the true values to die for your country?

Question

I begin to say this is nothing to do with the morality
of our soldiers in Iraq or afghanistan
so do not take this question in the wrong way.

I want to know if you really believe to go to war
with the idea you go to fight or even die
in the name of liberty and freedom?

do you really believe your government ask you
to sacrifice your life in order to free the Iraqi people?

PS note
all radical conservative safe your political comments
cause I'm not democrat or liberal
and of course not a republican.

Answer 1

when you start out, it may be a matter of patriotism, belief in the cause, etc.

But once your in a unit, what you're fighting for is your buddy. You fight for your platoon, your company, your battalion.

The government does have the right, since the congress authorized the use of force, to ask us to fight for the freedom of the Iraqi people.

Answer 2

As a retired military person, I followed the orders that were given to us by our chain of command. Do I think that we are in Iraq to "Liberate" the Iraqi people, no. The war that was about liberating a people was Desert Storm where Iraq had invaded Kuwait, a sovereign nation and US ally in the middle east. The war is about building democracies where oppressed people were living under the rule of cruel dictatorships, not because we cared more about the Iraqis and Afghani people than others under similar rule, but because these governments were sympathetic to terrorists and we feared that they would provide weapons and technology to those terrorists. Yes, I know that they are saying there were no WMDs and no proof that Saddam Hussein was supporting Osama Bin Laden, but other facts are that Hussein did have and use WMDs in the past, What happened to them? Afghanistan did provide safe haven and training camps for terrorist groups under the Taliban rule (Including Al Queda) and let us not forget Iraq's (Saddam Hussein) defiance of UN Security Council Resolution for elevin Years. Going to war and yes possibly dying is a possibility that everyone who puts on the Uniforms of their country know is a reality they may face. We also know that we do not see or hear all the intelligence, data and diplomatic courses that have been used prior to the declaration of hostile action. As someone who took part in covert operations, I'm glad that all the intel isn't public knowledge. Thank you for a well phrased question that doesn't have the sole intent of drawing a political party line!

Answer 3

The US has, in the past, sent troops merely to help others, and some of our soldiers have died. Examples are Somalia and Bosnia.
However, the war in Iraq is not only to help the Iraqi people, though this is one of its purposes. Iraq was and is a center of terrorism, and stabilizing Iraq may prevent some future attacks on the US.

Answer 4

Freedom is everybody's birthright. So struggling for your own and your country's freedom is justified in that way.
Yes i do believe in the idea of going to fight and die in the name of freedom. Not because it involves voilence but because it involves truth and justice.
I'm a great admirer of Gandhian philosophy of truth and non voilence but i also admire the innumerous sacrifices made by true martyrs.
And mentioning Iraq and Afganistan dilutes the strength of your question. Because i personally feel it was one of biggest failures in recent times. America was wrong in this.
Iraq was surviving much more peacefully than it is now.
Everyday scores of innocent citizens are killed and troops are also dying.
So i don't think this plot itself was correct by any means.

Answer 5

Let me answer this with a quote from John Stuart Mill.

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

- John Stuart Mill

Answer 6

The Iraqis are less free today than when this dishonest war was started. Their economy is a shambles, millions are refugees in neighboring countries, living in abject poverty, their lives are constantly in danger, and their country has become a terrorist heartland thanks to Bush. So we are NOT providing freedom for anyone there. So what is the point of sacrificing your life or anything else? Our involvement in Iraq has been bad for the Iraqis and has made the world less safe while killing tens of thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of innocent people.

Answer 7

I Believe its a honor to die for one's on countries freedom and liberty not another one's.

Answer 8

In the words of a great man, War isn't about dying for your country. It's about making the other guy die for his.

Answer 9

Let me put it another way for you. Those of us who placed our lives in harms way for others did so out of a sense of loyalty and the belief that we were/are doing the right thing. Another way to say it is biblically. "Greater love hath no man that he lay down his life for a friend."

Answer 10

I was willing to give up my life....that is just the way I feel.

God Bless America and our Troops !!!

USMC 1983-1989