by Laurence Vance at September 30, 2008 07:26 PM

Whenever I write about the military, my critics are usually people that are not in the military and have never been in the military. Most of the military people and ex-military people that write me say that what I write is true: they were duped, the military is no place for a Christian, they are ashamed that they killed for Uncle Sam, the troops are responsible for their actions, etc., etc., etc.

For example, in response to my recent article, "The Blame Game," a veteran wrote me this:

Just a quick note, I am a veteran of the Submarine force. I have to agree with you that every person is responsible for their actions, no matter what organization they are a part of. By this logic, it seems ethically wrong to fight any war. I was all set to sign on for another 6 years, go to Explosive Ordinance Explosive and go save some lives. I started reading LRC and realized that there is another option in this life, peace. I started to understand that one man can make a difference, and I decided to leave the military. There are times that I miss the friends, and fun that I passed up. I would be going up for Chief (E-7) for the first time by about now, but instead I am working, going to school and training for sport. I am glad that I was able to vote with my feet and no longer support the war machine. I am actually considering leaving the country to ensure that my productivity is no longer stolen to support war, or wall street fat cats.
Thank You

Matt

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. nope. sorry. wrong answer. were personally responsible. but honestly, how many of us have gone out hunted down an innocent child and gunned them down? none that i know of, we were fighters fighting other fighters. war is much older than politicos or idealism or utopian ideas.

maybe were in an unpopular war. ****e happens. youre still a soldier. act like one guys. ww2 was unpopular in america in its time too, i hate the war in iraq, but honestly, muslims ahte us, if we werent there, theyd be here, kidnapping people and doing god knows what. read the qur'an one day. listen to aslamic etremists speeches. they hate us and have for years.

They have legitimate reasons to hate us and this war adds to the list. Personaly I think its time for some dialog. We can keep adding fuel to the fire untill some nut goes nuclear or unleashes some type of plauge that kills millions and then we will be standing going "duh was it worth it be a tuff guy"?

dude do you even remember the beirut barracks bombing? it was un justified, this isnt a war of 6 years, its been a war for alot longer than that.

Dude do you remember when the cia over threw the government of Iran in 1953 and placed the shaw in power and he then proceeded to brutalize all discent with the aid of america? you act as if our hands are clean and we are helpless victims

for the most part we are! we helped al-qaida and they attack us, we help pakistan,they hate us. we help syria they send foregin fighters to attack us. they kidnap hundreds or thousands of epople and hold them prisoner. WTF does it take for you people to realize theyre bad people?!

I would suggest you look into the coup of 1953 in Iran and you will see that was the start of much of our troubles over there. We are not innocent victims and have done our share to enrage them.

the problems were from before then. its from the way back days, like the crusades. they havent evolved past that time so theyre jealous. alot of themwill say they hate us not because of our foreign policy, but because we eat well. we have electricity. we have money. we USED to have moeny that was worth a ****e. just because the date you can cite had meaning doesnt mean its the entire purpose of it all. and since when did we blow them all to smithereens? when did we out and out attack their innocent civilians? like 9/11 did? islam hates us pure and simple. always have always will.

sure the trouble goes back to colonial days as well when britain drew the maps of the middle east. I would just remind you that Iraq had nothing to do with 911.

The 1953 coup ended the slow, halting progress that Iran had been making since the early 1900s toward a more representative form of government and toward freedom from foreign interference. These two aspirations were embodied in Mosaddeq's movement; with the coup, he became a martyr to these causes. In the years after the coup, an authoritarian regime was gradually consolidated in Iran with massive assistance from the United States. Martial law was instituted and remained in effect for several years. Thousands of National Front and Tudeh supporters were arrested. Pro-Mosaddeq demonstrations in the Tehran bazaar and at Tehran University were broken up. A successor to the National Front known as the National Resistance Movement was suppressed. The Qashqai tribe was attacked and its leaders were sent into exile. Press censorship was instituted. A secret police force was established that soon evolved into the notorious SAVAK. Majlis elections in February 1954 were blatantly rigged.(79) Except during a brief period in the early 1960s, the instruments of dictatorship were kept firmly in place until the Iranian revolution began to unfold in 1978. By then, any hope of establishing a democratic alternative to the Shah had long since been lost.

http://iran.sa.utoronto.ca/coup/web_files/markcoup.html

Bergeia, I'm right behind ya.

maybe we DID mess up. so what? what country ahsnt made mistakes? and it wasnt IRAN at 9/11 either. if we werent in iraq and afghanistan theyd be in the US. just be glad were there madison.

Yet america cried out in outrage that they took hostages after we did all this to them, a generation of Iranians were brutalized undert the shaw all with the aid and blessings of america, my point being is we have done our part in all this.

Damn Right!!! This is our country because so many men and women have stood up and offered their lives to protect it. If we don't fight for it you can kiss America goodbye. If we give up now all those American lives were wasted. God Bless Our Soldiers.

my point is we should be outraged. if we interfered with their lives, so what? its not our fault it took them over 4000 years to think democracy is good. they used to be the most advanced and largest civilizations in the world. now they liv ein mud huts. and theyre jealous. jealous of our military, jealous of our avg citizen and jealous of our freedoms. theyre a power hungry bunch of madmen quite literally bent on world domination.

Iam not glad at all your there our country is bankrupt moraly and financialy, it is the biggest disaster we have ever had, worse than NAm

so what then? you want us to all have sex missionary? want us to go to church every sunday? you sound like a quaker. humanity is what it is. and if ya really hate us so much, do somethign about it other than complain in a web forum. jesus march on washington, rise up and attempt a coup. PROVE you mean what youre saying.

Pc is the worst thing ot happen to our country EVER. its destroying our culture identity and everything i held dear about this country. im not even allowe dot hate anymore sinc ei t might "offend" someone. the world is NEVER going to egt along. the USSr is almost back, china hates us, middle east hates us. and before they take us all donw the nukes will fly and i will laugh.

well be safe anyhow

nope. you wont be safe. and i hope ot god you look back one day and think, hmmmm maybe if we had been just a bit more aggressive we wouldnt have chinese and soviet troops on our soil?