A Nation Rocked to Sleep

Nima, please don't take my criticism personally.  Obviously you are a person with strong convictions.  People like yourself who fight to defend their country should have everyone's respect.  The military should be an honorable profession.  Those of us who are safe  owe people like yourself our respect and gratitude.

Therefore Nima, I mean no disrespect when I point out that while you understand Ms. Sheehan's grief, you misunderstand her anger.  Like any mother she is overwhelmed with grief by the loss of her son. 

But she is angry because her son didn't die defending his country.  At no time was the US realistically threatened by Iraq.  At no time did Iraq make credible threats against America.  If the US didn't invade and occupy Iraq, Iraqi soldiers would not now be landing on America's shores nor would Iraqi bombs be dropping on America's cities.  So defense can be ruled out as a motivation for this war.

Not all wars are honorable. The honor in war comes from the motivations behind war, not war itself.  Ms. Sheehan is angry because her son was sent to war so that rich and powerful people could increase their personal wealth and power.  That's a huge difference than fighting to defend your country.  Yes tens of thousands of soldiers did die in this war defending their country, but they were Iraqis, not Americans.  Iraqi soldiers died defending their country from a numerically superior, better trained and technologically advanced adversary.  All soldiers who fight with honor, courage and sacrifice deserve our respect, even if they fight against us.  Dropping a bomb from the safety of a cockpit at 50,000 feet, requires less honor, courage and sacrifice than staying in a foxhole to face an enemy its likely will kill you without you even having a chance to defend yourself.  As a military person, I'm sure you know, most Iraqi soldiers never had a chance.  From their viewpoint, they sacrificed their lives defending their country (not an unpopular leader) from a hostile foreign invasion force with little hope they would survive, let alone win.  As a fellow soldier you must acknowledge these soldiers honor, courage and sacrifice.

The motivation of America's leaders in this war was personal greed and lust for power.  I'm sure Ms. Sheehan would have felt very different if her son had actually died defending his country rather than Halliburton's bottom line.    America's leaders turned Ms. Sheehan's son and all American soldiers from honorable men and women into just poorly paid mercenaries who kill and are killed for profit.  Their is no honor or respect in killing for profit. That is why she is angry.  America's leaders, not peace advocates are the ones who disrespect and dishonor the American military.

America's leaders are not motivated to make America safer.  Their motivation is to make themselves wealthier and more powerful.  The have abused their authority.  They have expended American military power and reduced America's ability to defend itself for personal gain.  They sacrificed thousands of soldiers and murdered tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children so they could buy more expensive luxuries and attend more extravagant parties.

Rather than using the American military to defend American their selfishness has put Americans in a more dangerous situation.  The US is more loathed and despised now than ever.   Some people can make the distinction between the America government and the American people but pictures like these:

WARNING GRAPHIC PICTURES OF WAR: http://www.robert-fisk.com/iraqwarvictims_mar2003.htm

tend to blind people.  Think you are well informed Nima?  Do you believe that the American news isn't censored, then why didn't Americans see these results of the Iraq war?  Lots of pictures and clips like the above exist and were seen by the world, but not in the US.  Why?

Do you consider yourself a former soldier or a former mercenary Nima?  Both soldiers and mercenaries fight wars, but only soldiers can claim to be honorable.  If you are a true and honorable soldier then you should be outraged that your leaders have turned America's best into nothing more than mercenaries who kill innocent men, women and children for the purpose of increasing the wealth and power of a few people who are already far too wealthy and powerful.

Where is the honor in that?

Now do you understand Ms. Sheehan's anger?

Edited by earth_as_one

No disrespect taken.

However I am a well informed vet and yes I understand the media covers up the reality of war. I have my opinions on Iraq and Afghanistan but my point here is that when, prior to the war, Ms. Sheehan and others were seen at a conference at which Bush attended, now where was the outrage then? Where was the outrage when he son prior to his death was serving? I agree with you that her pain is perhaps unbearable and I (not being a mother myself) will not understand that.

But none of you here and I mean one of you understand war anyway. I've been in war and battles etc. I understand what I have fought for you all may disagree but this is what makes the states great is because everyone has their own opinion. I agree that in every decade each administration has their own agenda but while I was serving I never disputed nothing

Obviously you and a donkey share the same name "Jackass." You obviously have not served in a military so obviously I wouldn't expect you to understand anything. Yes I was following orders and yes I never questioned. That is the code of any soldier regardless of what country you come from. I love when idiots such as yourself can make irrational comments like that to guys like me, it makes me better understand what kind of world we live in where guys can give up their lives for the great good only for reality to show that idiots such as yourself don't respect guys who fight everyday. Without guys like me I doubt you'd even be alive or using a computer to call me a mindless fool.

I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't say it neither to a SEAL in person nor to any military personnel so actually I'll take your cyber attack as a compliment. Fool

Nima wrote: No disrespect taken. However I am a well informed vet and yes I understand the media covers up the reality of war. I have my opinions on Iraq and Afghanistan but my point here is that when, prior to the war, Ms. Sheehan and others were seen at a conference at which Bush attended, now where was the outrage then? Where was the outrage when he son prior to his death was serving? I agree with you that her pain is perhaps unbearable and I (not being a mother myself) will not understand that. But none of you here and I mean one of you understand war anyway. I've been in war and battles etc. I understand what I have fought for you all may disagree but this is what makes the states great is because everyone has their own opinion. I agree that in every decade each administration has their own agenda but while I was serving I never disputed nothing

Perhaps you should have. The "I was just following orders" defense didn't work too well at Nuremburg.

I'm not saying American soldiers are war criminals. I am not a judge and you are right, I know very little about the true nature of war. Unlike you, I've never experienced it.

But what I am saying is that each person as an individual has an obligation toward fellow human beings. Precedents made at Nuremburg clearly demonstrate that this obligation is above loyalty to country.

That isn't just an opinion, its international law.

When judging relations between countries national law is confined to a nations boundaries. Outside of America's borders, international law is above American national law. Crimes committed within the boundaries of the US are in the jurisdiction of the US. Crimes committed by one nation against another, or individual citizens acting under orders of their leaders are bound by the laws of the country where the crimes took place and international law.

From Wikipedia: LINK ...There is a growing trend toward judging a state's domestic actions in the light of international law and standards (see world government for trends and movements leading in this direction). A number of states, notably the United States vehemently oppose this interpretation, maintaining that sovereignty is the only true international "law" and that states have free reign over their own affairs...

Granted the US doesn't recognize international law within its own borders like many countries now do, but there are many precedents of the US recognizing international law in international matters.

I would agree that the current US administration has chosen to ignore international law...

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Since the United States President possesses unlimited discretionary powers to fight the never ending war on terror and the US is the world's sole super power, the current administration can get away with pretty much whatever they want.... for now.

But people who commit international crimes will be held accountable. It might take a new US administration which recognizes international law, or maybe one day, America won't be so overwhelmingly militarily superior anymore. All empires fall... sooner or later.

If any Americans are guilty of war crimes sooner or later the winds of change will blow and eventually people will be held accountable for their actions.

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I don't know when it finally dawned on Ms. Sheehan that her son was not serving America but Corporate America..., I assume you know what I mean...the same entity which offshores American jobs???....The people President Bush represents...

But I can tell you, that's the basis of her anger.

Read her words for yourself:
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But she's not alone. Millions of Americans are experiencing a Eureka moment of clarity right now, just like Ms. Sheehan did after her son died. Obviously it hasn't happened to you yet, but I suppose anything is possible.

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Let's assume American soldiers under George Bush are really serving their country. OK... where are the tangible benefits to the United States or Americans?

Do the new freedoms Bush introduced apply to Americans or American spy agencies monitoring Americans?
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Have average Americans gotten wealthier?
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Or just people like Cheney...

...Cheney still owns more than 433,000 Halliburton stock options, including 100,000 shares at $54.50 per share, 33,333 shares at $28.125 and 300,000 shares at $39.50 per share....

(HAL (Halliburton) was worth about $20 per share back in March 2003, today its worth $64.67. By my calculations, Cheney's $8 million stake in HAL is now worth almost $38.)

...and nearly everyone linked to the upper echelons of government power has made a killing of this war.

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How many examples would you like of rich and powerful people in the Bush administration becoming richer and more powerful as a result of the Iraq war?

And who is going to pay the bill for the Iraq war?
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The people Bush gave tax cuts?
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or the increasingly poorer American middle and lower class? Would that be you Nima?

Who are sending their children off to war?

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How have these average Americans benefited from the Iraq war? Its been three years now. Surely some tangible benefits must exist.

If American service men and women really were sent to Iraq to defend their country would Iraqi bombs now be falling on American cities? Would Iraqi soldiers be storming America's shore's? Clearly American service men and women aren't in Iraq defending America.

I think Cheney's tidy $30 million war profit clearly shows what American service men and women are really fighting for. Is fighting for profit the act of a mercenary or a soldier? Granted many US service men and women themselves are not profitting personally from this war. They may even believe they are fighting for their country, but are they really? Isn't fighting for corporate profit mercenary work?    Clearly American service men are in Iraq for purposes the same purposes as these people:

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If indeed America's soldiers are fighting to defend America I challenge you to prove it. Where are the benefits to Americans or the United States? I can't see
any?




Edited by earth_as_one