Why Did My Friends Die in Iraq?

[whitehall]

The official reason that 36% of democrats in congress agreed to was that we invaded Iraq to enforce UN sanctions against Saddam and president Bush gave Iraq about a year to comply. You could make a case that more Americans were killed because the democrat party undermined the mission with hateful propaganda with ads like "betray-us" and treasonous statements like "the war is lost" from the democrat senate majority leader as well as the crazy anti-war demonstrations that disappeared after Hussein was elected. For some perspective, about 6,000 Marines were killed in a single month taking a shitty little island that we could have bypassed four months before the Japanese surrender. Harry Truman sent Troops to Korea with nothing but an (illegal?) executive order and we lost 50,000 Troops in three years during the bungled mission. LBJ thought he had a better idea and he bailed out of Vietnam just when Americans needed leadership.

 

[Bloodrock44]

Why did we invade Iraq?

Even if you're able to forgive bush and his cronies for putting us so deeply in debt that it will take generations to dig us out, the wanton and needless killing and maiming of so many Americans and others is just unforgivable.

Especially since vets ow have to keep fighting for every little crumb they get.

Because, as I and many others have been saying all along, if you fight for America now you're not fighting to protect American freedom, you're fighting to make corporations who supply everything used in wars, richer.

US hasn't had a justifiable war since 1812. If no one's invading the mainland US, stay out of it.

You are a ******* idiot. I guess we should have just said thank you to Japan for Pearl Harbor.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

And siding against Japan with China (Flying Tigers ring a bell) or embargoeing their oil imports wasn't an act of war requiring military response? Pearl Harbor was in response to prior provocations and what we term now acts of war. To say nothing of we then shot first at Pearl Harbor sinking a Japanese midget submarine before the planes arrived or were even known about.

Study history so not drinking the cool-aid all your life.

 

[whitehall]

What can you say about democrats when they were in charge of every Military conflict in the bloody 20th century that resulted in an estimated 20 million total deaths and they pretend to be fooled about their authorization of Boots on the Ground in the Bush administration while they undermined the mission? Stupid or freaking treason? Either way modern democrats are not fit to serve in government.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Why did we invade Iraq?

Even if you're able to forgive bush and his cronies for putting us so deeply in debt that it will take generations to dig us out, the wanton and needless killing and maiming of so many Americans and others is just unforgivable.

Especially since vets ow have to keep fighting for every little crumb they get.

Because, as I and many others have been saying all along, if you fight for America now you're not fighting to protect American freedom, you're fighting to make corporations who supply everything used in wars, richer.

US hasn't had a justifiable war since 1812. If no one's invading the mainland US, stay out of it.

You are a ******* idiot. I guess we should have just said thank you to Japan for Pearl Harbor.

That's not just apples compared to oranges.

That's apples compared to tennis rackets.

 

[JenT]

For freedom. Every soldier that ever died for freedom, bought time with their lives. Nobody died for freedom forever (except Christ), freedom on this side of heaven on a national level is continually fought and sacrificed for.

Nobody died in vain. Nobody will ever know how much time was bought for so many Iraqi children, but it was. And with the war in Iraq, it was removed from our shores just a little bit longer. God bless our troops.

 

[tinydancer]

No man has ever died in vain fighting for freedom.

Now maybe we don't have perfect outcomes. I've been known more than once to let go a primordial scream in the middle of the wilderness. And we can be upset on both sides of the aisle. But that is political. Not of these good men and women. Luddly please stop.

These beautiful men and women who've fought the good fight on our behest not one has died in vain.

Freedom is a dream. And these good men and women are our dream warriors.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Every single death, American and otherwise, in Iraq was "in vain".

The US does not fight for freedom.

We go into third world countries, devastate them beyond any hope of recovery and then give them money forever.

 

[gipper]

Every single death, American and otherwise, in Iraq was "in vain".

The US does not fight for freedom.

We go into third world countries, devastate them beyond any hope of recovery and then give them money forever.

And yet you think Big Ears is better than W. Why?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

No man has ever died in vain fighting for freedom.

Now maybe we don't have perfect outcomes. I've been known more than once to let go a primordial scream in the middle of the wilderness. And we can be upset on both sides of the aisle. But that is political. Not of these good men and women. Luddly please stop.

These beautiful men and women who've fought the good fight on our behest not one has died in vain.

Freedom is a dream. And these good men and women are our dream warriors.

No!

Now is when they need us the most.

They have given their bodies, their lives, their futures and our country is turning its back on them.

NO, I will not stop fighting for our vets. Just as I wish other Americans would fight for them.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Every single death, American and otherwise, in Iraq was "in vain".

The US does not fight for freedom.

We go into third world countries, devastate them beyond any hope of recovery and then give them money forever.

And yet you think Big Ears is better than W. Why?

I have no idea who you're talking about but it was George Bush who sent our people to their deaths and to be maimed for nothing at all. It was George Bush who put us into debt and all but bankrupted us.

The worthless little asshole didn't even get the oil he was really after.

 

[Ava]

Why Did My Friends Die in Iraq?

Because of neo-conservative misunderstanding of the world and of the application of hard power.

And because of 9/11.

Without the benefit of hind-site, who knows HOW they would have handled the attack on home soil, killing more than 3000 innocent people.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Why Did My Friends Die in Iraq?

Because of neo-conservative misunderstanding of the world and of the application of hard power.

And because of 9/11.

Without the benefit of hind-site, who knows HOW they would have handled the attack on home soil, killing more than 3000 innocent people.

That was certainly part of the linkage. Now we have the hindsight. But we had it after Korea and Vietnam as well. If we do it again, there will be no excuse.

 

[Sunshine]

Everyone who died in Iraq was a volunteer. Given that fact, all that old 70s rhetoric just doesn't work. I have worked with veterans of all wars since WWII. The younger veterans simply don't have the bitterness toward the government that the draftees of the 60s and 70s had.

Vietnam got cranked up when JFK was going to pull out because LBJ had a financial interest in that war. He made millions off it. You libs got issues with a war? Take that one on.

 

[Sunshine]

You really think 5 years is long enough to fix what has been wrong since before WWII?

He's good but, believe it or not, he's not a god.

Baja Democrats - News & events of AZ Democratis, with emphasis on Southern Arizona Democrats

One million Vets wait for care – A National Disgrace

... For example, in 2010 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki announced that three diseases — ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and b-cell leukemia — would be considered the result of Agent Orange exposure for veterans who served in Vietnam. More than 240,000 claims for those diseases have been filed since that announcement. ...

... the VA spent 4 years and $537 million on a new computer to streamline the claims process. It was less than a resounding success; 97% of veteran’s claims are still filed on paper, and that’s the single biggest reason that stands out for the backlog – they VA is literally being buried in a mountain of paperwork....

That [photo above] the mountain of paperwork at the Winston-Salem NC VA office, the weight of all that paperwork compromised the structural integrity of the building – they were worried the floor would collapse.

Quit blaming President Obama for everything. Its childish and counter-productive.


.

A it's just as childish to blame Bush because your 'friends' who volunteered to go to war were killed. The kill is on them. They were not required to go.

That being said, I doubt you personally know one person who died in that war. The type of friends people like you have don't volunteer for the military, they don't work, and they sure aren't productive people of any stripe.

 

[Sunshine]

You all know I'm a 22+ years vet. So, this may come as a surprise - I totally agree with Ron Paul that we have no business involving ourselves in the internal conflicts of other counties. We were wrong to get involved in Vietnam and could've avoided it if only we'd treated Ho Chi Minh correcting during WII. We have no business in Kosovo, Croatia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. We certainly have no business getting involved in Africa - which out Bumbler-in-Chief is getting us into.

I also believe we should stop all foreign military aid. If countries want to obtain our military equipment, let them pay for them out of their own funds.

Spend all that money to defend our own borders and use it to deal with many of the problems we face here in the USA.

For the most part I agree, especially "internal conflicts".
Where I am Ok with U.S. involvement is if that conflict is getting outside of their border threatening a strong ally or the "internal conflict" is extremely egregious. (Mass genocide as an example)
You touched on one topic that is SOOOO ignored and understated and Holy COW under-appreciated is U.S. troops on the ground world-wide providing security globally.
This is very expensive, and completely necessary.
The world needs U.S. leadership and security. Without it - someone else fills the void. As we see today with China and Russia.
HAVING SAID THIS - the world should be paying for that security. Every single European country benefits economically tremendously by having U.S. military in their country as a regional stabilizer. This affords them to not spend copious taxpayer dollars of THEIR MONEY on their own strong military - they have ours. Therefore they should be paying for our protection.
Not the other way around like it is.

Those little European bergs have fabulous social programs because WE pay for their defense. Personally, I think if we provide their defense they should pay us for it or provide their own defense. If they did that you would see all the stuff they throw up to us on message boards that they have and we do not go into a nosedive and disappear, while our taxes could be greatly reduced.

 

[whitehall]

Why Did My Friends Die in Iraq?

Because of neo-conservative misunderstanding of the world and of the application of hard power.

Misunderstanding? Every war in the bloody 20th century happened during a democrat administrations and life was cheap. Woodie Wilson had no business using American Troops to bail out France but maybe his wife was really calling the shots. We did it again twenty years later when FDR wasn't paying attention. Harry Truman appointed a possibly senile field commander when he ordered US Troops to Korea and MacArthur led Americans into the biggest ambush in history. JFK was a freaking idiot who thought he could use the CIA to invade Cuba after his friends in organized crime lost their table stakes. LBJ thought he had a better idea of waging war. He set up the rules in Vietnam so that we could win all the battles and lose the freaking war.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Everyone who died in Iraq was a volunteer. Given that fact, all that old 70s rhetoric just doesn't work. I have worked with veterans of all wars since WWII. The younger veterans simply don't have the bitterness toward the government that the draftees of the 60s and 70s had.

Vietnam got cranked up when JFK was going to pull out because LBJ had a financial interest in that war. He made millions off it. You libs got issues with a war? Take that one on.

That (not)war cost me more than I ever thought possible.

You bet I have "issues" with it.

I think its wrong for us to desert our vets.

Period.

 

[Intense]

When we stand for principles, No One dies in vain. When those principles are abandoned, those that remain are living in vain. Some here, are their own worse enemy, and they still don't get it. I guess that as long as they have someone else to sell out, they are convinced that they won't be next, and that works for them. Just don't stand next to me. You would not know Justice, Honor, Integrity if it bit you in the ass. If you do not even get the obligations involved with Treaty or Alliance, your word is worth shit. It's that simple.