"Support the troops by bringing them home"?

Question

This is the mantra of the "Out of Iraq" crowd. I understand what they mean in the sense that they believe lives are being lost for a "useless" cause. But, "support the troops by bringing them home" as a catch phrase makes no sense to me. Troops are not sent to war with the primary goal of "bringing them home" before victory is achieved or they wouldn't be sent out in the first place. Of course we want all of them to return safely, but troops are sent to war to assuage any threat to the U.S. that the Commander-in-Chief deems valid. There is no draft; members of the U.S. Armed Forces courageously volunteer to risk their lives to protect the freedoms and liberties we enjoy as Americans. They understand that they have no control over where they are going and what they are doing, yet they volunteer regardless. Unless the objective has been achieved, "supporting the troops by bringing them home" seems to equate to a polite admission of no-confidence in our military.

I know that anti-war folks despise the President and despise the reasons why he sent our troops to Iraq, so you can save your rants for someone who cares. I am genuinely looking for a well-conceived, thoughtful explanation for why the "support the troops by bringing them home" rhetoric makes any logical sense. They seems like empty words to one who is capable of separating emotion from reason.

Okay folks, I'm not interested in a debate on the merits of the war that our troops are currently fighting. Please read the question before answering.

Geoff C and rockandroll: Thank you both for your service to our country. I'm amused by the irony that the only two "troops" to answer my question happen to share my sentiments. That says a thing or two. "Support the troops by bringing them home," if genuine, should make sense to the troops, right? Most of you people and your non-answers are the reason why your position lacks credibility and fails to pass the smell test.

Answer 1

as someone who was there and left wounded. I would like to see the mission carried out till finished.

If we do the cut and run it will be hard for me to see the fact that I will live the rest of my life on pain killers and still in pain as a useful endever.

like the president or not there are good things being done over there and you might not agree with his reasons for going but it was a good thing we did.

If i was given my health back today I would immedietly re-join the Marine Corps and go back.

alot of them say they support the troops only to aviod being bashed. you know most of us don't care if the people or goverment of France, Russia, Germany, Spain or any other country wants us in Iraq, but it is disheartening when our own people say what they say. In a sense many of us feel like you are belittling our effort over there.

In my opinion many of these people rank right up there with Jane Fonda

And to answer the question of how we win. Well we get enough control that the iraqis see that true freedom is possible and that they can get behind it. once they feel they can get behind it then they will weed out the insurgents. It is already happening.

ADDITION: for those still bringing out the mission accomplished crap. you didnt even listen to his speach did you and you dont know what the sign was for do you?

The crew of the carrier flew the banner because their mission had indeed been accomplished -- they had successfully supported the invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, and were returning to the United States. Instead, everyone has attributed the banner's message to George Bush.

Bush hardly communicated anything remotely like "the war is over": speech below

"We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We're bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous. We're pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be held to account for their crimes. We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. We're helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools. And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people.
The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq."

Answer 2

What is the definition of victory in this particular war?

This is not a smart-*** question... this is honestly my problem with this war. We are not fighting a army or a nation. Are we waiting for the Iraqi government to act like a real and independent government? That could take years and coul continue into failure. Are we just waiting for the security forces to "stand up"? Why havn't we resolved this one piece in 5 years? That is a long time to train soldiers... a long time. If it was possible then we would have done it already.

I am not saying we should pull out tonight... but we need to look at this realistically. And I havn't even mentioned the re-deployments or the cost of an occupation... once again, we have to be realistic.

Answer 3

Well, if you believe that victory is not possible, and that it is inevitable that Iraq will descend into chaos, then the phrase makes sense. If you believe that the war will end up the same rather it ends now or in 5, 10, or 15 years, then the best support for the troops would be to bring them home ASAP.

Think about it this way, if you were a baseball manager, and every time your pitcher pitches to Bonds, he hits a homer, your reaction to support the pitcher and team would be to walk him the next time up, not continue to pitch to him.

Answer 4

I believe the idea of "Supporting the troops by bringing them home..."- stems from the very REAL probability that ALL we're ever going to get out of our continued presence there- is MORE American Casualties. Period. Our original objectives were achieved; we got RID of Sadam; found no WMDs- and set up a "Sympathic Government"... We have NO FURTHUR business trying to impose OUR democratic values- on a Muslim country. Whether we Occupy Iraq or not, religious turmoil will CONTINUE to wrack that Country- because its Peoples were not ALLOWED to resolve their differences under it's previous Dictator- and now they CAN, because WE don't have NEARLY enough troops there to do anything about it. Thus, for every day we remain in Iraq, a Soldier or two (or Three -or Four...) of ours will get "picked off"- as they have for over 4 years now- until we FINALLY pull out & "let the chips fall where they Will..." The evidence is GRAPHIC: the "Tribes" of the Middle East control that Country. Not us. All WE can do- is "put a lid on" some of the Violence... -while providing ample "target practice" for every Arab malcontent in a 500 mile radius of Baghdad. Now if our Soldiers want to "volunteer" to go to Iraq to join the ranks of "Heros"- filling up Arlington Cemetary, that IS their choice. But it's costing the American PEOPLE -MANY Billions of $$$s a MONTH- to keep this conflict going. And don't we have anything BETTER to spend that kind of money on- besides a "War" with NO END- in sight??? ...The man we Elected into Office made a MISTAKE when he took us into Iraq. Our brave, (mostly) young Soldiers- did NOT. They followed orders, did their job (over, & Over, & OVER- again, -depending upon how many times they've been sent BACK), -& HOPEFULLY, came home once in awhile. We owe it to THEM, US, & every additional Soldier who IS GOING TO DIE between NOW & whenever- to limit the continuing Drain on our military & financial resources. In other words; it's time to GET OUT. ...Now.

Answer 5

""supporting the troops by bringing them home" seems to equate to a polite admission of no-confidence in our military."

Then please, explain to us how do you win this situation where the enemy hides between the civilians and where 2 different factions who are fighting us are also fighting against eachother. Its a free for all in Iraq...plain and simple. Everyone wants their share but nobody is willing to compromise or negotiate because they cant fathom to settle their religious differences. "An enemy of an enemy is my friend" is a very dangerous way to fight a war because you neve know when they might turn on you. The fact is that no political progress has been made in the Iraqi government. How long have we been playing nice with their government to get their acts togehter? Every time we seem to lower the standards to them...every time we put a little heat and pressure on them they crumble. I think if we start threathening a pullout they might just kick it into high gear and start acting.

Answer 6

So, you understand the logic of the phrase, but disagree with it's content; and therefore dismiss it as unreasonable? You must be a Republican. Soldiers do two things- defend and destroy. That's what they're trained for, and that's what they're good at. They are not missionaries to spread Jesus and Democracy. The war is over- so let them go home. The only reason that they are still in Iraq, is that President Bush still doesn't understand what to do with them. You could have supported the troops by voting for competent leadership, but you decided that gay marriage was more important. I trust the military implicitly- unfortunately their Commander in Chief is a fool.

And while you've got that Smell Test out, lets run "fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them here" under it and see what you get. I'm guessing it's a mixture of equal parts bovine and equestrian fecal matter. I've explained to you how supporting a stupid war is not the same as supporting the troops, could you please explain to me how miring ourselves in a civil war in Iraq is restricting the movements of terrorists across the world?

Answer 7

Well because no matter how many people we kill or die for our country Iraq cannot gain total independance with our help they need to do it themselves. So why not save many lives bring the troops home and let the country settle this problem that we have created becuase we are only making it worse being there.

Answer 8

Then this war will never end, if you had invading Muslim countrys invade America would you ever give up to oust them?

The troops have done their best but its now time for another solution since this is not working. Support your troops to end this needless bloodshed.

Answer 9

Good luck in getting a coherent answer to that one. Thats because there isn't one. In order to avoid being accused of not supporting the troops, that little ditty was made up. Its BS in its finest form. The anti-war anti-U.S. crowd has a million of them.

Answer 10

You seem to be dismissing one little thing. The troops are on mission impossible. There is no "beating" terrorism with military force. It's a sham, a folly, a slogan. Believe what you want, I believe bringing our troops home is the best way we can serve them at this point.