Not to tip any sacred cows, but...

[mqbush]

Not to tip any sacred cows, but, after all, sloppy rhetoric messes up our ability to distinguish truth from cow pucky.

Remember Vietnam? Discerning citizens applied Nuremburg Trial standards to our own troops. “I vas chust followink orders” was disallowed in Nuremburg as an excuse for prosecuting an illegal(that is an offensive, not a defensive) war. We expected our troops in Vietnam to just say no to prosecuting our illegal war there. When they failed to meet our standards, we sometimes spat on them.

For the illegal invasion of Iraq, the war propaganda machine was programmed to nip expectation in the bud. As a result, troops are applauded everywhere they are seen here, unlike firemen and policemen, who die in greater numbers than troops, yet are barely acknowledged. If anyone breathes or scratches, he’s sure to be told “Our troops are over there fighting to preserve your freedom to do that.”

Well, no. Sorry, but they’re not doing any such thing. They’re trying to pacify Iraq, nothing more. That has nothing to do with protecting our Constitution. If you buy the line, and the others floating around these days, you WILL lose your freedoms, piece by piece, from right here inside the good ol’ US of A.

[mike_c]

1. I don't get it either-- they're fighting in defense of fascist imperialism...

...and committing the supreme war crime-- a war of aggression. There is NOTHING honorable about their service in Iraq-- just the opposite, it disgraces America daily.

[atreides1]

2. I Agree With You

The US military isn't defending America, because they have failed to defend the Constitution. Without the Constitution the United States of America would not exist!!!

In my opinion, and I'm an Army Vet, the US military has failed the people that they are supposed to defend, and have failed to uphold the oath that they took.

[tekisui]

3. I think you are preaching to the choir, but preach on!

[dmallind]

4. I'm far from anti-military or pacifist but this is correct

I can't think of a conflict in my lifetime where the military was fighting to protect the US population or our freedoms at all. It's even questionable whether this was the case in WW2. I'm not convinced Hitler had any plans to invade the US.

There are certainly noble and justifiable things our military have done and could do - from helping to end genocide in the Balkans to, yes I believe this, freeing Kuwait and thereby preventing an unstable dictator from seeking to consolidate vital oil supplies.

Certainly having a capable and powerful military capability deters any nation who may take it into their heads to attack us or limit those freedoms - so you can certainly say the military in some way protects our freedoms by existing. Which nation would present a serious threat if it did not exist I can't say, but it's surely possible. Again - I would not say for one second that our military is not necessary and valuable in toto.

But, certainly in the last 60 years and probably longer, no war or military action has occurred where the outcome would have been a loss of life liberty or freedoms for the US population had it not involved our armed forces at all. Could all of SE Asia have become communist had we not fought in Korea and Vietnam? Possibly - but what threat to us or our freedoms would that have been?

[mqbush]

8. "I can't think of a conflict in my lifetime..."

See "Comfy Old Shoes" in my journal for a partial list of US military interventions of the last 60 years.

[dmallind]

9. ermm....please quote the whole sentence

Trying to make a point with a snip is a poor tactic. I can recall plenty of conflicts in my lifetime. None of them however have been when the freedom or life of the general US population have been saved by the military, which is the explicit, and for me unusually clear, meaning of the sentence you half-quoted.

[elizfeelinggreat]

5. "we sometimes spat on them."

what?

It's not the troops who are at fault for the framing. We must attack the framers, their actions and motivations. I think it's best to leave opinion of the troops themselves out of this fight and put attention on those who are responsible for the mission.

[EnviroBat]

6. I was just thinking about this very subject this morning...

Every time I hear a stupid ass commercial talking about "Hero's", I think to myself, "Really"? These kids are dying for something that is not honorable at all. It makes me sick that so many have perished for a threat that never existed. These poor kids were conned. I honor their sacrifice, but not the cause. A Hero in my book stands in defense of our shores against foreign and domestic enemies to preserve my freedoms. WWII veterans, firemen, some policemen, (when they're not kicking the crap out of some little kid). These are "hero's" to me. No one is preserving my freedom, not one damn person. It's now up to me to do that. You too.

[Wednesdays]

7. Debunked

"We expected our troops in Vietnam to just say no to prosecuting our illegal war there. When they failed to meet our standards, we sometimes spat on them."

http://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=350

Thank you for trying to spread fascist propaganda, but your call failed to connect. Please try again.

[mike_c]

10. I think you rather missed the point of the OP....

Or maybe you simply dodged it?