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ORIGINAL: SirRober

I will not advacate for or against this war..... but will say that due to the current poltical unstableness in that region if the U.S. leaves without having a strong Iraqi goverment. Then all of the lives from the past 15 years in that area will be lost in vain.


and on a side note the current operation is OIF but ....  Operation Desert Storm and Desert Watch were in effect long before OIF and were forgotten by the public until 9/11 happened......

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ORIGINAL: cjan
Imo, any life lost not in self defense, in any conflict, is lost in vain.

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ORIGINAL: AquaticSub

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ORIGINAL: cjan
Imo, any life lost not in self defense, in any conflict, is lost in vain.

That's a blanket statement that I would disagree with. Some things are worth fighting and dying for.

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ORIGINAL: SirRober

that is what england said about the U.S. in the early years... I don't condemn the dead. and I don't have a opinion on if  the U.S. made it worse or better.

What I do know is that the military makes up about 1% of the nation so....

What about drunk driving deaths which in 2006, an estimated 17,602 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes—an average of one every 30 minutes. These deaths constitute 41 percent of the 42,642 total traffic fatalities. Of these, an estimated 13,470 involved a driver with an illegal BAC (.08 or greater).
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ORIGINAL: angelbluewingsz

I myself was sent to Desert Storm my first tour I was so green I was still shy to pee in front of other people! My specialty kept me on compound and I didn't see much action but on my way to an off base jaunt with a handfull of others who were off that day we encountered a man sitting in the middle of the deserted road- holding a plastic grocery bag. We followed protocol and ordered him to surrender the bag. long story short after many tense moments he finally laid face down and a couple of the guys hauled him off to the side of the road to "talk" to him. Myself and another fellow inspected the bag that the man was so hell bent on keeping hold of. It was his daughters body, or at least some of it. until that moment I didn't even know why we were there. I had been following orders as were many of my comrades in arms. My brother soldiers and I wept for this man, his loss and so many others. For all who have lost we can only remember the good and not fight about who is wrong or who wins. We have all already lost.

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ORIGINAL: subtee
And what if achieving a strong Iraqi government is not achievable? Do you condemn the dead in the same way? Haven't we made it worse?

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What about drunk driving deaths which in 2006, an estimated 17,602 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes—an average of one every 30 minutes. These deaths constitute 41 percent of the 42,642 total traffic fatalities. Of these, an estimated 13,470 involved a driver with an illegal BAC (.08 or greater).
Learn More

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ORIGINAL: AquaticSub

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ORIGINAL: cjan
Imo, any life lost not in self defense, in any conflict, is lost in vain.

That's a blanket statement that I would disagree with. Some things are worth fighting and dying for.

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ORIGINAL: cjan
Yes, it is a "blanket" statement. And you, as anyone, are entitled to your opinion. What bothers me, though, are those folks who have and act on their opinions that send others to fight , bleed and die for them.If you think that fighting and dying for something is worth it, then, by all means, be my guest.

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ORIGINAL: AquaticSub

Some things are worth sending others to die for. I personally don't know enough about the Vietnam war and the current one to say either way, but I, personally, think the American Revolution was worth the French dying for and I think it was worth sending Americans, English, Australians and so on to fight during WWII. It's a shame we didn't care more - a lot of lives could have been saved.

It sucks that the people making the decisions sometimes make shitty ones that cause others pain but sometimes those decisions have to be made. And sometimes those in power are affected, choosing not to shield their sons from war or have war records themselves. You don't want those making the decisions fighting because, in theory, these are the people whose military expertise can help end things quickly with as little loss as possible.