Do you think people in the Military convince themselves they are dying for a cause in Iraq because ....?

Question

to think about the fact that Bush has sent them on a meaningless mission that doesnt really have anything to do with Americas security (in the case of Iraq) is too much to bear?

Im serious here, I just think its too hard for families to take that their relatives may have died in vain, so in turn they convince themselves this is a legitimate war.

BLOGBABA - Just because its a difficult question Ive posed, does that mean we should just ignore it? Im sorry but maybe if more people posed questions like this, we might start sorting out the mess rather than continuing to be gung-ho about everything and the only people losing are the American Soldiers ....... Everyday a couple of them lose their lives. Bush better have a damn good reason for that!

Answer 1

Zogby poll from last year:

--Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll shows just one in five troops want to heed Bush call to stay “as long as they are needed”
--While 58% say mission is clear, 42% say U.S. role is hazy
--Plurality believes Iraqi insurgents are mostly homegrown
--Almost 90% think war is retaliation for Saddam’s role in 9/11, most don’t blame Iraqi public for insurgent attacks

Answer 2

This war is legitimate. It may not be because of the reasons why people think it is but there is always a reason for war. If you choose to believe that the war is meaningless is your own opinion.

I am a navy vet and I think that the military is an honest way for people to make a living and do something great for other people. I think that the American public needs to get over Bush and the administration itself and realize that when we sign the dotted line it is made very clear to us that there is a chance that we could die in war. That is not hidden. So we have the opportunity to choose not to go. It may be difficult for people who have not served to know and understand but it is true. We are aware of all the possibilities that can happen. In my own opinion we should consentrate less on the meaning of the war and more on supporting the decision that these men and women made to serve. If we dont like the war there are ways we can protest that and work with our government to change things by electing the right officials who represent our opinions.

The one area that I think can be worked on is the area of pay and awards for the people who go into the armed forces. The benefits they receive are great but the bureaucracy that goes into it is too much. Lets work on that. I know people who were active duty who had financial problems. Let's work on that.

Great question!

Answer 3

What a GREAT question. How ENCOURAGING this must be to every soldier who reads it.
Let's see, in just a few sentences you've basically:
1. Accused our military of being ignorant.
2. Said that our soldiers have died in vain.
3. Implied that our brave soldiers are brainwashed.
4. Implied that family members are also ignorant and brainwashed.
5. Said that those who have lost loved ones in Iraq lost them for nothing.

I think the military would know BETTER than anyone else what their mission is, and WHY they have that mission. I know plenty of soldiers who returned from Iraq PROUD of what they had done. As a matter of fact, nearly every single one of them was proud!
But this "question" of yours...I bet it would make every single one of them ashamed, especially if you can call yourself an American.
I've met soldiers who have degrees in political science, history, and journalism. I've met soldiers who speak several languages fluently, and who read the news from ALL different sources daily. I have met VERY few uninformed or ignorant soldiers.
Oh, and I'm a proud Army wife, thank you. Most military spouses that I've met would be in agreement with you. Their husbands hate it, because they don't know a thing.

By the way, I met a couple who lost their first-born son in Iraq. They probably know MUCH more about the war than you do...they're both in administrative positions in the CIA, and they don't feel that their son died in vain.

Answer 4

my brother is a marine, and my best friend is as well. My brother hasnt been shipped out yet, but my friend is there right now. He hates being there. Anyway, if you are in the service, where you are deployed to isnt really your choice. If you are there, its all about protecting your fellow american troops, and just getting the mission accomplished. I think it lyes more within the bounds of if you die, you at least died serving your fellow americans at your side. Aside from that, im not much for the war. I think that its evil in nature to bad mouth a soldier risking his life in the american military. The reason? He only joined to protect YOU, regardless as to what the mission is. You arent willing to take a bullet for him, but he is for you... and thats regardless of what mission the government sends him on.

Answer 5

I believe the military knows more than we do about what is going on over there. Re-enlistment is UP - doesn't that say enough?

And I don't understand why people question the ligitimacy of this war. Saddam violated the cease-fire after the Gulf War HOW many times? Why are we the only country expected to cater to the UN? Iraq flipped 'em the bird for 12 years. Why didn't the UN actually *do* something about it?

Answer 6

As a Soldier who was in Iraq, I can tell you we didn't even really care about the reasoning behind being there. We were focused on our jobs and the mission.

If you've been there, you'd know. If you haven't, you don't. That applies to pretty much anything involving it.

Answer 7

My son is in Iraq, he says that the IA's (Iraqi people that are in the Iraqi Army) are just like us, they just want peace. These are the people he says he needs to be there for. To help train them so they can do it for themselfs. We can't train them properly without the things we need to do it with. He could care less what Bushwar is going on over there, he's just doing what he thinks is right.

Answer 8

The reason that the troops support what they are doing is because they see what is really happening instead of what the news media chooses to tell you.

BTW - has anybody noticed that you can tell who in the previous answers have no military experience because they try to rationalize away the viewpoints of people who have seen what is going on in Iraq for themselves?

Answer 9

While your at it why don't you rip the scabs of some old wounds and pour lemon juice on em. No one knows how they will react in combat until they find themselves in it. To try and blanket the mind set of all people in the Military serving in Iraq and claim to know how they adjust to their situation intellectually and morally is impossible. No soldier ever died in vain, regardless of the legitimacy of the mission.

Each of us deal with the death of loved ones in our own way. In the future tread respectfully near subjects like this one. In desperate situations, people (and yes soldiers are people) use whatever is available to protect their minds and bodies. Most understand the political relevancy of their unit mission is out of their hands. They deal with their jobs to the best of their ability and try to survive.

Answer 10

Soldiers dont worry about the politics, and they dont die for a country or for a "cause". Soldiers die for their brothers-in-arms. THATS what matters to them. Protecting their friends next to them who are gladly protecting them in return.