if you'll ever get to talk to your wife or see your child again takes guts. Still you do it. You didn't pick to go to war, but you know you have to.
Why? Not because you are a coward. It is not upto you whether it is a worthy cause. Your country decided it was. Your country voted for leaders to make choices on its citizens' behalf. That is the whole basis on why it is noble to be in the military, because you put the beliefs of the majority sometimes before your own. Even if it's not what you signed up for.
I know countless military members. They didn't sign up to be killers. They signed up so innocent people may not be killed. They signed up even though they could earn a decent salary and live a comfortable lifestyle outside of the military. They stayed in even though they have been gone countless days from loved ones. They are selfless.
To make a stand would be selfish and cowardly. To put your beliefs before those of our country is selfish and have someone risk their life instead of yours is cowardly when your job is to defend the beliefs of our country.

P.S. I am a little confused about personal attacks not being allowed on comments. After all calling our nation's military service members could be considered a personal attack on every sailor, Marine, soldier, military spouse, ect....