A War We Just Might Win

[rclouse 0]

I beg to differ. Everyone that is over there gets full bennies regardless of whether the war was declared or not. They all get hazardous duty pay. They all get the deferments that are accorded service people in time of war. You are miss-informed.

This is low, but....

When is your adopted son signing up?

[GaryC 7]

I beg to differ. Everyone that is over there gets full bennies regardless of whether the war was declared or not. They all get hazardous duty pay. They all get the deferments that are accorded service people in time of war. You are miss-informed.

This is low, but....

When is your adopted son signing up?

My step son is 16. He has already said he wants to join when finishing up school. I am all for it.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Fixed at some point?

Wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are not getting the prompt medical care and mental health treatment they deserve and the law requires, according to a lawsuit filed Monday against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The suit, which will be proposed as a class action, claims the agency's practices violate the constitutional and statutory rights of veterans by denying adequate procedural safeguards in the benefits process, access to the judicial system and mandated medical care and benefits.

"The system for deciding VA claims has largely collapsed ... mired in processing a backlog of over 600,000 claims, many of which have been pending for years," the suit charges.

[almaty 19]

I beg to differ. Everyone that is over there gets full bennies regardless of whether the war was declared or not. They all get hazardous duty pay. They all get the deferments that are accorded service people in time of war. You are miss-informed.

This is low, but....

When is your adopted son signing up?

My step son is 16. He has already said he wants to join when finishing up school. I am all for it.

good news, he can join my son over there, again....

[GaryC 7]

I beg to differ. Everyone that is over there gets full bennies regardless of whether the war was declared or not. They all get hazardous duty pay. They all get the deferments that are accorded service people in time of war. You are miss-informed.

This is low, but....

When is your adopted son signing up?

My step son is 16. He has already said he wants to join when finishing up school. I am all for it.

good news, he can join my son over there, again....

Please pass on my thanks to your son for his service.

[almaty 19]

I beg to differ. Everyone that is over there gets full bennies regardless of whether the war was declared or not. They all get hazardous duty pay. They all get the deferments that are accorded service people in time of war. You are miss-informed.

This is low, but....

When is your adopted son signing up?

My step son is 16. He has already said he wants to join when finishing up school. I am all for it.

good news, he can join my son over there, again....

Please pass on my thanks to your son for his service.

aw thanks gary, i agree with you on some points and I was not clear..i think the commitment to mental health and some health care is lacking for some of the returning troops..it was no differnet during the viet nam war..but i was hoping the miltary had learn..also, i think the Guard has done a remarkable job, along with the Reserves, and need to be rewarding with better perks...

Edited July 30, 2007 by almaty

[Dr_LHA 3]

We have to win. The other side won't quit. Even after they nuke one of our ports.

Who's going to be nuking what now? Nobody in/from Iraq that's for sure. If anyone is going to nuke us it will be a bunch of well funded Saudis, just like those behind 9/11. Please don't tell me you buy into that "fighting them in Iraq so we don't have to fight them here" bullsh1t.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

We have to win. The other side won't quit. Even after they nuke one of our ports.

Who's going to be nuking what now? Nobody in/from Iraq that's for sure. If anyone is going to nuke us it will be a bunch of well funded Saudis, just like those behind 9/11. Please don't tell me you buy into that "fighting them in Iraq so we don't have to fight them here" bullsh1t.

According to this - we've not learned a whole lot from the last 7 years of non-stop conflict. A different world? Some things sadly remain the same.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Not trying to be snide but, what exactly do we win?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Not trying to be snide but, what exactly do we win?

That's never been adequately defined - more a collection of assumptions that a "free and democratic" (quite what the true reality of that will be - is another matter) Iraq will somehow prevent another 9/11 style incident being perpetrated. Given the issues involved - its hard to say how that will manifest. Goes without saying that I remain rather sceptical about it (certainly in the light of reports that said the exact opposite - that the chaos caused by armed conflict has only exacerbated the underlying tensions).

[GaryC 7]

I beg to differ. Everyone that is over there gets full bennies regardless of whether the war was declared or not. They all get hazardous duty pay. They all get the deferments that are accorded service people in time of war. You are miss-informed.

This is low, but....

When is your adopted son signing up?

My step son is 16. He has already said he wants to join when finishing up school. I am all for it.

good news, he can join my son over there, again....

Please pass on my thanks to your son for his service.

aw thanks gary, i agree with you on some points and I was not clear..i think the commitment to mental health and some health care is lacking for some of the returning troops..it was no differnet during the viet nam war..but i was hoping the miltary had learn..also, i think the Guard has done a remarkable job, along with the Reserves, and need to be rewarding with better perks...

I also agree with that. The troops returning from Nam were woefully neglected. I hope that things have improved in that area in the last few years. If they haven't then I would be 100% for making things right. I support our troops and that includes giving them every break we can when they get back.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

So Gary, what do we win when we win and how will we know we've won?

[GaryC 7]

So Gary, what do we win when we win and how will we know we've won?

This isn't a contest. This is a battle to stop the Islamic radicals from inflicting more harm on us and from them taking over more countries with their vile version of Islam. There is no "we win" moment. This will be an ongoing struggle that will last decades. Even when we get Iraq settled and can leave it still isn't over. It will continue somewhere else. Your mind is set on a clear victory. Sorry to say that is never going to happen. But the alternative to fighting the war on terror is more countries falling to the terrorists, more attacks in our country and eventually we will not be able to stop it. Just remember this, We were not in Iraq in 9/11. We were not in Iraq when the trade center was bombed the first time. We were not in Iraq when the USS Cole was bombed. We were not in Iraq when the Africa embassies were bombed. We didn't pick this fight. It was forced upon us. They declaired war on us a long time ago. Afganastan and Iraq are just the opening rounds. But you are sadly mistaken to think that it will end when we either retreat from Iraq or secure the country so we can leave. This is going to last for decades.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

So Gary, what do we win when we win and how will we know we've won?

This isn't a contest. This is a battle to stop the Islamic radicals from inflicting more harm on us and from them taking over more countries with their vile version of Islam. There is no "we win" moment. This will be an ongoing struggle that will last decades. Even when we get Iraq settled and can leave it still isn't over. It will continue somewhere else. Your mind is set on a clear victory. Sorry to say that is never going to happen. But the alternative to fighting the war on terror is more countries falling to the terrorists, more attacks in our country and eventually we will not be able to stop it. Just remember this, We were not in Iraq in 9/11. We were not in Iraq when the trade center was bombed the first time. We were not in Iraq when the USS Cole was bombed. We were not in Iraq when the Africa embassies were bombed. We didn't pick this fight. It was forced upon us. They declaired war on us a long time ago. Afganastan and Iraq are just the opening rounds. But you are sadly mistaken to think that it will end when we either retreat from Iraq or secure the country so we can leave. This is going to last for decades.

I've still yet to see the historical precedent for an extremist religious/political ideology (especially one where there are appreciable cultural differences to consider also) being defeated exclusively (or even largely) by military force. I agree with you that the fighting will go on for decades, but are we using the right weapons to defeat what are essentially ideas? Fighting fire with fire and all that. Just seems to me that US foreign policy (and indeed its supporters) have and continue to take an extremely blinkered view of that part of the world. Iraq is not a fishbowl - the policy we adopt there has a ripple effect other countries, frames people's views of the US and its government. Some of that may be positive - but in other respects it isn't'.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

So Gary, what do we win when we win and how will we know we've won?

This isn't a contest. This is a battle to stop the Islamic radicals from inflicting more harm on us and from them taking over more countries with their vile version of Islam. There is no "we win" moment. This will be an ongoing struggle that will last decades. Even when we get Iraq settled and can leave it still isn't over. It will continue somewhere else. Your mind is set on a clear victory. Sorry to say that is never going to happen. But the alternative to fighting the war on terror is more countries falling to the terrorists, more attacks in our country and eventually we will not be able to stop it. Just remember this, We were not in Iraq in 9/11. We were not in Iraq when the trade center was bombed the first time. We were not in Iraq when the USS Cole was bombed. We were not in Iraq when the Africa embassies were bombed. We didn't pick this fight. It was forced upon us. They declaired war on us a long time ago. Afganastan and Iraq are just the opening rounds. But you are sadly mistaken to think that it will end when we either retreat from Iraq or secure the country so we can leave. This is going to last for decades.

That's just it...you can't 'win' a war against terrorism. If this is a struggle over ideologies, we're not going to 'win' over people's minds using military force. If Saudi Arabia is financing the very schools that breed such fundamental extremism, wouldn't make sense to tell Saudi Arabia, "No more!"?