photos

 Thanks for protecting my rights from people across the ocean. Thanks for being apart of a military that invades countries that have never threatened us here, in the states. Thanks for being apart of a murder campaign against those who happen to have oil and opium. Thanks for not reflecting on the tragic absurdity of your position in the world. Thanks for nothing...

I think you're on the right track...

But this may be closer.

 You're welcome, for having the right to say that without someone in our own government killing you for not sharing their opinion of what our country stands for.

A  look at the fotos then- one is of a posting to BERLIN whence war was declared on the USA  by the German dictator Adolf Hitler. Another posting was Bosnia where other madmen were running rife among helpless civilians with the attendant risk of another conflagration.Many of us have reservations about the Middle East, as also may be said for the Far East...blame not the loyal  soldiers but the politicians and those who voted them in to  office! Enough already... Erik allows no politics or personal unpleasantries, be it noted !

1)  I have already removed the pictures from my profile. 

2)  Possible but unlikely, the disrespectful comments of concern were directed to a female and some were based on a specific photo of her.

3) It was actually named for the same General the tank was named for, I believe.

Hilarious! So the U.S. military has invaded Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, etc., to protect the U.S. citizen's rights to criticize our government... It's like a Monty Python level of lamentable stupidity.

From the pictures I would take a guess with Bosnia, camp freedom?  Built by the 6th battalion of the 502 Infantry.  Or did you come after the inception of that camp... The uniforms and the females hair in one of your pictures puts it in the early to mid 90s..

B

Tryst, I think you found one member of chess.com that doesn't know your views on this topic... :)

Good Lord, don't ask!

Now now, trysts, don't forget the U.S. likes to occasionally decimate nations (particularly Latin American ones) for voting in socialists, too.  They'll be sad if you don't mention them.

 This isn't Viet Nam, Rambo. The mission may not be supported by all americans, but the soldiers are supported by virtually all of us. I remeber Viet Nam, and you guys are treated like princes by comparison to the soldiers then. Still, we need to get you guys more money, in my opinion. As for the response to your pictures, this is the internet. Its filled with profane idiots. 

You're right, I feel very fortunate that the anti-everything crowd has mostly moved on to other targets, but there are always those rare occasions where one pops up to call us what ever names they decide are apporpriate.  We are well aware of our accomplishments, and don't need their approval.  Their statements stand for themselves and they are entitled to them, as I am to mine.

What the hell are you talking about? If it weren't for people signing up to be soldiers, to go murder people for no good reason, then "the mission" wouldn't exist.

If conflict isn't a product of societies in general, where does it come from?  Maybe the individual, e.g. yourself, is able to avoid war but is the choice as easy for a community/society?

I generally agree with your POV, but a "just say no to war" campaign seems to be too idealistic.

What if they had a war and nobody came? <meditate.gif>

These are not defensive campaigns people are signing up for. They are blatant invasions of other countries for imperialistic ends. I'm pretty sure the "idealistic" shoe is on the other foot. Meaning, each time an invasion occurs, there seems to be some type of fantasy that the people of the occupied country want us there.

Heh, not a bad point.  Still, if there were no army here, you'd have to eventually convince other nations to demilitarize.  That's the kind of idealizm I'm talking about.

Now applied to the current situation, with some very bad occupations in the middle east, I can agree with you.  Even if a person only knew a tiny bit of world history such as Russia's ordeal in Afghanistan they could see this is bad, but of course politicians aren't elected on the basis of such things.

Well democracy won't work if the people choose to be ignorant. But imperialism, autocracy, fascism, totalitarianism, etc., works just fine, if the people choose to be ignorant. Politicians don't fight wars. They quite love those mindless, jingoistic, kids to keep signing up for their interests.

When I was a young man, dear trysts, after ww2  I  was sent to Alexandria in Egypt and Gaza and Jerusalem etc. in Palestine.Nobody really wanted us there in our role as youthful unwitting representatives of British Imperialism as they proceeded to make clear  when we encountered mobs, mine layers, booby trappers,  grenade throwers , machine gunners and demolition bombers from among both Arabs and Jews. Also I met with young Italian and German prisoners of war   who like myself  had been supporting their own countries and simply doing what they had been told by armchair greybeards.That experience was a complete eye- opener to me.We have not yet found the answer to the world's problems in spite of "wars to end all wars" But to blame the young men can not be the answer As I read these threads, it is the word " tristesse "that mostly comes to mind.

It's far from easy to put the blame on the young man, whose parents and friends give ill-conceived advice to on the matter. It is also difficult to know how much information was available to those in England, France, Germany, etc., at the time of your youth, in the country you resided in. But, today, in America, one has to be actively negating the information available, in order to be ignorant of the criminal invasions, and horrors that shadow them, which this country has been perpetrating for the last 50 years. The only reasonable conclusion in this country today, is to stop supporting the troops altogether.

Never have I seen such an amazing level of ignorance in what our military does for this country and the world as a whole.  Have a wonderful fantasy life, Trysts, the world you live in doesn't exist.