Thought I would chime in here seeing how I am on those "guys who wears the boots and carries the rifles." I am Combat Veteran who has fought in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The people from Afghanistan are Afghans. Afghanis are their currency. Is war Big Business=YES. Is our Military strained=YES. Is our military better (technologically, tactically) today than let say the year 2000=HELL YES. Additionally, just because the Brits and Aussies pull out it doesn’t mean there is no one remaining in the fight. Many smaller countries still have troops on the ground providing support. If you haven’t been on the ground then you have no idea of what is going on there, So please do not buy in to the media’s BS. We have helped many Iraqis and Afghans build their communities, not to mirror ours, but at minimum, to ensure they have the minimum necessities such as water and electricity, which it so happens many did not have under Saddam’s regime. The strife caused by religious feuding is an issue that is deeper than most can imagine and one that I cannot even begin to explain.

Lastly, don’t feel sorry for us Soldiers that go off in to battle because while some choose to flip burgers we choose to get up every morning and train to kill the enemy so that whenever we are called upon we are ready. All some of us ask for is that you show support and be proud of the fact that there still are Americans willing to take that oath to support and defend our Nation regardless of the consequences of our Leaders actions.

FYI, The Oath of enlistment:
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.



So………………how about those New York Yankees?

In reality there will be no winners except the weapons manufacturers and possibly the oil industry, I don't care about people in Iran or Iraq, I care about our citizens which include my kids and our future generations. This war has to stop its a farce. Our kids over there putting their lives on the line deserve better! If need be spend the money defending our borders or in star wars programs so that if a nuc is launched at us we can blow it up before it hits us, we have had this technology for at least 20 years. Our economy is in the toilet and getting worse, when is the last time before Bush took office that the Canadian dollar was stronger than the US dollar = NEVER. What's next is the Mexican Peso going to be stronger that the US dollar??

[quote=BLKOPSUSA]Thought I would chime in here seeing how I am on those "guys who wears the boots and carries the rifles." I am Combat Veteran who has fought in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The people from Afghanistan are Afghans. Afghanis are their currency. Is war Big Business=YES. Is our Military strained=YES. Is our military better (technologically, tactically) today than let say the year 2000=HELL YES. Additionally, just because the Brits and Aussies pull out it doesn’t mean there is no one remaining in the fight. Many smaller countries still have troops on the ground providing support. If you haven’t been on the ground then you have no idea of what is going on there, So please do not buy in to the media’s BS. We have helped many Iraqis and Afghans build their communities, not to mirror ours, but at minimum, to ensure they have the minimum necessities such as water and electricity, which it so happens many did not have under Saddam’s regime. The strife caused by religious feuding is an issue that is deeper than most can imagine and one that I cannot even begin to explain.

Lastly, don’t feel sorry for us Soldiers that go off in to battle because while some choose to flip burgers we choose to get up every morning and train to kill the enemy so that whenever we are called upon we are ready. All some of us ask for is that you show support and be proud of the fact that there still are Americans willing to take that oath to support and defend our Nation regardless of the consequences of our Leaders actions.

FYI, The Oath of enlistment:
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

[quote]

:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

All this is fine, but has nothing to do with the reason I posted those 2 articles and that graph, which is your claim that profits from war are down. My posts show quite the opposite. More money is being spent on military than ever, and a higher percentage of the military budget is being spent on private contractors than ever before. That means that things that used to be done by the military themselves are now being outsourced to private contractors.

I think our disagreement here is that you don't think there is any conflict of interest when those profiting from war are also helping to make military decisions. Perhaps you would like to live in a town where the owners of the local cemetary and funeral parlor also help to make your medical decisions. :thumbup:

The war is taking so long, not because it has to, but because they want it to. The longer it goes on, the more money they will make. It is by design.

Just curious, but what happens when the President violates the constitution? What do you do in order to keep your word on this oath?

I also find it interesting how you quote Edward Murrow in your signature. Are you aware that he was probably the biggest anti-war and anti-military media figure in our country's history? He was quite a bit left of the Democratic Party, and was often accused of being a Communist. George Clooney made a movie about him a couple of years ago, and Keith Olberman (probably the most liberal host on cable news today) uses his line "Good Night and Good Luck" at the end of every broadcast.

You made the assumption that went to Iraq. Which it didn't. I never said there were no conflicts of interest, and your leap of judgement goes in line with your current thread..amazing. :thumbup:

"and in case I don't see you, good afternoon good evening and good night" - Truman Show :rofl:

And I didn't accuse you of saying that. I was basically saying that you think the conflicts of interest are ok, i.e. you don't think they are a problem that needs to be dealt with. We disagree there. I think if there were no conflicts of interest, our military budget would be around $100 billion, not $700 billion.

You need to listen to your guy McCain and the stuff he says about "earmarks", and then apply that thinking to the military budget.

Powerfully cynical but I couldn’t agree more

Where is Lam :P