[nanda]

Originally posted by venturi

The bottom line? Before anyone here or elsewhere points a finger at someone going thru the horror of WAR they need to take a walk in the shoes of a soldier. When we first went in the Iraqii's were raising white flags of surrender only to then open fire on our troops. They blasted mosques, schools, hospitals, etc. during the initial conflicts - and then blamed us. I guess the graves of THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of Iraqi citizens that Sadam and his creepy sons killed doesn't matter. I guess the terror that this regime inflicted for 36 years doesn't matter either. Yeah, let him be a middle east Hitler. The only thing that pisses me off about the whole situation is that it took this long for us to say "enough is enough" and take him and his crowd out.

Yes, unfortunately we built him. That does suck. What people need to realize is that now we have realized that it was a heinous mistake and we have to correct that to the best of our ability. Marines and Army Rangers die every day without the threat of combat - that's part of the risk involved with the job. Only 1000 have died thus far, where as in Vietnam we lost 55,000 to liberate a tiny strip of god forsaken (though beautiful) land.

See, Freedom is something we hold dear in this country. It's something I hold so dear that I would give my life to protect it for all of you. I gave my country 6 years of my life, and would give my life again if they'd take my old ass back. Do we as a country overstep our bounds? Hmm... maybe. Do I agree with the current US administrative agenda? NO.

I'm still a global patriot though, and if there comes a need to protect you, folks like me will be one of the first in line to defend you. This simple concept is what I feel so many people worldwide fail to understand. We (people like me) don't give a damned where you come from. If you're being stepped upon we will help if we can. Even if it means that we're going to have to get really ugly and kill others. It's not pretty, it isn't intended to be pretty.

As a US Marine I wasn't taught that killing is good. I was taught that warfare is about beating down the will to resist by the enemy. There isn't normally a reason to go to bloodshed, most conflicts should be handled through diplomacy. Yet sometimes people are idiots and opt for the worst. Marines aren't baby killers, we don't like the concept of executing the training we have been given. The very last thing I ever wanted to do as a Marine is mow down a battalion of enemy forces with our weapons. But here's the deal - if you don't stand down we WILL apply force. Chosing to take up arms when diplomacy could work is at the least unwise, and often deadly.

I completly agree with everything that you wrote. You basically narrowed it down better then I could have. Thank you for expalining it to people who are the first to shout agaisnt things, and take their own freedom for granted!