ThankASoldierWeek.com -- I Think this is cool!!

I strongly support those who serve(my sis in the marine), and is just that i'm strongly agains bush administration. I know there are tons of alternatives that's much safer and better than going to war. Although I'm anti-war, but i know u guys are just doing ur jobs and we will always appreciated what u guys have scarfied to make this world a better place to live.

 

I seem to have got myself into an argument I didn't wish to get in nor wanted to.

yes I’ve seen the movies and yes I’ve read a lot - to the previous statement about going to the library - I’ve read more than I can remember - I just don't find war a nice thing to read - for the reasons you have all stated above

The reference to Hitler was to state a point

Who says who is right?

Our law is governed by the bible.

Which at the farthest stretch of the imagination is poor fiction.


so altermatly we base right and wrong on something that was written by some guys centurys ago.

we all know what this war [bold] really [/bold] is about and it has f* all to do with the people.

and seems as bush went to war without the backing of the UN, he is nigh on punishable of war crimes himself

thus under your reasoning. any country in the world who has [bold] morals [/bold] should go to war with america


anyway i dont wish to carry on this argument as we are just going around in circles

 

@RavenLife
I'm pretty anti-war, anyone who isn't needs to be commited. But how you go around and just say all that crap about service people. Honestly I don't the way the gov't has gone about w/ the war, the way they've lied to us, the ppl who they try to recruit and the fact that they send recruits to EVERY high school campus to say "it's great oppertunity to go places", and apparently you do too but those people don't have a choice, it's there job.

You are a pretty big ass, you use Hitler to make a point. I understand what you say about the perspectives or diff ppl, but it's a fact that hitler was crazy (true). Genocide is wrong, I don't care who the hell you are. He brainwashed the German people/nazis into beliving him. Economy's bad you have to blaim it on someone, the jews in this case.

I also resent the fact that our gov't (and most other gov't out there as well) is based on Christianity, but the bible ,what's taught in it atleast, is universal. I mean Bhuddism has nearly all the same teachings.

And I agree w/ neph about you living somewhere else for a while. You see all these idiots talk about how much America sucks and they hate it and don't want to live there. Do you realize how easy it is to become a citizen else where? If you hate it so much why odn't you apply for citizenship else where? I'm sure mexico's a great place to live. I swear to god ppl in America have it so good they HAVE to protest meaningless crap to keep form boredom. Why don't you go live in a 3rd world country and see how much harder it is to protest when your STARVING.

 

Hi all,

As everyone has said the issue was giving thanks to the troops. Not too many outside of Pres. Bush supports this war. One thing I ask all to remember whenever a nation has hesistated to intervene in a situation that can affect the world then yes they should react. Did we (U.S. & Britain) over-react? Yes... a diplomatic approach towards a country who has been fighting wars way before we came into existence would have been more appropriate. Right now we have barely nothing with the exception of an internet cafe, a gym, a DFAC (cafeteria) and trailers in which I can touch both sides of the room with a slight stretch. More times we spend outside the wire with constant vigilance as being hit with IEDs and VBEDs daily never know if we will see the sun rise the next day. My point is if you don't support the war at least support the troops. If this was a perfect world then there would be no need for war..unfortunately that is not the case. There is nothing worse than a 18 yr old asking if he will get a chance to have kids, see his family again, be old enough to drink, why is no one coming to see how we (the ones out in the streets ) doing but always talking to the media how high morale is. As a senior non-commissioned officer I have to reassure them even if i don't believe we all will make it back that our tour of duty will be over soon. And yes I have nightmares of lil Iraqi kids while we are trying to render first aid to them their innocent eyes look at you as to say don't let me die. There is nothing more hurtful than to be talking to a fellow servicemember and the next day they are gone and all you can ask yourself is this really worth it. As far as media coverage goes...as I said earlier not everything is covered and everything found is not revealed to the general public.


Sorry...got carried away and this is not the place for it. Thank you all who have lent your support in this thread and continue to keep all (including the civilians) the people over here in Iraq and Afghanistan moral support..that is what keeps the majority of us going day in and day out.

 

I totally understand what you are going through, Matt. As I have stated early, you have my support and my thanks.

 

I have to make the assumption that you were addressing RavenLife? Okay, I knew that you were, and you are correct in doing so.

 

Well, this is the damndest thing! I mentioned to Matt that my phone service was dead and wouldn't be fixed until Mon. Not a single phone works yet I turned on my computer to write a letter and my Norton started to update. No phones yet my DSL works; I rather like it that way actually.

@Matt: This thread has gone in some rather bizzare directions; a lot of insights as well as a pathetic lack thereof. Just wanted to put my voice with grandpa's that we're all with ya'. I hope you're o.k. buddy, you've got a lot on your mind and some of it has to be pretty rough! Stay safe...our thoughts are with you....Gerry

 

@Matt
Good to hear from you again as always. Don't ever lose your optimism and rest assured that you have the support of many of us well wishers. I can't truly sympathize with you because I've never had any experience remotely similar to yours but I pray for you and the rest of the brave service/women there, that you'll be returning home soon and that your lives are spared. I know that there will be more casualities before the withdrawal of the troops and this is my dilema. As much as I'd like peace I think the price of human lives on both sides of the fence is too costly and far exceeds the expected goal. Unfortunately, having embarked on this course of action the polititions and bureaurocrats can't concede defeat, so you and your colleagues & the people of Iraq, continue to pay the hefty price. I can never fathom the wisdom in that, but as you said we live in an imperfect world. Keep fighting the good fight and God speed my friend.

@Grandpa
Bruce you are too perceptive. I alluded to the fact that I responded to RavenLife's post earlier and my computer crashed so it wasn't sent. In retrospect I am relieved because even though it would have been acceptable, I did have highly emotive and damning words for RavenLife. You don't get to my age without having an inkling about someone based on their expression and by that I mean their maturity of thought, how well they develop a point, how objective or emotional they are about the subject they're discussing, etc. Like you, I had a knee jerk reaction to his comment but I paused briefly to ponder about why he would make such a statement. I have seen his previous posts and I think he's a pretty decent chap. I have seen him rant about M$ and then apologised, so I was taken aback by this post to say the least. I was honestly incensed by his comment and I felt a bit betrayed by someone who I have regard for. I know that we all possess the 20/20 vision of hind sight but in fact I did figure that he was young and 'his opinion' was probably imparted to him, hence the reason why I included the words 'ignorance & immaturity' in the part of my post that you quoted. I have read his subsequent posts and it confirmed my suspicions that he's not a bad chap, but too idealistic. Age often teaches wisdom and he's got a lot to learn. For his sake I hope it's not in the School of Hard Knocks.

@GlueEater
It may or may not come as a surprise to you and many others but as a professional in quite a few underdeveloped(third world) countries, one can live a much better quality of life than his/her counterpart in the USA. Wealth, influence & political clout, etc are disproportionately distributed so that if you are fortunate to be in the upper socioeconomic group as opposed to the lower socioeconomic group(the group to which you refer and which unfortunately is an unacceptably large part of the population), then you are truly empowered. There is a rising middle socioeconomic group at least in my country despite the woefully lacking fiscal policies that exist. This is not to challenge what you & Neph have said and I endorse a lot of it. The 2nd ammendment(I think, please correct me if I'm wrong) which gives one the right to free speech in the US is a blessing and a curse. Because you can never satisfy everyone and in attempting to do so you are left with constant conflicts especially with the existing multicultural & multiethnic population, and the slowly rising prominence of some minority groups who in addition to having lobby groups, now have a voice in the Senate or even Congress. Even though the US has a 'strong' economy, the average credit card debt/family is approx USD$8000 +/- $1000 and many live at or below the poverty line. Two words, New Orleans. Need I say more. And there are quite a lot of similar impoverished areas in the US. So RavenLife needn't travel to Mexico but instead take a Greyhound bus to parts of Brooklyn,Bronx,New Orleans,South Miami,Downtown Atlanta etc. There are far more regulatory laws in the US than several other countries which restricts how freely one lives. Again this is a double edged sword because it limits lawlessness but it also limits freedoms that are taken for granted in other countries. So are you living in a 'true' democracy. I use the word 'true' rather loosely as a utopia does not exist in real life. Case in point, if the US was truly democratic then why is there a war being fought in Iraq. Where's the democracy in circumventing the United Nations in order to facilitate a war, the premise of which was flawed from it's inception and has cascaded into an obvious 'indiscretion' on the part of those who instigated it. I could go on & on, but I recognise the point you were making to RavenLife. I know that I have digressed, but I felt compelled to enlighten others about life in some underdeveloped(third world) countries. The obvious question is, if someone's country is so great, then why do people migrate. The answer is quite simple. US offers better world renoun graduate and post graduate training programs. So once you train there it's widely recognised and one can be employed in most but not all countries. For others, the US provides greater job opportunies and income which they accumlate and remit to their families to elevate their standard of living since the monetary conversion is usually very favorable. Having travelled to different countries I think that the US is a good country to reside in, but every country has its appealing and unappealing points depending on what you the individual is looking for. Until one has experienced it for him/herself, they should be weary of what CNN,NBC,Fox,BBC etc have to say about underdeveloped(third world) countries. A lot of people visit the US frequently or have permanent residency status & even citizenship there, but still visit their country of origin and spend as much time there as possible there. It's imperfect to say the least but it's the 'paradise' they know and enjoy.

 

You could hear a pin drop around here now. Anyways just thought I'd break the silence and check in to see if Matt dropped us a line. Still rooting for you as always my friend.

 

@Jamzbond; Quiet is right, I've been checking from time to time also. I hope Matt us o.k. but he has mentioned December 15th a couple of times in his posts...gonna be a busy day for him, I guess.

@Matt: Let us know you're o.k. buddy!

 

Hi all,

Everything is good with me and my troops with a few minor mishaps. The elections were yesterday and just getting back in.

@ gerr1,

I will send you an email this evening after I get some sleep.

@jamzbond,

Thank you and all who support us.

 

Great job. I sincerely hope that this will herald the beginning of autonomy on the part the Iraqis so that the timetable for the departure of the allied forces can be expedited. Good luck and stay safe.

 

Very nice, ddp.