Yes, you better fear him, my friend. The response "How dare you speak out against the men and women who are dying for our/your freedom" is the instantaneous one to those who speak out against the military. To many Americans, murder-on-the-witness-stand glares and knee-in-the-stomach blows are irrefutably justified for those taking this risk.
The thing is, bigbull, that's why I questioned faceking's military service (or lack of, I'm betting.) Most of us who actually are veterans do not take kindly to criticisms of the servicemembers themselves, but most of us do not mind criticism of how the administration chooses to use the military.
Everyone seems to forget that the men and women in this war signed up voluntarily to be in the military: they were not drafted. No, I don't want anyone to die or be injured for having enlisted, but I do have the right to wholeheartedly disagree with the military's mission and those involved in carrying it out, which naturally includes the troops.
Yes, I volunteered - for military service. I did not volunteer for war, although I was willing to do that if required. That's not even a fine-line difference.
Do you get my point if I say "Most parents would be willing to die to protect their children, but few parents are eager to die."?
The part that really galls me is that I made the generous and patriotic offer to serve, and I made that offer in good faith. The current war is nothing more than politics as usual - financial greed and political maneuvering. I am angry that the Congress and the president have used the military as nothing more than pawns in their political games, and a means of providing sweet sweet illegal no-bid contracts for Halliburton and Blackwater. That's about as much a breach of good faith as I can think of.
Oh, and for what it's worth - all the troops who have died in Iraq have died in an undeclared, unofficial war. That's right, the US never formally declared war in Iraq.
