Support Our Troops.

[The Batman]

So recently I've been thinking why should we support the troops if we don't support the war. People are using the excuse that they are dieing for our freedom but in reality the country they are fighting doesn't have the power to take it away from us. Another thing is that some of these people that go over there aren't going just to for the rights of the free world, but because it's a last resort, the want to fight, the money, and other selfish reasons. I respect the troops and I admire them but I will not support them.

[Requin]

Because our troops don't choose to be there. They have families, who don't want them to be there. It's a job they chose it yes. But it's not their fault that there fighting a pointless and hopeless war.

Support the troops is to help families who've had their son/daughter die in battle or have a serious injury and recieved barely anything worth in compensation.

I support them fully, they do an incredible job out there, a job that they all know is a cause that many, and maybe even they don't agree with, but they knuckle down and still do it.
And frankly not enough people give them respect, the government don't, so that's why we have to set up charities do help them instead.
I'm sorry but I cannot agree with that theory. If anyone is to blame it's the american and British governments for having this stupid oil war.

Blame the politicians, not the men dying for the ridiculous cause.

[Sapphire]

It's their job. They are in the armed forces and have no choice in the matter. They can't opt out because they don't agree with the war. They have to find something, anything that they can tell themselves to keep their morale up and following commands. To think that they are out there for no reason whatsoever will do them no good at all.

You may sit in your house with all your creature comforts and judge on whether you deem them to have selfless motivations or not. But, at the end of the day, you can't even imagine the horrors they face and are in no fit position to judge them.
If people can have our lifestyles and lose hope then they are bound to have to cling onto whatever hopes and motivations they have to get out of horrific war zones.

[The Batman]

They did choose to be there. They weren't drafted they signed their names on the line and went by their own choosing.

[Requin]

They signed up to join the ARMY.
Not to go to that war. That war is a ridiculous war as we all should know.
I can't see how you can blame them..and I'm going to leave this argument as I don't want to end up having a fat argument that'll end up being messy. As I like you.

So I don't want any rifts between me and any other members.

[Sapphire]

They did choose to be there. They weren't drafted they signed their names on the line and went by their own choosing.
They chose to join the army. They did not choose to be sent to Iraq and/or Afghanistan. They cannot pick and choose which wars they fight in.

Have you been in a situation like they end up in? Have you seen friends and colleagues shot or blown up? Have you been bombarded by mortars? Have you woken up each day in a foreign country knowing that it could very realistically be your last? Have you been away from all you know and love and subjected to all of that for months on end?

Unless you have experienced all of these, you are in NO position to judge what they think to keep themselves going!

[The Batman]

Unless you have experienced all of these, you are in NO position to judge what they think to keep themselves going!
The only thing I said was that I don't support the troops. I meant to add more to that previous post because I posted it before I saw your reply. Anyways, they did know what they were getting into when they signed up they might not have known exactly what but they did know that they were going to war. I have the utmost respect for the troops because of what they are going through but I don't support what they are doing. Also I'm not blaming them for anything.

[Camazotz]

The only reason I support them is because they are defending our country to "protect us and our freedom". But to add on to your other debate: Soldiers DID know what they were getting into. They knew that when joining the Army, they would eventually have to fight in war. So they did choose to fight in the war when joining the Army.

[Sapphire]

They didn't opt to fight in the Iraqi war. That is what I am saying. Yes, of course they knew that they would fight. But they do not have the chance to pick and choose which wars they fight in.
This is all in response to this way of thinking: "why should we support the troops if we don't support the war?"

[Picard]

They chose to join the army = they chose to join the war. What did they think they were going to do in the army? Play sudoku? Well, hardly...
I don't support or pity anyone who is willing to kill another. I don't care about their families and friends. Nobody can force you to kill, you choose it yourself.
Sorry if this offends anyone, but that's how I feel.

[Mannequin]

no. they are dumb to think they are doing any good. i feel so fucking sorry for those that lost their life in this trivial matter.

[Sapphire]

I doubt that it will be seen to have been trivial when it is safe again for kids to walk to and from school.

[CaptainObvious]

The only thing I said was that I don't support the troops. I meant to add more to that previous post because I posted it before I saw your reply. Anyways, they did know what they were getting into when they signed up they might not have known exactly what but they did know that they were going to war. I have the utmost respect for the troops because of what they are going through but I don't support what they are doing. Also I'm not blaming them for anything.

You don't have to support what the troops are doing, you have to support them. The two things are different. I support troops because in spite of whatever I think about their current engagements, the vast majority of them have almost no choice in the military actions they carry out. To say that their inability to make other decisions doesn't matter because they joined the military in the first place is simply stupid. These people are in the line of fire, and I support them and wish them the best, while still completely disagreeing with the war they are involved in.

[Oblivion]

I respect the troops and I admire them but I will not support them.

Pretty much the same as me. I respect that they are willing to go to war 'for America' [only in this war is for America in quotes], but I do not support the reason they are at war, and I don't support them supporting it by signing up for the war.

[CaptainObvious]

Pretty much the same as me. I respect that they are willing to go to war 'for America' [only in this war is for America in quotes], but I do not support the reason they are at war, and I don't support them supporting it by signing up for the war.

Right, because all the soldiers on the front lines signed up for this specific war. Are you really so ignorant of how the military operates? Often soldiers have little choice in their assignment to active duty on the front lines; in fact, even soldiers who have finished their tours are sometimes returned through stop-loss programs.

It is ignorant of you to presume that all soldiers in Iraq are there by conscious and specific choice. It is also ignorant of you to presume that all soldiers in Iraq support the Iraq war.

You make a lot of stupid assumptions.

[Callwaiting]

Personally I don't support either the troops or what they're doing.
Sure, they didn't choose to go to a specific war, but you'd have to be an idiot to join the army and expect to have a fun time.