Thread: F**k the Troops

Originally Posted by Caprisun

We can live in a civilized manner, but not without war.

War is Peace, right?

Originally Posted by BLUELINE976

War is Peace, right?

Sometimes you have to kill weeds to grow lawn grass. Does that mean killing plants is growing plants?

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

Sometimes you have to kill weeds to grow lawn grass. Does that mean killing plants is growing plants?

Honestly, did the United States have problems with the Middle East prior to the creation of Israel or even up until the 1960's?

Even further, maybe the Middle East has been so distrustful of the West since Britain, for example, tried to take over Afghanistan in the early 20th Century, which was further supplemented by American fuck-uppery in the whole region?

If the United States were so concerned over protecting themselves, wouldn't it make sense to build a strong defense instead of spreading its army over the entire world?

A few good things doesn't excuse the horrible things both of them did. I am not going to go into it, since there are entire books on why both suck. Though most are related to expanding government to insane levels. Examples include social security, suspending habeas corpus, income tax, arresting and detaining innocent civilians, and both generally thought the consitution was worth more as toilet paper than as a legal document.

And the secession, that was a horrible thing. We should not have had a war over it. States are totally within their rights to leave if they want.

Originally Posted by BLUELINE976

If the United States were so concerned over protecting themselves, wouldn't it make sense to build a strong defense instead of spreading its army over the entire world?

I'm probably a wee bit late in replying to this, and I don't really want to get too deep into this debate, but...my answer to this is "not necessarily".

It kills me to have to make a biology analogy, but...is spreading out and "stationing" one's forces in multiple areas not the very same tactic that viruses use? Viruses spread to different parts of the body rather than clump together and "make a stand" at one concentrated point. If they spread out, the body's immune system can only handle so much in any given area; by the time your white blood cells are finished forcing apoptosis upon infected cells in one area of the body, the virus has already taken its toll in countless other places.

Granted, humans themselves aren't exactly viruses, but the principle is vaguely similar. The fact that America has bits and pieces of itself scattered across the world helps to ensure that its position is secured. Someone said earlier that the U.S. could reduce its military size by about 20% and still maintain its dominance. Why not spread that extra 20% around elsewhere just to be dead certain that nobody tries to pull a fast one on us? I'm not really a war tactician, but it makes plenty of sense to me.

Anyway, there's my two cents on the matter. Have fun.

Originally Posted by Lëzen

I'm probably a wee bit late in replying to this, and I don't really want to get too deep into this debate, but...my answer to this is "not necessarily".

It kills me to have to make a biology analogy, but...is spreading out and "stationing" one's forces in multiple areas not the very same tactic that viruses use? Viruses spread to different parts of the body rather than clump together and "make a stand" at one concentrated point. If they spread out, the body's immune system can only handle so much in any given area; by the time your white blood cells are finished forcing apoptosis upon infected cells in one area of the body, the virus has already taken its toll in countless other places.

Granted, humans themselves aren't exactly viruses, but the principle is vaguely similar. The fact that America has bits and pieces of itself scattered across the world helps to ensure that its position is secured. Someone said earlier that the U.S. could reduce its military size by about 20% and still maintain its dominance. Why not spread that extra 20% around elsewhere just to be dead certain that nobody tries to pull a fast one on us? I'm not really a war tactician, but it makes plenty of sense to me.

Anyway, there's my two cents on the matter. Have fun.

War is like a virus eating away at our society.

Originally Posted by stonedape

War is like a virus eating away at our society.

Not really.

Originally Posted by Caprisun

Not really.

So our culture isn't violent then?

Originally Posted by Lëzen

I'm probably a wee bit late in replying to this, and I don't really want to get too deep into this debate, but...my answer to this is "not necessarily".

It kills me to have to make a biology analogy, but...is spreading out and "stationing" one's forces in multiple areas not the very same tactic that viruses use? Viruses spread to different parts of the body rather than clump together and "make a stand" at one concentrated point. If they spread out, the body's immune system can only handle so much in any given area; by the time your white blood cells are finished forcing apoptosis upon infected cells in one area of the body, the virus has already taken its toll in countless other places.

Granted, humans themselves aren't exactly viruses, but the principle is vaguely similar. The fact that America has bits and pieces of itself scattered across the world helps to ensure that its position is secured. Someone said earlier that the U.S. could reduce its military size by about 20% and still maintain its dominance. Why not spread that extra 20% around elsewhere just to be dead certain that nobody tries to pull a fast one on us? I'm not really a war tactician, but it makes plenty of sense to me.

Anyway, there's my two cents on the matter. Have fun.

Bits and pieces? The U.S. has 700 military bases around the world!