If and when the world decides to prevent this form of assault, the world can dispense with a military and focus upon productivity rather than warfare. That day hasn’t arrived.

What did arrive, though, as long as mankind has recorded history, is the preference for military honor as opposed to dishonor. For those who capitalize upon military dishonor, it is as crippling as to have no military at all.

Regardless of what the government does to impede or to support the military, there can be no military without inductees or volunteers – so the hypocrisy has real impact upon all citizens. No nation can afford to play with the fire of hypocrisy surrounding its military and still expect to have one.

US Army propaganda??? Oh boy, I think you may have a problem with your grasp on reality.

“I can read, so I know the official reasons for Afhgan War. Bush would have never been re-elected without 9/11 attacks so he had to begin the war against terrorism. Tough call. CIA knew about the attacks but US war industry needed a new opponent after the Soviet Union fell to keep the wheels and dollars rolling.”

More baloney, buts it’s plenty interesting.

“What comes to Iraq, legal based attack etc. is what US government told the press to get acceptance to the attack from the world.”

So the entire world is stupid. That or legally-binding agreements between nations mean absolutely nothing….

“CIA knew about the attacks but US war industry needed a new opponent after the Soviet Union fell to keep the wheels and dollars rolling.”

Cute, and completely false.

“US lost Venezuelan oil fields after Chavez came to power and US sorely needs to control the flow of oil to have their share of the oil markets.”

Funny, the Venezualans are still one of our largest suppliers of oil.

“US gasoline money is pennies compared to the oil needs of the rising dragon of China!!! China is one big reason for huge rises in the oil prices and of course US owned oil companies want to keep their share of profits. If you can count 1+1 you can see the connection here…almost half of China’s oil come from the Middle East and the consumption is on the rise.”

I don’t know exactly where you are trying to go with this statement, it certainly doesn’t follow the line that the U.S. invaded Iraq for its oil resources.

It would be a strong argument for China’s continuing support of a genocidal regime in the Sudan however….

“The poorer folks do most of the basic fighting.”

Really? I came from a middle-class home with a private school education and a college degree and I was far from unique amongst my fellow sailors. The average education of a U.S. servicemember is 13.5 years, meaning that most servicemen have some college. Your phenomenal ignorance of the U.S. military is absolutely breathtaking. You should probably just do yourself a favor and not feign knowledge on a subject you so very clearly ignorant, because those of us who actually served (or know anybody who served) know better.

I don’t hate Micheal Moore at all, I see him as a terribly misguided, hypocritical, dissembler who is a tool of the enemies of the United States. His “documentary” is like all of his other work, poorly researched and dishonestly edited.

No matter how much you call me numbskull, which is not very mature btw, I still refuse to believe the propaganda US army feeds us.

I can read, so I know the official reasons for Afhgan War. Bush would have never been re-elected without 9/11 attacks so he had to begin the war against terrorism. Tough call. CIA knew about the attacks but US war industry needed a new opponent after the Soviet Union fell to keep the wheels and dollars rolling.

What comes to Iraq, legal based attack etc. is what US government told the press to get acceptance to the attack from the world. Bush Jr. wanted to finish what his father Bush started. First US financed Iraqis in their war against Iran and after they couldn’t control Saddam.

At the start of the war, U.S. officials argued that Iraq and its alleged weapons of mass destruction posed an imminent threat to the interest of the United States, Europe and the other nations of the Middle East. The intelligence was supported by British intelligence, as well as given tacit support by Russian and German intelligence. But the intelligence was also criticized by others and weapons inspectors found no evidence of WMD. After the invasion, the Iraq Survey Group concluded that Iraq had ended its WMD programs in 1991 and had no active programs at the time of the invasion, but that they intended to resume production if and when the Iraq sanctions were lifted. Although some earlier degraded remnants of misplaced or abandoned WMD were found, they were not the weapons for which the coalition invaded. Some U.S. officials claimed Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda had been cooperating, but no evidence of any collaborative relationship has been found. Other reasons for the invasion stated by officials included concerns over Iraq’s financial support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, Iraqi government human rights abuses, spreading democracy, and Iraq’s oil reserves, although the latter has been denied by other officials.

The war in Iraq looks strongly like an offensive war, no better than the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938. It is an invasion to guarantee oil rights. I don’t care about the gasoline prises in US. This oil thing goes WAY beyond that. US lost Venezuelan oil fields after Chavez came to power and US sorely needs to control the flow of oil to have their share of the oil markets. US gasoline money is pennies compared to the oil needs of the rising dragon of China!!! China is one big reason for huge rises in the oil prices and of course US owned oil companies want to keep their share of profits. If you can count 1+1 you can see the connection here…almost half of China’s oil come from the Middle East and the consumption is on the rise.

I quite believe what the original text says, patriotism and loyalty drives young people to serve in the US Army. You must hate Michael Moore but in his document about 9/11 he claims that drafting is most effective in areas with high unemployment rates, among people with no clear future. Fancy schools tend to produce officers and special troops. The poorer folks do most of the basic fighting.

The reasoning for the invasion of Afghanistan should be evident, even to a numbskull like you.

The invasion of Iraq was legal based on Iraq’s refusal to abide by the cease fire agreement it signed with the United States in 1991, and the violation of 16 UN resolutions to follow. That the mission now is to stabilize Iraq and set up a meaningful democracy is just gravy, so to speak.

As to your contention that the invasion of Iraq was predicated on securing its oil resources, $4/gallon at the pump in the U.S. proves this to be a fallacy.

I am a Finnish citizen and my point of view is based on the information we get here in Northern Europe. Fighting for democracy and freedom seem to us like a big lie to cover the true reasons behind Iraq/Afghan wars.

But why are US soldiers fighting in Iraq? Is this really the war against terrorism? In my opinion this is a war to guarantee US rights to rich oilfields. This is an oilwar disguised as fight for democracy. There were no chemical weapons in Iraq and no nuclear weapons as US government claimed but while they knew this it was a perfect cover to start a war. How about the Afghan war? An easy way to test new weapons in a remote area?

When things go wrong at home couple wars help to shift the attention away from problems at home. It is like Republic of Rome revisited.

What about western democracy? What is it really about. The more west we go the more it is about money. That is why western democracies have supported fascist and military juntas in the past. To ensure the safe business of big companies which in turn finance the politicians. Real freedom is bad for business. It is sad to see how the poor people seem to get whacked all the time cause they have little value in face of big profits for global companies. Who cares about couple thousand dead civilians when US is “bringing freedom and democracy” to Iraq and Afghanistan. It seems like those two countries have a big majority who don’t want our western democracy. Or can you explain why they are fighting back so eagerly?

US troops are invaders in a foreign country. Iraqis are fighting for their freedom. Honor your opponents, recognize their rights to their own patriotism and you will understand why they make suicide attacks and fight back their own way. Most Iraqis are just ordinary people who want peace.

What comes to your congressmen. They have their right to think independently and disagree with the present US policy. It is true that offensive wars on the other side of the globe are difficult if they don’t have support from home. Was this Iraq war really necessary? Some of your congressmen seem to think no.

I am just as patriotic as US soldiers. I only have a different point of view. If my country would be invaded, I would fight back no matter how hopeless the situation would seem. I would fight for my loved ones and for all my country stands for. Still I honor the US soldiers who are doing their duty, they are just small pieces in a big machinery doing what they are told. Peace to your souls.

I don’t remember being brutalized in the Navy, but what do I know, I was only *actually* in the military.

BTW, the draft is not the answer, as anybody who has served will tell you. I know I certainly wouldn’t have wanted some whiny malcontented leftist douchebag standing watch with me while on alert under the Atlantic.

Charlie Rangel (D-NY) is the only person who promoted the idea of reintroducing the draft.

“Just remember, the Fascists and the Nazi’s ranks were composed of the kind of angry, brutalized servicemen who felt cheated by their country in the last war.”

So, basically you’re saying that the Democrats and other assorted lefties who feel cheated because they were drafted are the new Nazis??? I heartily agree!!

Mr Rusin,

Good job pointing out fact v. fiction.

Here is the race/ethnicity distribution of American military deaths during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

According to a Congressional Research Service report (see page 3), the combat fatality numbers as of March 1, 2008, are: White (74.8%), Hispanic/Latino (10.7%), Black (9.5%), Asian (1.9%), Mixed or unknown (1.1%), Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (1.1%), American Indian or Alaska Native (1.0%).

Data compiled in a Brookings Institution report (see page 19) yield a nearly identical distribution.

These percentages are quite close to those of the United States as a whole, as you can easily check.

End of story.