A Soldier That Refuses to Return to Iraq

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That doesn't make you, or your brother any better than any of us.


Not better than any of us, just better than people like you--people who sit back, whine, criticize, do nothing, make no difference, give nothing...

At least his brother had the courage, audacity and strength of character to join the armed forces, regardless or not if you agree with the politics behind the current engagements our military may be in.
 


Stop defending the military just because your brother is part of it and has decided to keep fighting for them. That doesn't make you, or your brother any better than any of us.

Hey creature, there is no need to bring your inferiority complex into this debate. This is about a guy who made a commitment and now he's too much of a coward to keep it.

Your question is stupid. Of course if the government ordered its troops to attack our own cities and our own people all hell would be raised and no one would do it. Why bother with hypothetical bullshit? The facts remains: he signed a contract and now's hes trying to back out. Like I've said before, there is always a consequence for an action like this.
 
I grew up on military bases. A large majority of my friends joined the Army and Marines... They have all been to Iraq.

Every single one of them told me they don't want to be there and that they shouldn't be there.

Two of them are now serving time in jail for refusing to go back.
 
I figured I'd throw my .02 in as a military member.

I'm torn on this issue, on one hand we have the fact that we swore to obey orders (IE Go to Iraq now) - on the other hand we swore to protect the constitution. As I see it the war in Iraq may fall contrary to my oath.

I personally have decided that if told to go I'll go again, even knowing it's potentially in conflict with my oath. Why? Because if I don't go they'll just send someone else - at least if I go I know I'll be responsible with my decisions on how to act while I'm there.

Plus - although my oath requires me to "support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic" there is no way for me to go about going after domestic enemies of the constitution without promoting anarchy. Also there is no way for me to not follow an order on the basis of it's non-constitutionality without being CRUCIFIED like this guy will be.

In closing I will NOT be responding to any posts that attack me - I've said my piece and I'm done with it. Last time I spoke up I wasted a day or two arguing with Popeye and a few others and accomplishing nothing but wasting my breath really.
 
Not better than any of us, just better than people like you--people who sit back, whine, criticize, do nothing, make no difference, give nothing...
You don't know anything about me, so don't tell me what I do and don't do. Being in the military isn't the only way to make a difference in this world. What is it that you have done that is so great?

At least his brother had the courage, audacity and strength of character to join the armed forces, regardless or not if you agree with the politics behind the current engagements our military may be in.
First off I never said anything that implies his decision to join the military wasn't honorable. Anyone who decides to join the military has my full respect & support. I have friends and family in the military. If thats what you want to do, then again you have my support.

But if a soldier wants out, its his right as a human being to leave. You can't call him a coward for that. He has served tours in Iraq. He has seen things none of you have seen. Stop pretending like you know what its like. It his body, his life. He can do what he wants with it. He's not hiding from the military. He is at his home, prepared to take the consequences of his actions. He is not running. Tell me how he is a coward.

You can misconstrue my statements as disrespect towards the individuals in the armed forces all you want to make your argument look better. But it's not true, and it's not what I said. My only point, Isostar13, is that your whole argument is based on the fact that your brother is in the armed forces. That is completely besides the point here.
 
My only point, Isostar13, is that your whole argument is based on the fact that your brother is in the armed forces. That is completely besides the point here.

Your last post has some very true points to it, but don't misconstrue mine. My brother may be in the armed forces, but that's not the basis for my argument. I personally believe in honoring commitments and this comes from my own decisions. I graduated from USMC OCS in the summer of 2007 under a PLC Air contract. Having one year left in college at that point, I was given the choice to accept or refuse my commissioning in the Marines.

I refused. I told them it wasn't for me. One of the main reasons was I wasn't sure if I would be able to accept the reality of living on a ship for 6-8 months at a time, or depending on if I was fixed or rotary wing, living on the ground in Iraq. With that reality in mind, I considered not only going to Iraq once, but more than likely 2 or 3 times. I decided if I wasn't willing to accept those possibilities and responsibilities than there was no way I would sign that contract.
 
This is me being nitpicky, but wtf is a "LCT" per the CNN video. Looks like acronym fail to me.

LTC = Lt Colonel.
LCT = Either they mean "Landing Craft, Tank" or CNN knows dick.

CNN.gif
 
Since he joined the military in 2002, or post 9/11 and after the start of the war in Afghanistan, he had to have know there was a pretty good chance of getting sent abroad.

With the history the US has with Iraq it's not a hard stretch to imagine there was a pretty good chance it would be somewhere around there as well.

Sucks to be him, but you make your bed, you lie in it. If he doesn't go back, jail time awaits. Every decision you make has it's consequences. I'm not going to argue about the morality of the situation in Iraq. These are just the simple facts and it's pretty cut and dried.
 
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