Lindyy says:

Darn, on an old thread I did a blurb on the UN - Kofi Annan and the scandal of the Oil For Food program. In it it directly links al quada with Sadaam Hussein.

Anyway, there are several of our wonderful servicemen former/current on this thread who can much better opine on this subject, and if I am wrong in what I am saying, please correct me.

Today, the draft is no longer in effect or is 'sitting idle' in some rule/regulation, etc. somewhere.

All of the military are willingly enlisted. That means they want to be in the military. They realize all the pros and cons of being in the military, all the sacrifices that they may have to make and do make. The military is for the purpose of defending the USA, both offensive and defensive, just like a football game.

If our military were not acting in an offensive manner, the terrorists would be right here in the USA, better to fight the war on terrorism over seas than on our own land.

NO ONE wants war! But, freedom comes with a high price tag, and our brave military men and women pay that price tag for the rest of us to sit here and flap our jaws - freely.

A very grateful thank you all USA military on this thread.

Lindyy

I am a former veteran of this current conflict... I have many friends still over there as well as some that will never be coming home. I wish, hope and pray, for our soldiers' safe return back to the U.S. The only problem is the mistake we will be making if we tuck-tail and run without first establishing the Iraqi's some way to defend themselves against certain terrorist-run countries that want to take over Iraq. They are using propoganda and tactics that encourage people to just give up and pull out. Im not saying that why we went over there had anything to do with terrorizm. But now the issue has evolved. Our soldiers are there for a reason that we invented by invading that country. They need to do whatever it takes to get an Iraqi government on it's feet while our government needs to work on securing our borders (which will probably never happen). Then we need to get the fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters the hell out of there and back home where they belong where they can reflect back on a mission being accomplished.

Yeah The Taliban run rampant there.. Would love to see those statistics...Im guessing theyre real volcal about it as well...Im also guessing those strolling by have targets on their heads...but then again were talking about France where most cowardly people co-exsist:)

Lindyy I know this is going to be shocking, but I agree with you on your comments.

My stance is however, because these men and women have surrendered theri lives to the mercy of the government of the US, it is not our responsibility to treat it like they matter and honor them, by not putting them in situations where a son is now keeping his fathers vengance alive.

We should truely honor them, by not putting them in harms way, for no good reason.

Honestly if the Taliban wanted to they could have done MUCH more damage than they did on 9/11/01. If they really wanted to, they could have taken alot more cities and they very possibly could have taken over cities. They didn't. They don't want to take away our freedom, they just don't like us. They caused havoc and chaos so that we would destroy ourselves, and we are doing a damn good job of it. They won after all didn't they?

European countries are stable and secure countries...regardless of any perceived (or made up) presence of the Taliban there (remember, Muslim does NOT mean Taliban), they are able to control them. Iraq was not only unable to control them, they harbored them and provided them with safe haven. That's the difference.

I've sat in cafes in France and watched the Taliban walk by, when I asked the local people I met there about it, they told me. Check your stats, check with sources before you try to discredit someone on things they have experienced.

Maybe I could say that you really arn't a vet. I won't, but before you discredit someone. Think about what you are saying.

say what you will, I experinced it. I know first hand. I was there, and it was after 9/11. I am more than well aware that Muslim is not the same.

Actualy Iraq was a sworn enemy of Al Queda, there was no teaming up there whatsoever nor would Saddam have given them shelter. That's just another one of Bushs lies given the CIA report clearly stated there was no connection;^]

Turtle, save it, they don't want to hear it, they perfer to live in their own private fox holes where FOX NEWS is the only station that plays.

do they have tags that say "HELLO I'm a Taliban" or can you tell they're Taliban by the C4 they are wearing around their waist?...

I don't know why don't you go up and ask them yourself? When i went to France I was there for a substantial amount of time, with a host family, they told me the ins and outs of staying safe in the cities. I was told, that is who they were, and the things they do, I have no reason not to believe them, I also saw protest against the US by them, and although I do not speak that language, I was with some people who did, and they told me what they were saying. Now are you going to tell me that 3 or 4 different groups of people who took me into their home and into their lives lied to me? For what reason would they have?

I agree...pegging people as "Taliban" while sitting at a cafe in France doesn't bolster your claim that we need to check our sources.

For the record, I'm a very open minded individual trying to present both sides of the argument and I'd rather rot in hell than watch Fox News!

I stand corrected...but my assertion of terrorism in the country remains, albeit not the Al Qaeda.

Whether or not that terrorism was, or ever would become, international rather than domestic to Iraq is an important point, I think. I can't really give an informed opinion as to whether it would or not.

(Edited to replace "Taliban with "Al Qaeda")

I was there, and saw it, so go live in your fantasy world, where the politicians are working for you, and the US is the almighty moral directors of the world. Have a good time.

There was definatly terrorism, Saddam relyed heavily on terror tactics to keep people in line. Of course, Al Queda is there now but still only 2% of the enemy. I'm glad to see Saddam gone, but this is truely a sticky situation;^]

mmmkay, for some reason i feel like repeating myself... for starters to all those that support our troops (which is pretty much everone on this thread)

Secondly, inside intel. Iran and Syria are aiding the insurgents. They are both terrorist-run nations. I don't care about Al-qaeda or anything specific. But they are terrorist-run... Anyhow, not only are they helping the insurgents but a disturbingly large number of them are insurgents. There is a reason we haven't been attacked back here in the states since we've been gone as well. (Yes they can do this whenever they want) If they attack us then the people of this country will be encouraged to fight (just like when we first invaded). Instead, like the vietnamese they are just waiting things out. They are trying to use the media against us, encouraging us to pull out. They are targeting Iraqis to deter them from helping/supporting us and more importantly to make the tree-huggers blame our troops for their deaths. I don't remember what the number is up to but it's up there. Anyway, why would these two terrorist-run countries want us out so bad? Three very simple reasons. One: they would gain another nation full of working people which = more money, more recuits, etc. Two: they will be publically displaying our country's weakness to the world, celebrating victory against us. This is a HUGE recuitment tool and could generate lots and lots of pretty spiffy propoganda. Three: They don't want an ally of the U.S. on their back door. Does this make any sense? It never may have never started out as a war on terror. But now it is. My heart goes out to all those that are fighting for a cause. The cause isn't merely for the Iraqi people, but for U.S. citizens. They are helping to keep terrorist organizations from becoming more powerful. We need to let the soldiers do their job, and bring them home as safely and quickly as we can.

My thoughts exactly...

Your contentiousness is really quite uncalled for...I thought your intention was to have a well versed debate on the topic but yet you keep resorting to generalizations and dismissing any honest requests for facts to support your assertions.

and you didn't stop one of the Taliban's that strolled by to ask where Bin Laden was?...you do know about the reward don't ya?..