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however: i am not in the least suprised to see that if your viewpoint is shaped by your life having been in danger within the conflict itself, your view of what is happening is going to be shaped by what you encountered and not by the logic of debates about policy happening amongst people who have not been in the same position.
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I hope that it was not your intention to come across as you did, but your statement above makes me feel like you are assuming that my opinions are based on emotions, and not logic; which is untrue. I just have a different basis of where my information for my own logical opinions come from. And lets agree, that a large percentage of people opinions are basically that, opinions.
That being said, you are more than welcome to ask anything that you would like to know about some of what has happened overthere. Bear in mind that MY experiences are somewhat different than those currently serving, due to the fact that my time served was durring Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and not the current War in Iraq. However my supervisor here at my job just recently returned from Iraq, with a few stories of his own!...lol.
Some of what bothers me in where some people form their opinions and decisions from, is where they get it. Of course I cannot say for certain where you get your information from, but a large percentage of the poeple in my community who oppose the war say they read about it in the papers, and watch it on the evening news.
The problem with this is simple, the news is no longer what it used to be: A service to let people know the facts. It now is more based on what gets them ratings, and what is new and exciting at the time....Read this SENSATIONALISM JOURNAISM. Its a fact. I read about how a group of Marines went into a home of a suspected terrorist in Afganistan, and "brutally murdered" the entire family, "a mother, a father, and a young child" as it was published in the New York Times back in 1994. It was a horrific event as they said, and the public was outraged. What the news DIDN'T tell you, was that the "young child" was a 17 year old who was sitting at a table building a small explosive device with his dad helping, while the mother was sitting at the door with a Russian AK-47 keeping watch. So by the news given out in America, the Marines that killed them were shunned and talked badly about. But in reality, they most likely saved some lives. Do we Marines go out there and yell at the press and tell them they are wrong? No, sorry, we don't. We let the press do what they will, why? because we are out there fighting for their right to freedom of the press, freedom of their religion, freedom to make their own decisions. It is not our job to tell THEM right from wrong. We simply do a job. We do it, and continue on to the next one. We don't ask for anyones thank you's, we don't ask for you to tell us we have done a good job. We only ask that you appreciate what we are fighting for. Is it backed sometimes by personal political gain? Yea, I think for some of it, yes. But remember; WE are the ones in the field. WE are the ones who protect ourselves, and those that we are ordered to protect. WE are the ones who must answer to God for our actions, so that America might be able to enjoy one more day of freedom of LIFE.
Yes I do watch the political aspects. I do believe that it is not just our right, but our DUTY to question our government. But by putting on that uniform, we also give up the right to question our orders. We do what we are told, or other people may die. It is a sad, sad truth.
Do I agree with the Bush political situation? I might supprise you by saying no, I do not agree. Do I think the current campaign is only involved in politics though? No I do not. Politics is a big factor, but not the only factor. Should we end the war? No. But we should have a better sight on the objective, and the means. I would continue, but I am out of time for now. Any other questions PLEASE feel free to ask. Thank you for your insights ladies and gentlemen....Until next time.....