It is not a war.
I don't support the military action in Iraq. I didn't in 2003 and I don't know. I'm told, however, to support the troops anyway. That's the thing to do, right? As if it were that simple. As if the military are a group of people that are brought together for a common goal. Let's say I agree with something that Carl Levin believes, or maybe everything. Perhaps he is in the Senate for truly humane reasons and his outlook on life is the same as mine. This does not mean that every Democrat has the same point of view. It's all about intention, and the military (just like any other group of people) has varied intentions. Someone can go into the Air Force to get real life experience with jets or state-of-the-art technology, and I support that. Someone might join the military to help fight an advancing attack on the United States or one of our allies, and I'd support that. What I don't support is someone who joined the Army after we entered Iraq for the chance to go kill some Arabs. I'll never support that, and for that reason I cannot support "the troops" as a whole. It would be different if this military action was in immediate response to a threat and/or attack directly on our country, but it wasn't. It was started on the allegation of massively powerful weapons. It was also stated that Saddam planned on using these weapons against the United States. Aside from not finding these weapons, I want to know the thought process behind this. After the Persian Gulf War of 1992 there were no-fly zones around Iraq. Whether these zones encompassed the entire area around Iraq or not, I don't know, but I do know one thing. Saddam was obviously being watched closely, and therefore any attempt that he could have made to attack the United States would most probably be intercepted. Since flying was out of the question, that leaves land or sea. Iraq is on the West side of Asia. With the United States so far away and across an ocean, you'd have to be fucking retarded to attack here from Iraq, especially when you can't fly. I hope I'm not the only one that realizes this.
Now, back to what I was saying. If our military actions were justified by a threat and/or attack on the United States, then I'd be able to fully support the troops regardless of motivation. This is because they would then be fighting for our freedom. Fighting to save our country. The troops that are there now to support our country (and not just to kill people) I do support, but it's a real shame the government is putting them in such a shitty position. The Middle East has been an unstable region basically forever. It's very disheartening that we have a president who didn't hesitate to send our people into this area and stir things around. It's good the Taliban is out of Afghanistan. I'm not saying I want tyrannical people in power, but it's not our responsibility to make sure countries are getting along. The Israel-Palestine conflict is partially our fault. Does this mean that it's ok to try and settle some battles but create others? Our troops are being sent right into the middle of a bunch of countries that don't like the United States. I'm going to stop now because I will probably start rambling and really lose my initial point. I might not have even made my point well, but I tried. That is all.
Now, back to what I was saying. If our military actions were justified by a threat and/or attack on the United States, then I'd be able to fully support the troops regardless of motivation. This is because they would then be fighting for our freedom. Fighting to save our country. The troops that are there now to support our country (and not just to kill people) I do support, but it's a real shame the government is putting them in such a shitty position. The Middle East has been an unstable region basically forever. It's very disheartening that we have a president who didn't hesitate to send our people into this area and stir things around. It's good the Taliban is out of Afghanistan. I'm not saying I want tyrannical people in power, but it's not our responsibility to make sure countries are getting along. The Israel-Palestine conflict is partially our fault. Does this mean that it's ok to try and settle some battles but create others? Our troops are being sent right into the middle of a bunch of countries that don't like the United States. I'm going to stop now because I will probably start rambling and really lose my initial point. I might not have even made my point well, but I tried. That is all.