Should we really support the troops "unconditionally"?

zanana

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:05 PM
Original message

Should we really support the troops "unconditionally"?

Yes, the troops should be supported; after all, they didn't start this ****ing war. But, in supporting them no matter what, do we encourage things like torture and point-blank shootings? How do we let them know we're appalled at things like that without sounding anti-military?

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Nicholas D Wolfwood

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:09 PM
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1. Simpler question: How do you fight fascism?

That's what you're asking, you realize.

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Downtown Hound

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:09 PM
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2. I've been struggling with this myself

I had a friend from high school fight in Iraq in the early days of the invasion. He's a total mess now. I know that many of the people over there are good people but I get SO ANGRY when I see things like the torture and the mounds of dead Iraqis on the screen. What do we do? It also doesn't help that many in the military continue to support Shrub. It makes me have less respect for them.

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sniffa

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:10 PM
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3. support the troops

by bying a yeLLow ribbon magnet, made in china, soLd by a man from nepaL, and sLapping it on your car.

nothing says support the troops Louder than that.

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IrateCitizen

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:10 PM
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4. You support the troops as human beings...

That DOES NOT imply support for the institutions of the military, nor the spirit of militarism that is promoted through their glorification.

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bowens43

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:10 PM
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5. No, we do not have to support the mission.

I support the troops only to the extent that I would like them to come home alive. I don't support what they are doing and I don't support the war.

I am anti-military. Unfortunately, at this time in history , it's a necessary evil.

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Name removed

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:12 PM
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Wed Nov-17-04 02:13 PM
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Dem Agog

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:14 PM
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8. I can't say...

I don't know what the solution is but I don't support the torture, the shooting, I don't care who orders it or what standard operating procedure they're following.

I understand that the purpose of the military is to take the thought process, personal responsibility, and personal sense of decency out of a person in order to make them just another cog in a military machine, but I cannot abide by these senseless acts. They hurt our country more than anything.

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bullimiami

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:18 PM
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9. its one thing understanding the predicament they are in

another totally to condone war crimes.

the initial war crime goes right back to the administration, the soldiers are still expected to act like human beings as much as possible given the situation.

There is no excuse for the torture, sexual games and murder of prisoners or killing of civilians, ever.
The geneva conventions spell it all out pretty clearly and every soldier and officer is supposed to know them and know they are responsible to them as law.

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Skinner ADMIN

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Wed Nov-17-04 02:19 PM
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10. I don't think anyone is saying to support torture or point-blank shooting.

Supporting the troops does not mean supporting everything that each individual person does. The assumption behind "supporting the troops" is that you are supporting those young men and women who are putting their lives on the line ever day, and trying to do the right thing in an awful situation. Supporting the troops means NOT blaming them for the mistakes of the administration, and hoping to see them home safely.

And now I'm locking this thread. It would be too tempting for a right-wing troll to show up and pretend to be an ultra-extreme liberal caricature and make us all look like morons.

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