“These monsters would not be able to function if not for the apathy of the citizens of a democracy"--Anonymous

#81041 by RAE
You’ve touched on the big touchy subject here in the US. “I’m against the war but support the troops,” is the safe thing to say here.
Likewise, the troops are used as a political tool for those who want to withdraw. But this approach really undermines ever solving the big problem itself. The equation is simple. this is a volunteer army. No troops, no war.
This is a quote from Wilhelm Reich’s “Mass Psychology of Fascism.”
Under the influence of politicians, masses of people tend to ascribe the responsibility for wars to those who wield power at any given time. In World War I it was the munitions industrialists; in World War II it was the psychopathic generals who were said to be guilty.This is passing the buck. The responsibility for war falls solely upon the shoulders of these same masses of people, for they have all the necessary means to avert war in their own hands. In part by their apathy, in part by their passivity, and in part actively, these masses of people make possible the catastrophes under which they themselves suffer more than anybody else. To stress this guilt on the part of masses of people, to hold them solely responsible, means to take them seriously. On the other hand, to commiserate masses of people as victims, means to treat them as small, helpless children. The former is the attitude held by genuine freedom-fighters; the latter the attitude held by the power-thirsty politicians.”

--Wilhelm Reich, The Mass Psychology of Fascism.

And every death is completely unnecessary in this case.

With all due respect to the dead and their families I can’t help but wonder who is the stupidest… those who go or those who send them.

Fighting to DEFEND your country from invaders is one thing. Sometimes fighting IS a last resort.

But to blindly follow ILLEGAL and IMMORAL commands from such slimebucket administrators as G.W. Bush & Co, to pick fights in foreign lands, decimating entire populations and economies in the process, and do so with PRIDE and HONOR, is simply INSANITY. That’s not defending your country… it’s INVASION and MURDER.

There is no honor in these wars and those who think there is are badly misled and mistaken. You’ve been conned and you’re dying so the rich can get richer.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Hmmmm!  Seems the escalation, er “surge”, is working just as planned.  More death, more destruction, more money in the bank for Haliburton and Blackwater.

The only comfort and escape from the damage done by Bush&Co;will be their continued safe distance from its reality and their utter contempt for democracy and the population combined with their worship of the evil intangibles: Corporations and Power.

Wow, Bush must be nearing orgasmic glee, his surge is working so well. Success after success after success.
Makes one giddy.
Those poor terrists. They have so many targets now it is hard for them to make up their minds. Think of the stress and strain they’re under. One wonders how long they’ll be able to bear up under the strain.
And the army’s strategy is terrific. Door to door assaults, pounding cities to rubble, either en masse or house by house. Pretty soon there’ll be nothing left in Iraq but the ‘Green Zone’ and an endless stretch of rubble.
I guess that’s when Petraeus will declare ‘Victory’, and Bush, ‘Mission Accomplished II’.
Deja vu ‘Nam, ‘We hadda burn that village to save it’.

Wow, Bush must be nearing orgasmic delight, his surge is working so well. Success after success after success.
His strategy is driving the terrists crazy, giving them so many targets they can hardly make up their minds. Can you imagine the stress and strain they are under? One wonders how long they can put up with this pace.
Of course, the army has a sound plan, door to door attacks, bombing cities into rubble, either en masse, or house by house, until nothing will be left except whichever US enclaves the terrists have left standing.
When Iraq consists of nothing but the ‘Green Zone’ and an endless stretch of rubble, will Petraeus be able to declare ‘Victory’, and Bush, ‘Mission Accomplished II’?
Deja vu ‘Nam, ‘We gotta burn that village to save it’.

Bush/Cheney are still sleeping safely in their damn ivory towers.

The surge is definitely not working. 30,000 troops are obviously too small a number. We could have won this war a long time ago if the American public would just get behind the president and stop trying to second-guess his wisdom. With three or 4 million more troops in Iraq this war could be over in less than a decade. I feel so sorry for Mr. Bush. He has tried and tried to convince the American people of the importance of prevailing in this conflict. Fortunately, Mr. Bush will be out of office soon and the burden will be behind him. Mr. Bush will be able to washes his hands of Iraq and look back with a clear conscience, knowing he gave it his all. But the American people will still be in the middle of a war with no end in sight and will have no one to blame but themselves.