Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for October 28, 2009

What GEE1A said. Our soldiers are the very best.

Yeah … it really frosts me, as an old cannoncocker who cooled his heels once upon a time on the beaches of Nha Trang, to see another war where our brave men and women in uniform are dying in the thousands for NOTHING.

At least in Afghanistan there’s a POINT to it; that’s where our enemies are. All there was in Iraq was a tin-pot dictator who al-Qaeda hated worse than they did us.

Take comfort in the idea that President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, and Secretary Rumsfeld can never go to Europe again without risking being arrested as war criminals and getting into the dock at the Hague. We might not have to wait for Divine Retribution after all. http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2009/03/29/spainweighstortureinquiryfor6formerbushofficials/

The purpose in Afghanistan? To prop up a puppet government with fraudulent elections? Yes! We’re fighting for their freedom, to be controlled by OUR dictator, not THEIR dictator.

Did you see that the CIA has had Karzai’s brother on the payroll for some time now?

I’m sorry you think that your service in ‘Nam was pointless. It wasn’t, on many levels. We drew a line in the sand that, had we not at that time, would have resulted in a changed world. If not for your service, we might all be speaking Chinese right now, and so I’m grateful to you even if you’re not seeing the perspective of it.

Iraq is the same way. It’s almost impossible to see the persective of a war where our actions prevented a tidal wave from getting larger and drowing us, so it’s difficult to think of the actions as heroic when we’re not gaining ground on a black/white evil guy like Hitler. The world isn’t so simple. But to you guys in Iraq, thanks for taking the fight to them over there so that we’re safer over here. There IS a point to what you’re doing.

58,000 dead was not pointless. Vietnam was the most unpopular war since the Civil war. Both were protested not for the war, but for the draft. Young men across the nation selfishly joined to save democracy. I am proud to stand up November 11 so I can vote November 2010.

Let’s not forget all the soldiers and marines who serve in our comic strips, too (smile).

Much respect and thanks , to my fellow vets and people in the service .

Doty said

“The real truth is no member of the US Military has done one thing to defend democracy for US citizens living in the 50 States and Territories since World War II ended.”

I’m sure all those families that have fallen soldiers really appreciate your all-knowing beneficence.

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”?

You’re entitled to feel as bitter as you like, but if we lived in a world where North and South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia were all flying the Chinese flag, the entire Middle East was under Iraqui or Iranian rule (or a nuclear holocost after Israel got caught in the middle of a war between them), and the Soviet Union had stayed strong and expanded into the rest of Germany and most of the rest of Europe (my best friend served on the Berlin Wall, and he knows what he did to protect democracy), then perhaps we’d have a better idea of the thin thread that our democracy truly hangs upon.

We intervened in all those places for a reason. They all made a difference, thanks to the sacrifice of people such as yourself. Even our current president reluctantly understands the big-picture implications of why it’s important to our freedoms to intervene.

No, you didn’t land on Omaha beach, so you think it didn’t mean anything, but (in my opinion), the action in Vietnam was, in the long run, more important than landing on that beach. It’s the same thing in Iraq, and perhaps (perhaps not) in Afghanistan. Agree or not, thanks all the same.

As one who was of draft age during the Vietnam War, but was fortunate enough to get a high lottery number, I salute the draftees of my time and the volunteers of today.

Ok about the current war. It’s an economic war. Oliver stone postulated in W that Cheney sold the idea on the dominance of oil reserves. No. not to loot directly but to control the governments in that region. This is not hollywood, it may have been possible. And people ask why the middle-east hate us so much? Never, ever think that the war is over ideology.

eardroppings: JAD removed all doubt a long time ago.

If you really don’t think that any of the conflicts since WWII have been in defense of democracy at some level, it is my considered opinion that you are a fool. If you really don’t think at some level that any of the conflicts in the Middle East are not in some part about oil, same opinion. Unfortunately, things are seldom black and white, and simply put, if underlying motives were reason enough to decry all of our military efforts, despite the overt motives, then we should surrender this nation and all of our wordly goods to anyone who wants them because we don’t deserve them. The big picture is rarely evident in the 2 minute sound byte one hears on the evening news on ANY network.

Excuse me, tearful patroits, but exactly what’s so great about this nation of obese, racist, christian right weirdos, gun-loving, war criminal, comparing-Obama-to-Hitler-news anchors, ruthless capitalists, obscene wealth for a handful of SEOs while the rest of the nation is near bankruptcy, despised by the rest of world for its foreign policy and bullying arrogance, dumbass, uneducated, unsophisticated bunch of celebrity-obsessed money-worshippers? Is that what’s called freedom?

I meant of course CEOs. (I work in internet marketing where the SEO guys are the gods.)

It wasn’t just because of the draft that we resisted. It was because the war itself seemed a little doubtful. Who wants to die for something that’s not been completely explained or justified in your mind? That’s how I felt at the time—if I have to die, I’ll just suck it in and go die. But not for something that doesn’t smell quite right. And, what do know! We were right! It was all one big lie.

All good posts, but I suggest a moment silents for our solders killed in the line of duty, and a prayer for all who serve.

\\//_

Just to lighten the mood a bit…

Celine Dion? Toggle’s bleeep lucky to only get a camel spider for that.

PS. Susan001 - right on!

Bleeep? It was just the Hoover _ _ _ or Grand Coulee _ _ _, just spelled a little differently.

Wow! you guy take your music seriously!

(And seriously, all our troops and peacekeepers deserve our respect . Canada and America are still free – that’s all the proof I need!)

Well said Steve.

Well said Steve.