Thread: "support the troops"

^^
Right load of ca ca if I've ever read some...

Quick! Had them the White Flags!

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Quick! Had them the White Flags!

boonie, you're contradicting yourself....again.

anyway, what does it mean to 'support the troops'?

is it simply saying 'i support the troops'?

is it enlisting yourself to join their battle?

is it posting on a thai focused internet message board?

here's a tried and true thread killer....for those of you on this forum that claim to 'support the troops' in this war of civilizations in which 'our way of life' hangs precariously in the balance....what exactly are you doing?


< crickets chirping >

^
Glad you gave this thread a bump there ray!

What am I doing?

I'm finding the Oil with which to lubricate the machine of War in defense of the Free World. Truth, Justice & the American Way!

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

^
Glad you gave this thread a bump there ray!

What am I doing?

I'm finding the Oil with which to lubricate the machine of War in defense of the Free World. Truth, Justice & the American Way!

Go ahead and find the oil.
But Truth- the Bush administration? Laughable.
Justice- Gitmo, CIA ghost prisons, The Patriot Act. Laughable.
Free world- America, whilst still a 'freeish' country, is no longer amongst the worlds freest countries. For that matter, how many of your population are in jail?
The machine of War? Iraq, 'Ghan, 'Nuff said.

Is this the new American way?

Originally Posted by raycarey

btw, i don't think i'd be laughing so hard if i was still working at your age.

Well, we can't all be slackers can we ray?
Besides, I'm supporting the Troops!

Originally Posted by sabang

Is this the new American way?

The New American Century, but as its 20th century predecessor before, the 1000 year Reich, it failed shortly after the start of the campaign and die-hard fanatics are still wondering what went wrong and why.

Here's an article by Ret. Lt. Col. Andrew Bacevich in the American Conservative.

Does W. Bush "support the troops?"

June 4, 2007 Issue
Copyright &#169; 2007 The American Conservative


Bushed Army
Our forces strain under a surge of new missions.
by Andrew J. Bacevich

Courting the soldier vote during the 2000 presidential campaign, the candidate made this simple promise: “Help is on the way.” Throughout the 1990s, Republicans had regularly lambasted the Clinton administration for misusing America’s military and for failing to show soldiers proper respect. Electing George W. Bush was supposed to fix that.

The electoral strategy paid off handsomely: the absentee votes of soldiers helped Bush carry Florida and claim the Oval Office. Yet rather than delivering help, the Bush administration has since subjected the Armed Forces of the United States to sustained abuse. The scandal at Walter Reed is not some isolated blemish on an otherwise admirable record. It is emblematic of the way that this administration has treated soldiers.
Granted, President Bush never passes up the chance to pose with the troops or express his warm regard for those who serve and sacrifice.



But to judge by results rather than posturing, no commander in chief in American history has cared less about the overall health of America’s Armed Forces.


President Bush will hand over to his successor an Army and Marine Corps that are badly depleted and verging on exhaustion. The real surge is not the one that involves sending more U.S. troops to Baghdad. It is the tidal wave of unsustainable demands that are now engulfing America’s ground forces.


Last year retired Gen. Colin Powell declared that the Army is “about broken.” A growing chorus of other senior officers, active and retired, has chimed in, endorsing Powell’s view. Unless the Bush administration finds ways to ease the strain, retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey recently told a Senate committee, “The Army will unravel.” Lt. Gen. Clyde A. Vaughn, chief of the Army National Guard, complains, “we have absolutely piecemealed our force to death.”


There is plenty of evidence to support these gloomy assessments. Only a third of the regular Army’s brigades qualify as combat-ready. In the reserve components, none meet that standard. When the last of the units reaches Baghdad as part of the president’s strategy of escalation, the U.S. will be left without a ready-to-deploy land force reserve.


The stress of repeated combat tours is sapping the Army’s lifeblood. Especially worrying is the accelerating exodus of experienced leaders. The service is currently short 3,000 commissioned officers. By next year, the number is projected to grow to 3,500. The Guard and reserves are in even worse shape. There the shortage amounts to 7,500 officers. Young West Pointers are bailing out of the Army at a rate not seen in three decades.



In an effort to staunch the losses, that service has begun offering a $20,000 bonus to newly promoted captains who agree to stay on for an additional three years. Meanwhile, as more and more officers want out, fewer and fewer want in: ROTC scholarships go unfilled for a lack of qualified applicants.


....too much war and too few soldiers.


The president’s attitude seems to be: sure, the military is overstretched, but let’s see if we can stretch it just a little bit more. Perhaps he figures that when the rubber band breaks, dealing with the consequences will be someone else’s problem.....
____________________________________________
Andrew J. Bacevich is professor of history and international relations at Boston University.

Entire: Bushed Army

of course, Bush doesn't support the troops, if he did, he would have stopped the mess and got home

Support the troops, great for photo ops

He is another Vietnam war president, a total failure, worst than Carter

Originally Posted by Milkman

Only a third of the regular Army’s brigades qualify as combat-ready. In the reserve components, none meet that standard. When the last of the units reaches Baghdad as part of the president’s strategy of escalation, the U.S. will be left without a ready-to-deploy land force reserve.

"The most advanced military in the world."

^ And what's sad Stroller, is that Andrew J. Bacevich, always major opponent of the war,

his son was killed in Iraq at the age of 27 last week.

Bacevich wrote a great book that I read this year:

The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced By War.


This is a book, many Americans should read.

Bacevich is a brilliant man. Now, a professor of Internation Relations, at Boston University.

Originally Posted by Milkman

Does W. Bush "support the troops?"

like some posters on this forum, his support only goes as far as jingoistic platitudes and banal bumper stickers.

'Jingoistic' - pretty big word for this here blue-collar forum, don't ya think ray?

no.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

for this here blue-collar forum, don't ya think ray

gee i don't know tex......what do you reckon?

Originally Posted by raycarey

no.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

for this here blue-collar forum, don't ya think ray

gee i don't know tex......what do you reckon?

Well, pard, I reckon it fits right OK but don't go puttin' on no airs for the boys now, ya heear?

Damn, it's getting worse than I thought!

^
the kids who got conned into going to iraq probably feel like the actors in the photo.

and there lack of supplies related directly to the topic of this thread.....'support the troops'.

for those who support the war, have you done ANYTHING for the military personnel in iraq---(and no i'm not talking about how SK sent iraqi kids X-mas presents?!?!?!), but rather, the everyday items (toothpaste, phonecards, CDs)?

have you made a donation to the defense department?
how about a check made out to walter reed medical center?
sent anything to the widows of killed military personnel?
how about education funds for their kids?

and if not, why not?

you say you support the troops, but how?
earl?
attaboy?
boonie...have you done anything outside of your job? anything?




and i haven't even brought up how these kids STILL don't have the body and humvee armor they were promised.

you support the troops.....yeah right.

^ Good points above, Ray.

I think the high majority (almost all) of the civilians that claim to "support the troops," just talk. They yack, and yack. They where a button, or put a yellow ribbon on their car.

It's a "feel good thing."

Faddish.

Anybody can talk. Anybody can root for their "team."

It's mostly a game to these folks, isn't it?

Anyone in Iraq, as another poster stated, is basically a low-paid mercenary.

They chose to go to Iraq.

If they get wounded, disabled, or killed, they should not pretend to be "brave" or be "heroes," and the media shouldn't paint them with this false label either.

It's a job. Period.

Originally Posted by Milkman

It's a job. Period.

Not in all cases.
For example, that ex-pro football player who gave up a lucrative career to fight in Afganistan.
And don't bring up that he was killed by friendly-fire - thank you...

^
what about the other 80&#37; of MM's post?

or the questions i posed in post #94?

Originally Posted by Milkman

Anyone in Iraq, as another poster stated, is basically a low-paid mercenary.

That's total B.S. which has been shown to be false on here before.
Troll...

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

That's total B.S. which has been shown to be false on here before

where? provide a link.

Originally Posted by Milkman

It's a job. Period.

Boon Mee:

Not in all cases.
For example, that ex-pro football player who gave up a lucrative career to fight in Afganistan.
And don't bring up that he was killed by friendly-fire - thank you...

Still a job.

For Pat Tillman. Still a job. Nothing more, nothing less.

Milkman

Anyone in Iraq, as another poster stated, is basically a low-paid mercenary.

Boon Mee:

That's total B.S. which has been shown to be false on here before.
Troll...

I think whether it's B.S. or not depends upon one's opinion.

Proven before? I don't this this topic can be proven nor disproven.

I think of it as a job. They take the job voluntarily. They get paid. Benefits. Etc.

It's a job.

Troll? I don't understand.

Being a soldiers is a job. Any atta-boys and pats on the back for taking this job is as silly as high-fiving a football player, casino dealer, salesman, banker, or broker.