Words of encouragement and thanks to our military

[shoden]

First of all, to keep this on topic, good luck to our troops. As an Air Force veteran, I hope you all come home safe and soon.

Now, to deal with some of the other comments in this thread...

Originally posted by GreenMarineSVX
Since I am in the military I can't comment on my opinion though.

Sure you can. You just can't march in an anti-war demonstration in your uniform, or act as if you're representing the military with your opinion.

Originally posted by GreenMarineSVX
All I can say is I dare anyone to come up to me and talk bad about the Marines or the Army that is over there right now. Marines are brothers, some of my brothers have died. I don't want to have to jack someone up for telling me that we have no business being there. We were ordered there. Stand behind the President and the troops.

I agree... partly. No one should talk bad about the military, but unfortunately there are still some that will do that. Most of the anti-war people understand the difference between the government that makes the decisions, and the military that has to follow orders. Standing behind the troops does not mean we have to stand behind the President, and if you think the President and his men have our troops best interests in mind, I suggest you read the following...

Deeds not Words

The battle between Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon

Originally posted by GreenMarineSVX
More like, all the Anti-War protesters that don'd really understand what is going on and how the military works.

Okay, how about this anti-war protester that DOES understand what is going on and how the military works...

COL Hackworth: A Warrior Against Gulf War II

I won't bother to quote the comments about joining the riot police and using CS grenades on the protesters. I'll just say that it's rather disappointing to hear that from someone who is supposed to be defending the freedoms of this country's citizens.

Now for wasions little analogy... there's a few things I'm not clear on...

1. The little girls = 3rd world nations?
2. The thug = United States?
3. You and your friends = Osama and Al Quida/Qaeda/Qaida?

or is it...

1. The little girls = Palestinian refugees?
2. The thug = Israel?
3. You and your friends = Hamas? Suicide bombers?

Don't get too pissed off... I'm just trying to make a point, and that is that it's dangerous to use the same justifications that our enemies use.

And in your actual example, you'd be justified in using force to save the girl, as it's considered a form of self defense. You'd only be acting as a vigilante if you attacked the guy just because he had a matching tattoo. And no, vigilanteism doesn't rock, it's dangerous and there's good reason it's illegal.

Launching a war of aggression in the name of self defense isn't a new idea. Hitler was very fond of the concept...

So, to sum up:
Support the troops, oppose the war. It is possible to do both.