Quote:
Originally Posted by drobs
You mention Japan and Terrorists. In your opinion, what should've the US done, as a country, after Pearl Harbor?
What should've the US done in the face of Hitler?
What should the US have done after 9/11? Sit back and let our family members be murdered by religious zealots?
I served in the Army and came out toward the end of my commitment - contract. I finished my required service & I didn't re-enlist. I'm proud of that service.
I now work overseas supporting those troops. These troops volunteered to serve their country and protect us from aggressors such as those that attacked us on 9/11. These soldiers are out here in the desert waving a flag that says- "Here we are come and get us."
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Your response is pretty typical of Americans, and I'm glad you asked some of the questions you did ask, because while I don't have all the answers, some of the answers are obvious to someone who isn't blinded by patriotism.
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what should've the US done, as a country, after Pearl Harbor?" The Japanese bombed a U.S. Naval base - what we did, under the excuse of "ending the war," was bomb two civilian cities - not just with bombs but with Atomic bombs. Not just one civilian city, but a second one three days later. The radiation from those bombs continued to kill people for decades and decades. And yet today, we have the audacity to tell other nations that even though, we've used these horrendous, immoral weapons, we have the right to decide who may use nuclear power.
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How do we respond to terrorists? " Well let's remember, first that the vast majority of those involved in the 9/11 attack were from Saudi, Arabia, NOT IRAQ! But Saudi was our oil partner, and the Bushes were good friends being they were also oil barons. So did we attack Saudi? Nope, we manufactured an excuse of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction and we attacked them. And the belief that we can deter terrorists with weapons, to me is absolutely absurd.
First and foremost it is vital that we understand that war is a LAST RESORT - certainly not to be used as a preemptory strike.
Your second erroneous assumption is that violence solves anything. Violence only creates more violence. The problem is, as I see it, that most people don't have the courage to stand up nonviolently and risk their lives, they'd rather risk the lives of others. Fr. Daniel Berrigan said it best during the VN war, that the reason we have failed as peacemakers is that the waging of peace is at least as costly as the waging of war.
I support the troops. I supported when I went to Iraq at the start of the war, and I continue to support them. I want them home, safe and sound able to live their lives constructively. What our soldiers have experienced throughout this war is so devastating, that the only option for many of them is suicide. Never in our history have so many veterans taken their own lives. Clearly something is wrong.
Kara