Support the War vs. Support the Troops

[Wilson Balmores]

My friend and I were having this discussion a while back, and I wanted to know what everyone else thinks. Between my friend and me, we were very one-sided that war shouldn't be supported, but the individual troops should be because they either fight for the security of the homeland or they were just forced to. We also came to the acceptance that although we are against war, it's a part of the world that can't be easily changed and will probably happen for one reason or another.

So Nerdfighters, what's your take on war and the troops?

[Chris]

I think it's possible to support the troops, first and foremost, by supporting their lives.

I support the troops, because they all deserve to come home, which means we should fucking bring them home.

I also hate war.

[james nash]

i think becase most of the troops arnt for the war either, but there out there.
and on top of that it's not there fault we when to war so we can't blame them a least.

[Brendan]

I am against war in most circumstances, the only exception being if war is necessary to prevent genocide or atrocities of the same magnitude. My country, Canada, is currently at war in Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban. I oppose our involvement in Afghanistan partly because foreign intervention almost never works, and partly because I support the troops. I support them, which is why I don't want them to be killed in Afghanistan. Despite what many conservatives seem to think, it is possible to anti-war and pro-military at the same time.

[spiderboenz]

After reading through this thread, I have never been so glad in my life that they did away with the draft.

How can you claim to support us then protest us when we do our job? Yeah, there's some sick individuals in uniform that have no business being in our ranks, and we do our best to weed them out before they do something evil. sometimes we catch them before they do stuff. Sometimes innocents die, yes. We are only human and sometimes make mistakes. It's funny how the people that I've met who have been supporters of us and what we do have all been Iraqis and former Iraqi refugees. I work with a guy who walked from baghdad to kuwait, hiding from the iraqi army the whole time because he refused to execute political prisoners under Saddam. I know another guy who was tortured for 3 years in a baathe party prison because he said "fuck Saddam." They cam back here because they know that, regardless of how the media paints it, we are doing much more good than bad, and freeing a country from the clutches of a ruthless dictator is always a good thing.
I pray for peace, but sometimes prayer isn't enough.

[MisterShadow]

I'm not going to pretend I read this thread, but... Protesting a war and protesting soldiers is different. I think most people against the war still want our friends and family who are overseas to come back alive. I might have even been for the war in Iraq if we had entered it under legit reasons, but instead we did it out of fear, pain, and a need for revenge no matter how misplaced it may be.

[spiderboenz]

If you protest the war, you protest those us us who are in it, those of us who have sacrificed years of our lives to it.

[MisterShadow]

No, it means that we protest the orders that you receive to go to war. We protest that we're sending people into a battle zone that we don't believe they should be going into. It means that we protest what we believe to be the unnecessary sacrifice of lives. I'm not saying that wars should never be fought. I shouldn't be guilt tripped into thinking that a war on kittens is a good idea so I can be "patriotic" and "support our troops", which is exactly (except for the war on kittens) what you're trying to do here. You don't have to agree with a war to want our troops to be safe. The notion that you do is just trying to guilt people into blindly following a flag into war.

[charles baker]

I could be wrong but the last time I checked the troops aren't being forced to be there it's not like theirs draft in place.

[spiderboenz]

So then support the volunteer force, but not what the volunteer force is doing?

[charles baker]

If they were being forced to be there I would have some sympathy for them but they choose to be there and put themselves through a war. I know most of them have good intentions are are doing there best but I cant this unnecessary war or the troops. I don't think you can support one and not the other I think you have to support both or neither.

[stinking_sammy_jay]

I, personally, do not really support the war in Iraq, because I, personally, believe more could have been done by the UN prior to the conflict. The conflict in Afghanistan, I will not lie, I don't fully understand. Never the less, I do fully support our troops there (I'm from Britain by the way). It doesn't matter to me if they chose to be there, or if they are following orders forcing them to be there. They are still there, and though I believe that war should always be a last resort, I also believe that they are fighting for someone's liberty, and that is worth it, and I wish them to be safe.

Before the war in Iraq, I protested against it. But I would not protest to pull our 'boys' out yet. I see no point in making them fight a war our government wanted, only to pull them out because some of them have died. Though it's a tragic loss for all those who have known an individual to die, and a serious shock to those who may not have known them well, but knew them all the same, in a war there will be deaths, and this should be expected. My condolances go to anyone who has lost friends or family to the war, trust me, I know more than enough people who have lost loved ones for my liking, and my support goes to our troops.

[Dan S.]

I haven't read all the posts - there's a lot of them, but thought I'd give my two cents. I supported (and support) the war in Afghanistan. Afghanistan aided and abetted Al Qaeda, the perpetrators of 9/11. That war I felt was justified. We kind of bollocksed up the end game though - because Bush decided to focus on Iraq instead of finishing the job in Afghanistan. The Iraq war I never supported - they didn't have WMD's and they had not attacked us.

Regardless of whether I support a war or not, the US military is composed of volunteers. Although I do not consider many of them "true" volunteers - many joined for the guarantees of an education which they could not have afforded otherwise. Regardless of the reason (economic, educational, patriotism, or all of the above) they volunteered for a duty which may kill or maim them for causes they may or may not support. The army grunt never chose to go to Iraq or Afghanistan - they were ordered there - and thus they went.

We owe them our respect and more.