Clay Hunt served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, where he was wounded, shot through the left wrist on patrol near the wasp nest of battles, Falluja. Two weeks ago Hunt killed himself in his Sugar Land, Texas, apartment.
Marine Corps brothers, Texas friends and family, and schoolmates believe Hunt's suicide is a wake-up call for America. All ask why?
CNN's Paul Vercammen explores the story of Clay Hunt, who is described by one mourner as "an American badass with a heart of gold."
So the truth comes out. According to Afgan news: By Tom A. Peter, Correspondent / April 14, 2011
Kandahar, Afghanistan
As the dust settles in Afghanistan after sustained protest over a Florida pastor's Quran burning, many residents in Kandahar are facing an unpleasant truth: More Qurans were burned in the course of their protests than by Terry Jones.
The demonstrations, which started peacefully, quickly turned violent, killing at least nine people and injuring scores in Kandahar City alone. And as protesters vandalized a girls’ school and set fire to shops, Qurans also inadvertently went up in flames.
This needs to make American Newspapers!
This is the demonstration that Quran burning was just an excuse. They are really fighting against an invasion.
Egypt is not invaded. You comparing apple to orange, but you are just 15, it is normal.
Reading the entire story gives a fuller picture – those protestors got a talking to:
By Tom A. Peter, Correspondent / April 14, 2011
Kandahar, Afghanistan
As the dust settles in Afghanistan after sustained protest over a Florida pastor's Quran burning, many residents in Kandahar are facing an unpleasant truth: More Qurans were burned in the course of their protests than by Terry Jones.
The demonstrations, which started peacefully, quickly turned violent, killing at least nine people and injuring scores in Kandahar City alone. And as protesters vandalized a girls’ school and set fire to shops, Qurans also inadvertently went up in flames.
“If they burn a shop, there is a Quran in every shop, so this is a big problem,” says Azizullah Aziz, a perfume and soap salesman in Kandahar City. “People don’t know how to protest.”
On Wednesday, the province’s top spiritual leaders moved to address the irony – and promote restraint at a time when passions are running high over the US war effort. They called a shura, or meeting, and told the crowd of several hundred people that gathered in a tent at Kandahar University how to protest in an Islamic manner.
Tooryali Wesa, the governor of Kandahar Province, says gatherings like this are important because, after three decades of war, civic expression is a foreign concept for many Afghans.
“Demonstrations and protests are pretty young in the country, especially here in Kandahar. It’s not very usual, so people have to be educated about that,” says Mr. Wesa.
Inside the tent, the mood was somber. Afghans sat cross-legged on carpets laid out over the dirt, receiving what amounted to a stern reprimand. Many looked down and thumbed prayer beads as various speakers shouted into microphones, delivering their passionate pleas for order at future demonstrations.
“One person burned the holy Quran in America. This was not good, so we came to speak out and protest, but unfortunately the police fired on us because they did not know what the protest was about,” said Maulavi Mohammed Omar, a prominent mullah in Kandahar. “Why did people burn the shops and markets, and the holy Quran? That is not good.”
Seek elders' advice
Islam does not discourage protests, said the mullahs. But, they said, when something happens that causes concern, citizens must seek the advice of their religious leaders before taking action. They added that any protest should also have clear goals.
“You have to respect what the mullahs say. If they say protest, you have to protest. If they say don’t protest, you can’t protest. They know the Islamic law for when to protest,” said Haji Rahmudeen, head of the Kandahar Business Association, in his address to the crowd.
The mullahs spoke with Afghan government officials before the meeting, but independently organized the event.
In addition to imploring citizens to maintain order during protests, the mullahs called on the government to better prepare the police to deal with protesters, ensure that government and international forces respect Islamic and Afghan culture, and stop international forces from conducting night raids, among other demands.
There was much speculation that Wednesday’s event could end in yet another protest. Indeed, all the ingredients were there to stoke the ever-present well of anger over the ongoing foreign presence. During Mr. Omar’s speech, he reminded the crowd that America was still the enemy and its soldiers are “killing our 2-year-old children in our homes.”
At an Afghan demonstration, such remarks would normally be met with shouts from the crowd and calls for “Death to America.” But on Wednesday, the crowd just quietly listened. When the event ended, few people stayed even to socialize as the crowd shuffled out of the tent, returning to their cars or bicycles.
“We are serious about it. We don’t want these kinds of demonstrations in our province. If people want to react to something, they must do it in a peaceful way,” said Maulavi Enayatullah, a member of the religious scholar’s union in Kandahar city after attending Wednesday’s gathering.
Peacefull demonstrations are useless.
Tell that to the people in Egypt.
nucular – Ehypt is not invaded like Afghanistan. You are comparing apples to oranges, but you are excused
as you are just 15 and work in your parent's basement.
Throwing a tantrum rarely works and usually backfires. At least these fools had the grace to be ashamed of themselves.
Salerno: So Peaceful demonstrations are useless? "The demonstrations, which started peacefully, quickly turned violent, killing at least nine people and injuring scores in Kandahar City alone. And as protesters vandalized a girls’ school and set fire to shops, Qurans also inadvertently went up in flames." What was gained here by the demonstrators by turning violent? Nine Afghanistan people were killed by other Afghans. A girl's school and shops were burned. Tell me – in this demonstration who were the losers?
NucularInternets – You are doing a great job. You are light years beyond your fifteen years of age.
cput – you are more able than Mikey or Michele in substaining your opinion as you do not falsifie the facts, but simply give your interpretation. I think that US occupation is responsible for the violence and it is not important for muslims if some Qurans got burned as it was done accidentally. I don't know who the Afghan killed were and who was the killer, but the criminal Afghan police surely was involved.
Hey, salamee, high school dropout – providing an INTERPRETATION does NOT equate to providing FACTS.
You RUN on bias, opinion, gossip, slant, twist, libel, and slander. You would not recognize a fact if it fell on you (which, in fact, has happened). Several times.
Michele- I have no problem with you as tolerating stupids is the highest form of charity a spiritual one, so you are giving me just an opportunity. Giving an interpretation is not altering facts, and this is why I said cput is not alterating facts like you, stupid.
another empty retort.
You have no arguments. Your limited intellectual resources are exhausted. The only emptyness is in your brain.
Good again....at least you go down swinging.
I stay firm, stick on my point.
Ibn al-Nafis: If you want to understand rights – read Thomas Paine's pamplet "Common Sense" which was published in 1776. Then read his "Age of Reason" which came out in 1794 and 1795. Better yet you can go to google.com and put in Common Sense or Age of Reason and read them online.
Yacobi is right. It is nopossible to compare arabic with english as the latter is a barbaric languages derived from a mix of 3 other languages. Arabic, like the hebraic, the latin or sanscrit are pure languages.
Neither one of you pretentious twits know your butt from a shotgun about it.
Do your homework/
You are hilarious!
BBWWWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!
Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and Buddhism. Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand.
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages is a descendant of the Ancient Proto-Indo-European language.
Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite group of languages. In turn the Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages. Hebrew flourished as a spoken language in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the 10th to 7th centuries BCE. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a spoken vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile, when the predominant language in the region was Old Aramaic.
Michele – I stick with my point. Your homework is superficial and pathetic. Everyone can copy the general things you stated from internet. True culture is totally different from your work of copist.
Your point being that arabic is a "pure" language? NOT. Was easily rebutting your silly ass pretension of cultural and linguistic superiority. You get your "factoids" from hallway gossip.
If you want to pretend to present TRUTH at least be accurate. Accuracy in a reply that presumes to be truthful requires accuracy. Flop ass, garbled, revisionist history doesn't cut it.
For pure language I am meaning a SACRED language. A language used in a revelation, in a sacred book. There are 4 sacred languages: Sanscrit (devanagari) Chinese, Hebraic and Arabic. Probably the Latin was too originally a sacred language, but most of that tradition was lost.
You are so full if it you are top heavy.
Top heavy ? I simply stated the historycal truth in a way even you can understand.
Let me clarify this classic Americanism:
You are so full of sh%$ that you are TOP HEAVY.
Your senseless expressions are just another sign of your stupidity and lack of true arguments.
Keep trying, sweetheart!
I am the field lord as you are destroyed. No more arguments ?
A battle of wits with a half wit........
Yes, but you are the looser.
Not
A threatening, intimidating AMERICAN saying?
oooooooooooooooooooooo.............NOW I'm worried!
Nit wit.
Whatever floats your boat..........................
Rights: is hard to have list showing here because many kinds of rights: human, political, social, environment, etc.
Natural rights are rights which are derived from nature. They are universal; that is, they apply to all people, and do not derive from the laws of any specific society. They exist necessarily, inhere in every individual, and can't be taken away. For example, it has been argued that humans have a natural right to life. They're sometimes called moral rights or inalienable rights.
Legal rights, in contrast, are based on a society's customs, laws, statutes or actions by legislatures. An example of a legal right is the right to vote of citizens. Citizenship, itself, is often considered as the basis for having legal rights, and has been defined as the "right to have rights". Legal rights are sometimes called civil rights or statutory rights and are culturally and politically relative since they depend on a specific societal context to have meaning
you'd love to see us all either in straight jackets and chains or dead.Leave us alone. You add nothing to our lives but a vulgar (and unreadable) foot note.
And obviously you do not get it that to have rights also means that those rights must be exercised with care, restraint, and responsibility. Translated for your simplistic mind, that means limits. To have and exercise rights does not equate with debauchery and license.
I could explicate this further but you are not listening anyway, rather, you are pouting while trying to come up with a withering riposte. Look it up.
Ibn al-Nafis: If you want to understand rights – read Thomas Paine's pamplet "Common Sense" which was published in 1776. Then read his "Age of Reason" which came out in 1794 and 1795. Better yet you can go to google.com and put in Common Sense or Age of Reason and read them online.
I, Ibn al Nafis, Mikey, and Hindu Wise Man will be sure to read this. Wish i could say the same for our trolls. It is painfully obvious that we do not live in an Age of Reason.
To quote Thomas Paine:
"When I am told that the Koran was written in Heaven and brought to Mahomet by an angel, the account comes too near the same kind of hearsay evidence and second-hand authority as the former. I did not see the angel myself, and, therefore, I have a right not to believe it."
Michele – Islam acknowledges the right to not believe, as stated in the Quran. Anyway Islam is not the only tradition talking about angels and sacred books written in the heaven.
I find this to: Please explain/
speech noun
1. the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express one's thoughts and emotions by speech sounds and gesture: Losing her speech made her feel isolated from humanity.
2. the act of speaking: He expresses himself better in speech than in writing.
3. something that is spoken; an utterance, remark, or declaration: We waited for some speech that would indicate her true feelings.
4. a form of communication in spoken language, made by a speaker before an audience for a given purpose: a fiery speech.
5. any single utterance of an actor in the course of a play, motion picture, etc.
6. the form of utterance characteristic of a particular people or region; a language or dialect.
7. manner of speaking, as of a person: Your slovenly speech is holding back your career.
8. a field of study devoted to the theory and practice of oral communication.
I find information about Rights but will not post. machine takes it away. Please explain?
Well, I guess it depends on which context you use it in.
On a basic level: If you are speaking about governmental rights, then these are what you as a human-being in a society are able to do, governed by certain rules. Generally, rights refer to your freedom, but really there is a lot more to it. There are many different levels in which a word can mean different things, again, depending on the context.
Here, taken from WIKTIONARY:
RIGHT – "From Middle English right (“right”), from Old English riht, reht (“right”), from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz (“right, direct”), from Proto-Indo-European *reg-to- (“having moved in a straight line”) from *(o)reg'(a)- (“to straighten, direct”). An Indo-European past participle, it became a Germanic adjective which has been used also as a noun since the common Germanic period. Cognate with Dutch recht, German recht/Recht, Swedish rätt and rät, Danish ret, Norwegian rett, and Icelandic rétt. The Indo-European root is also the source of Greek ὀρεκτός, Latin rectus and the Sanskrit ṛtá (ऋत)"
Also, if something is "right", it can be just, or fair. Again, you can probably see how the uses of this word relate to each other. (Sorry, I'm not that great at explaining this kind of stuff; perhaps someone could do a better job?)
And we are supposed to take this prattle seriously.....?????
I find these. Please explain?
free·dom noun
1. the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint: He won his freedom after a retrial.
2. exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
3. the power to determine action without restraint.
4. political or national independence.
5. personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery: a slave who bought his freedom.
6. exemption from the presence of anything specified (usually followed by from ): freedom from fear.
7. the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc.
8. ease or facility of movement or action: to enjoy the freedom of living in the country.
9. frankness of manner or speech.
10. general exemption or immunity: freedom from taxation.
11. the absence of ceremony or reserve.
12. a liberty taken.
13. a particular immunity or privilege enjoyed, as by a city or corporation: freedom to levy taxes.
14. civil liberty, as opposed to subjection to an arbitrary or despotic government.
15. the right to enjoy all the privileges or special rights of citizenship, membership, etc., in a community or the like.
16. the right to frequent, enjoy, or use at will: to have the freedom of a friend's library.
17. Philosophy . the power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraint from within or without; autonomy; self-determination.
These are NOUNS.
Retraction coming...........any minute now............wait.............it's coming............................it's coming.......................oh, darn.......NOT!
Duh! It's ENGLISH with suffixes and prefixes that from time to time are the same set of letters. I could understand your babbling about Arabic but you are overlaying ENGLISH with Arabic structures. Get over it.
Arabic has two kinds of syllables: open syllables (CV) and (CVV)—and closed syllables (CVC), (CVVC), and (CVCC), the latter two occurring only at the end of the sentence. Every syllable begins with a consonant. Syllables cannot begin with a vowel. Arabic phonology recognizes the glottal stop as an independent consonant, so in cases where a word begins with a vowel sound, as the definite article "al", for example, the word is recognized in Arabic as beginning with the consonant [ʔ] (glottal stop). When a word ends in a vowel and the following word begins with a glottal stop, then the glottal stop and the initial vowel of the word are in some cases elided, and the following consonant closes the final syllable of the preceding word, for example, baytu al-mudi:r "house (of) the director," which becomes [bajtulmudiːr].
Anyone can get information. This is place where speak freely is ok. Blog is not only source of information.
Thank Allah we learn truth about anything.
My life goes out to the family of this young man who took his own life. Hope Afghan people to achieve the freedoms. Goal not conflict with Islamic way of life and culture.
Unfortunately US military invasion and operations are in sharp conflict not just with Islam, but even with christianity, buddhism and humaniity. They are compatible just with the barbarity where they come from.
Go tell that to Sadam Hussain.
How is Saddam related with Afghanistan ?
Not speak of military, speak of freedoms and rights as good goal to get for Afghan people.
I see the Afghan people protestin in Kabul against the occupation. They are capable of choosing their freedom or anything else they want in his country without the fforeign occupation. They did not protest against the Taliban.
in THEIR country.
You are a wise person – nothing comes easy and without sacrafice. I pray the Afghanistan people obtain their goal of freedom.
Real freedom is always self-comquered, NEVER imposed from outside.
"I see the Afghan people protestin in Kabul against the occupation. They are capable of choosing their freedom or anything else they want in his country without the fforeign occupation. They did not protest against the Taliban"
I lol'd. Of course they are not going to protest against the Taliban, they would've gotten killed!
Kabul is not ruled by the Taliban, so they could protest against the Taliban without being killed.
CLAY HUNT was certainly a humanist and this he confessed in an interview during Hitti Mission. The his friend says that a part of him was killed in Iraq and a part in Afghanistan while rest in home. His mother call it a war casualty. So all these three statements by his close associates testify that Clay had a human heart and his suicide is due to his use in inhuman killings in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was the eyewittnes of US atrocities which he could not disclose due to his love with his country as it would have been humiliating to expose the real face of America. He saw how he was a part of US baby killing in Iraq and Afghanistan and for what he was killing these poor, weak and helpless human beings in their homes, towns and streets. So FRONTLINE SOLDIER, CPUT etc you all war mongers are either like WANDERABOUT contractors in these US inhuman wars and you are earning through this baby killing therefore as apart of business you have to support your business interests or if not then I can call you all ignorant, deaf and dumb when you support US militarism all over the world. This militant approach of USA is responsible for prevailing financial crises and coming humiliations and your support to all this make your loyalties to your nation and country doubtful. CLAY HUNT probably did not afford to continue with this inhuman face of USA which he had seen abroad against the poor and weak nations. This need to be changed before it may lead to a suicide at national level.
Bangash: How the hell do you know that: "He was the eyewittnes of US atrocities which he could not disclose due to his love with his country as it would have been humiliating to expose the real face of America." Were you there with him and an eyewitness? Talk about putting your own spin on things. Everyone who does research knows you go to the direct source – Clay Hunt – for what really happened. Everything else is hearsay. You just look foolish.
Bangash pointed out the prevalent motivation for suicide inside the US military, 3 times highr than outside. They are pushed to enlist through lies, the training is directed to weaken their personality and when they realized the truth it is too late. Desertion is considered equivalent to traison.. They perfectioned the Nazi methods.
Salerno – You missed my point – PRIMARY SOURCES. Do you understand what PRIMARY SOURCES are? Everything other than PRIMARY SOURCES is someone else's interpertation. Unless CLAY HUNT saiid directly why he was going to commit suicide – EVERYTHING else is speculation. iNCLUDING YOUR SPIN.
Clay Hunt was confused and probably even unable to fully understand the motivations of his suicide, as many times they are at least partially coverered and come subconscious. So Even if we had the Primary sources, it is not sure they would be more reliable than Bangash's interpretation.
come FROM subconscious.
Good luck with trying to penetrate the fog he walks around in......
Stupid CPUT I have quoted statements of his friend, his mother and his personal interview in Hitti. I think These are the most reliable sources which testify what I have said above. This is not only Clay Hunt but today 64% of Americans reject this senseless wars by USA world over. So you keep on looking for your own interest instead of national as you have no love for your country and nation. Soon you all war mongers will face humiliation when Americans will rise against this baby killing and then you the enemies of USA and humanity will have no place to hide.
Well about the whole earth-flat thing –
Many prehistoric cultures believed in a flat world; why not? Certain astronomers believed it was flat and certain round . This is no big deal. In fact, this is the natural progression of science (this is why we don't prove something, but rather "support" it). This is how we learned what we think of as the mechanism of fire (greek phlogiston theory), and additionally what we think of as the structure of the atom (plum pudding), so on and forth (if this is what you were talking about).
Sorry, ignore the above post. I accidentally posted in the wrong place. ^^^^^^^^
just remember folks,peoples minds start to go a little foggy when their not quite sure why their goals set out by their commanders is still ongoing 10 years later.
A universal truth.....everyone's minds get foggy without goals and objectives. We all need vision in our lives.
It is very posituve that 5 or even more foreign troops were taken out yesterday. It was done without any civilian casualties, thanks to the heroism of Abdul Ghani.
I'm hoping that one day you will look back at this and say "I was wrong", but after reading this post I guess we can throw that out the window. It is positive to note that six militants were killed by CIA-operated drones in South Waziristan on April 13th. Good to know that those Air Force and CIA guys know what must be done to kill terrorists. We must strike across borders, and we must not quiver at international law and threats from rogue nations. We have to give these terrorists some of their own medicine. If running drones over Riyadh kills terrorists, I'm down for it.
You can keep going on with drones. Drones are a big help for AlQaeda to recruit suicide bombers.
After 10 years the CIA (Central Idiocy Service, should be renamed) was unable to hit the true 2-4 AlAeda leaders.
So AlQaeda is very happy with drones, stupid americans.
Yesterday strong bomb detonated by the Taliban suicide bomber in front of the 201 military corps in Laghman (dasht Gamberi) country), which killed some officers and soldiers of the afghan national army, five international forces also have been killed by Taliban in suicide attack in the east of the country.
Simultaneously as the international forces announced their support from the peace talks of Karzai with Taliban,Taliban Alqaeda have escalated their barbarism and cruelty against the humanity, but we are very afraid that why the OBAMA and other leaders of the world are ignoring these very shameful and barbarian activities of Taliban Alqaeda Pakistan, still they are supporting from Karzai and Pakistani their slaves in the country, it needs to be fights very hard and with stable policy against those who have killed many people in the country, We have to have very strong stable policy against Taliban and their supporters in Afghan government.
we have some ministers in Afghan government who always support Taliban’s actions and who is defending from What Taliban have committed, it have been seen that several times when Taliban have killed humanity and have committed very shameful action , but these ministers, which one of them is education minister FARUQ WARDAK always says that Taliban don’t this or that brutal action, though the Taliban spokes man confessed what they have done.
Till as we have had such a minister and Karzai on power, it would be difficult to succeed, but if we want to remove the barbarism and brutality from Afghanistan and region then we have to remove the figure in Afghan government who supports Taliban in one or the other ways. The one who did suicide attack in 201 military corps was a (Pashtun) military officers, this is the clear evidence to prove that there is some insurgents in ANA. This officer has had for four years in ANA according to news.
It is clear for all that Taliban and those who have the idea of Taliban; they are the slave of Pakistan and strangers, which one of them is Mr Karzai and his favor ministers Like Faruq Wardak, Ahamdi, head of NDS, attorney general some others. These mentioned ministers are the Taliban who have the neckties, but what they think and Taliban are the same and we cannot remove the Taliban by them. We need those people on power who are against Taliban and their ideas and agenda in the country.
From Kabul
Thank you! Persevere! And Press ON!
Persevere........ and then come to take your paycheck.
Pamiri – Thank you so much for your comments. This is why the US military and other Nato countries are there – to help the Afghanistan people that want to get rid of the taliban.
This is a shame and horrible story. May Hunt rest in peace. It is even worse that we have to read about how M.r Hunt died rather than what he accomplished in Battle! Even on sites all the headlines are about sorrows and misfortunes of this war rather than the courage of men such as Mr. Hunt. I would believe soldiers would have a sense of pride if they could look at the headlines and read of there accomplishments, rather than the one IED attack that killed or injured there comrades. If we can only reflect on his accomplishments and sacrifice after men like Hunt die, how do we expect some of these men to feel???
Salerno, if you don't like the United States move to another country.
No I like US very much. The problem is just US military, totally disconnected from US society.
It boggles my mind that senseless idiots like salerno are given refuge in this country, but whatever...
Nucular – you must learn that I did not get refugee in US, nobody can give me anything, as I have anything I need.
Think to complete yopur education on a unbiased way as when your country is wrong you have the duty to do something else than supporting troops.
Nucularinternets: As I read your blogs I see that you will soon be making decisions about the future direction of your life.
To me you seem interested in maybe joining the services? (I could be wrong here.) Too often we see the military through John Wayne eyes or we romantize it – going off to war to see the world and adventures. With Viet Nam and the draft the military had huge problems it had to overcome. The US military had to reshape its image – make it more professional. And the carrot they offered was to pay for schooling. Even when you are in the military you are always taking classes. If you are interested in joining the services after you graduate from high school – please be objective in your decision. View both the postiive and negative of it. One book that I read that was really interesting was "American Soldiers" by Peter S. Kindsvatter. Kindsvatter served in the US Army for 21 years and retired as a Armor Lieutenant colonel. If anyone should know the service he should having lived it for 21 years. May I quote something from the book: "We all imagine war before we know it," observes Samuel Hynes, but these "wars-in-the-head,: as he calls them, "however vivid and violent they may be, are romances: they are war turned into fiction, into shapely untruthes. They feed our imagination with big abstractions of war-Heroism, Fame, Valor, Glory; they make death sentimental and battle melodramatic." According to Kindsvatter – "Those teaching history to the young people share the same responsibility. The young are soldiers of the next generation. Someone should tell them what to expect and where to look for insights and answers – the literature of war. " .... Clay Hunt is a learning experience for the youth that are interested in a military career.
I am not interested in joining the military but I do have the highest respect for anyone who joins the military. I look at the military realistically. My future is in public service. I plan on acquiring a Masters degree in International Affairs. My goal is to educate myself in the art of counter-terrorism and work for the federal government (probably CIA) and push to destroy those organizations that threaten our country and our way of life in whatever way possible. My theory is that diplomacy with these organizations is unacceptable and military action that goes against the confines of international law against these organizations has been long overdue. And to those that think I am some Republican war hawk, I've been a Democrat since I was about nine years old when I said Bush was ruining the country.
Thank you so much for your response, I always take career advice seriously and yours will not be different.
nucular – you are showing the worst kind of indoctrinament like if oyu have studied in an american madrass. No organization is threatening our way of life. It is US policy that is threatening other countries way of life. Even AlQaeda goal was to overcome Mubaraq initially, and it was US policy in the middle east causing 9/11.
Do not forget that our pet troll is NOT trying to give you GOOD advice, only dismembered, deviant factoids that are intended to mess you up. Beware of trolls. They are NEVER going to be helpful or provide sage advice.
NucularInternets: You sound like a person who knows the direction where his life is headed. That is a good thing. You will be able to test your theory "that diplomacy with these organizations is unacceptable and military action that goes against the confines of international law against these organizations has been long overdue" as you follow the recent news of talks between Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Turkey has agreed to allow the taliban to come to the table in their country to negotiate. After ten years of military action, and countless lives lost – all we are is at a "fragile" stage.
God bless our soldiers and god bless america!!! If you dont support our country or our soldiers it's because your mad of the fact that you couldnt make the cut!!!! You dont have what it takes to be an american soldier =)
Any idiot could be a modern soldier as the strenght is in the high tech weaponry.
Any idiot could be a soldier, as the US military give education for free and doing so they attract the most ignorant individuals.
It is easy to use technology, even to fly helicopters. You need just to be young, in good shape. You need to have your mind susceptible of manipulation too. This is why many committ suicide.
No they cant. Remember the chain on the soldiers who killed themselves and the comments from experienced soldiers who know about this?
My point here will be quickly denied by our pet trolls just because of their contrarian mind set.
I probably would not make the cut considering I am not even strong enough to make the school football team, but I fully support our troops even in senseless wars like Iraq.
"Any idiot could be a soldier, as the US military give education for free and doing so they attract the most ignorant individuals.
It is easy to use technology, even to fly helicopters. You need just to be young, in good shape. You need to have your mind susceptible of manipulation too. This is why many committ suicide"
So what do you think the US military should do? Make war harder for ourselves? Should we drive Shermans instead of Abrams? Should we fly biplanes instead of F-15s? Should we use muskets instead of M4s? It takes an incredible amount of training and dedication to become a pilot in the US military. In fact a lot of them drop out because of the effort that must be put in.
US military should object against unnecessary wars. Even deserting like A.Shepherd and many others did recently.
Note that your question was NOT answered. It was evaded and therefor dismissed. A common tactic for a troll.
Remember, trolls have no interest in the truth, only their private agenda.
Mikey –
The questio was what US military should do and I stated exactly WHAT US MILITARY SHOULD DO. LEARN TO READ IDIOT AND ILLITERATE
All the wars after WWII were unnecessary, but the last from Clinton administration and after were truly criminal including the Kosovo war, as it was part of Serbia and Serbia had the right to get the laws respected in their country. The US bombed intentionally civilians targets in Belgrad killing civilians, acting like terrorists. Now you are complaining because soldiers are killed or depressed ?? It is normal. No sympathy for baby killers. You got what you deserved. You did not serve the country, but your stupidity and I am ashamed for that situation.
I appreciate the support from all of you. Salerno, I did enlist at a time of war and even though an Infantryman in the National Guard, I full expected to be deployed. Though I may not agree with what the government has decided to do with its military fighting force, I chose to serve my country. And I have been to Serbia as a soldier. I have seen the the carnage that the people of the Balkans bestowed on each other. I have seen the squalor in which they live, the mass graves in which dozens are buried. I stood their and read their memorial, realizing that many of those slaughtered there would have been the same age as me. I have a number of family members that served in Vietnam. Had been in terrible situation and seen horrible things. And they support me fully no matter their personal feelings of their own experience or their belief in if we are doing the right thing in Iraq or Afghanistan. Let us not forget that this blog has been about a fallen Marine. One that has been overcome by the hardships that he has faced. It isn't about those of us that our out here fighting the wars...but a serious change that needs to be made with how our fighting force is used. We don't need to police the world. When we are called into action we need to unleash the war machine 100%, destroy the enemy, and bring our troops home. What we have found ourselves in for the last ten years is not war. It is like being in a street fight with one arm tied behind your back. For those of us on the ground it isn't about the politics of it all. It is about protecting your brothers beside you. I have no issue with the things you have said Salerno. I am honored to have served my country and fulfill the oath of my enlistment. But our government needs to change its thinking in how it utilizes the military. So Salerno, and all others that like to write their points of view and shed light on how terrible things are and how bad the government has gotten...then please take that time and energy and write your congressman. Share your thoughts and concerns with them. Go straight to the decision makers. If it is change you want, then start writing them. Don't hide behind a blog, take action. That is your right. That is the freedom that few others in the world have. Doing such an act in Afghanistan where I am at, would surely find that individual dead by the end of the week. More than likely with the rest of his family. Clay Hunt fought for those freedoms...lost fellow Marines for those freedoms....was wounded in action for those freedoms....and ultimately lost his life for those freedoms.
And one other thought....
Beware of thinking that many of us are unskilled or joined up for free education. I have a bachelors degree and have completed half of my masters. I have a very good job back home where I am able to support my family. A large number of your fighting force is comprised of National Guard and Reserve troops. These individuals are also doctors, lawyers, teachers, police officers, bankers, councelors, and clergy. Those in active duty units also take college classes or vocational schools. The Infantry is a very small community in the overall military. Everyone else is supporting units, and they have all learned VERY valuable skills which could be used in communities all over the US and you wouldn't know the difference. Truck drivers, computer programers, food service, various medical professionals, and on and on.
No, I did not mean to say that they're two different truths. There is only fact as it happens – one truth. This I understand. I am talking about the comprehension/understanding of the truth. It means different things to different people based on what they themselves believe, even apart from religion. This I did not learn in school.
Besides, I do not think I am the truth. Neither do I believe in my "own" truth. I even think that you made several valid points.
Okay, but who uses those terms except for you in that way? Also the article says that survivor's guilt may have had a role in his suicide.
Yes, it says that he did suffer post traumatic stress and such, however he had been turning his life around after he came back. As far as your answer, it did not answer my question. I cannot seem to find where hindus mean what you say is their definition. I'm not looking at this emotionally, but do you expect me to believe you if you don't prove what you're saying first? You can't just piece together a and b and come to a conclusion like that. Also what do you mean by NUN and NUNGUNA? The earlier is a letter, apparently, and the latter?
But I think that even survivors guilt is part of a culmination of after-war feelings. As for self-realization, you might be right, since he is portrayed as a good-willing humanitarian.
Regardless of how/why the government attracts these people, it ought to help them get back on their feet, though.
Respectfully, I must disagree. And I can provide you sources as to why I do so.
Every language did not come from Latin. I don't know where you got this. Actually, Latin and German both borrow their letters from the Egyptian hieroglyphics, through a long chain.
Egyptians hieroglyphics each represented something. They were picture-letters; they looked like something.
Then, Egyptian hieroglyphics got translated all over the place. The first major translation was to phoenician.
The phoenician alphabet had meaning! But not what you say.
Each letter represented something:
Latin letter "a", came from phoenician "alf" meaning "ox," as in the animal. Similarly, latin "C" meant camel, in phoen. Latin letter "L" meant a tool used for crops. This alphabet probably had value for traders.
Now it is thought that most writing systems borrowed their scripts from phoen. However, this alphabet was adopted into greek, when the Greek added the vowels too. – however it is noted that the letters of the greek alphabet have NO meaning.
You do have an interesting point with HAN, though. (Khan meaning greatness/bold/etc.) However, this connection you make is not proved at all.
Also, what about sindh? Or sindhi, the river? If you look at the words in Avestan, and Sanskirt, you will see that s and h change greatly. aSura, and aHura. Sind, and Hind. Anyways, I don't know too much about Indian languages, so you can look that up yourself if you find fit. These languages all came from old, old languages, before Latin.
I don't think that was the only reason Clay committed suicide. There are many war veterans who are able to live after their war experiences, and many even take part in humanitarian efforts (maybe as "self-realization?"). Anyways, it all depends on how you look at it.
Latin is a member of the broad family of Italic languages. Its alphabet, the Latin alphabet, emerged from the Old Italic alphabets, which in turn were derived from the Greek and Phoenician scripts.
Modern humans likely originated in southern Africa rather than eastern Africa as is generally assumed, according to the results of a new study of genetic diversity among hunter-gatherer populations by a Stanford University team.
And SOUNDS are SO superior to pictures..............comment being written in letters (pictures of a sort) and we read them silently to ourselves. (How self serving can he get....?)
Parentheses are a (signal) that he's mad at you and (talking) down. No parentheses means he's trying to patiently educate a potential acolyte though he still hates the reader/poster his reply is directed at. Trying to bring along our audience, too, if he can.
Every language is absolutely NOT an offshoot of Latin. Think Greek, Phoenician, Assyrian, Babylonian, Hebrew, Aramaic, Chinese, tribal languages in the Amazon, Swahili, and as we know, many more.
Our resident troll has not learned that to be truthful one must also be accurate.
English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic invaders from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Netherlands. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. One of these dialects, Late West Saxon, eventually came to dominate.
Well, a lot of what we know is based of writing, not sound. Take oral tradition: everytime a story was passed down it was slightly changed, in some cases. By writing, they had a static measure.
But aside from that, you are right. There was language before written Latin, Sanskrit, and Avestan. Take Proto-Indo-Iranian rto. It translates to rta or rtam in Sanskrit, Moris in Greek, possibly Fitra as in the Islamic concept, and even possibly Egyptian Ma'at. However, it is thought that with each new adaption, the context in which those derivatives were used changed: rto meant to assemble: as it got translated it meant nature, law, cosmic law etc.
Another problem with sounds is accents. Actually, I bet this is responsible for a lot of change in the way words were pronounced, maybe. Because those who spoke Avestan, often changed Proto-Indo-Iranian/European letters. Take rto, from PII. It gets translated to Rta in Sanskrit, but ASHA in Avestan. So there was a lingual shift with RT ans SH between speakers of Avestan, and those of Sanskrit, or even previous languages. (Avestan/Sanskrit phonology). So these words drastically changed, and continued to change, having their meanings change as well. Again, this is seen when Eastern speakers changed sindh to hindi (al-hind). aHura, aSura. RTa, ASa. And guess what else? aHura and aSura were opposites, which is thought to indicate a subtle rivalry between the two speakers. Anyways most of Latin's derivatives borrowed entire roots and affixes, not single letters. In, is a affix (prefix). You can see how PII/PIE got translated to Latin, and got further translated to derivatives of Latin, however, stems changed or got altered for certain other branches of languages that PII/PIE got translated into. And you are right about how culture reflects language. Language has always changed the way it needs to be changed – which might not necessarily be corruption, but instead an adaption for the better of communication.
It's SO hard not to laugh out loud at these timid and amazingly wrong assertions .......the self involved one wants us all to be Egyptian from the sound (ha!) of his prattle here. He has a vanity interest in being superior, but it won't fly.
ANGLO SAXON and PROUD of it.
Our resident twits cannot take that away though they would if only they could.
And I also gave you several examples of how accent played a big role. Persians and Indians has similar words with different sounds. ASa, RTa, aHura, aSura, Sind, Hind, it goes on and on. And also, most culture is related. Islamic Fitra, Egyptian Maat, Sanskrit Rta/Rtam, zoroastrianism ASa.
Either you bow down to our trolls "superior" logic or he hisses like a scared cat.
WOW! What a stretch!!! A real doozie!
Next well hear about the efficacy of tin foil hats and that the earth is really flat and satellite imagery is all a hoax.......he will come up with something like that.....wait and watch.......
Well, yeah, I agree with you about Christopher Columbus (no offense to anyone at all). But we are taught much more than before about Native Americans in our schools here. In schools, the native american religions, languages, and culture are even starting to show up (for example, many Native American religions have extreme similarities to Abhram religions) – I believe.
Anyways I've been to India a couple times (all of which I've enjoyed), and well I typically refrain from using phrases like that – the whole "pejorative connotation" bit from below.
Additionally, there actually were people who came to the Americas before the Native Americans. But they all died in a northern freeze, research suggests. Native Americans definitely bear traits similar to those of the pacific regions, as well as middle eastern, traits as well.
You are right in that BUDDH means knowledge. It is from the Sanskrit root Budh, which came from the Proto-Indo-European language verb meaning to be aware or to be awake: BeWD or bheudho.
So Bheundo in proto indo european became:
Budh in sanskrit
Puto in Latin
Buedan in proto-germanic language
and so on. However, for nearly half of the languages it got translated into from P-I-E, it changed meaning. (Awareness, Awake, To Beg, to Know, etc.)
Yeah, Christopher Columbus did some pretty bad stuff. He infused his own culture into the Dominican Republic, which was sad since initially there was an extremely large amount of Native Americans, which ended up dwindling down like crazy. Same thing with the Americas, unfortunately. And his credibility and so on...
Oh man, are you telling me my tin-foil hat is ineffective? 🙁 Lol.
Well about the whole earth-flat thing –
Many prehistoric cultures believed in a flat world; why not? Certain astronomers believed it was flat and certain round . This is no big deal. In fact, this is the natural progression of science (this is why we don't prove something, but rather "support" it). This is how we learned what we think of as the mechanism of fire (greek phlogiston theory), and additionally what we think of as the structure of the atom (plum pudding), so on and forth (if this is what you were talking about).
Cameron – Nice posts. Our troll holds me in double despise because, I am not only outspoken I am female and in his culture that's reason enough to be mean spirited and cruel. Which is why I will redouble my efforts to annoy and ridicule his benighted, self serving, sullen, manipulative pretensions.
He and his buddy would like to "own" this whole subject but he and other trolls have absolutely no authority to diminish or abridge in ANY WAY my right of free speech. (Which right they themselves enjoy, but given some of their more cruel, foul, slanderous, and outrageous posts, they are abusing.)
Get over yourself. Everyone else has.
Front Line – I partially agree with something you told, but the important point is that wars are the last choice solution, when a country is REALLY threatened os attacked militarily. I must remember you that German soldiers were put on trial and executed because they followed orders. So I support soldiers when they desert, like A.Shepherd , or when they object, like Izbicki. Following oreders is not an alibi anymore. Even if a soldier die he has no my support and the family has no my condolences. I hope politicians read these blog and understand. This is the importance of discussion.
Thank you, devoutly and sincerely for your valiant service! Try to ignore the mindless trolls, the self confessed traitors and deserters who hide behind the anonymity the blog and the internet provide.
For bizarre and ugly reasons we will never understand they WANT the US to fail and endure a third world style Coup d'Etat and for us to live in the physical and political stone age. They are shameful and vulgar trolls who do not deserve the attention they phish for on these blogs. They probably sit in their parents basement in their underwear clicking away because they don't have a life or a set of values worth living for.
interesting....... I did not identify our resident roaches (trolls) by pseudonym but one stood up to be counted. Have a cup of coffee, on me, a the STFU Cafe, twit.
The only thing he is proud of is he is NOT in his mother's basement.......
Additionally I don't want America to fail. Failure is where you are bringing this country. I can always sell everything and live to another place.
why wait?
Why be hurry ?
and you have the presumptuousness to criticize others for poor spelling and grammar?
Yes , because english is not my first language like for you. Your mistakes are less excusable than mines.
Mikey – you idiot making false assumptions about myself without any knowledge. I am wealthy and my mother is dead.
Truth hurts as showed wikileaks, right ? I am glad many americans protested in front of the White House, asking for the war to end and even for Manning to be free. I consider him an hero.
Hey CNN, How come you never report the numbers of innocent people that died during wars?! War is never the answer. It creates problems and instablitiy both in the innocennt and the soilders!.
I'm glad i'm not a a soildier of these kind of wars it just creats problems in this world.
Right, Jane, I am glad too.
What do you propose we do? Negotiate with al-Qaeda and the Taliban? I don't think so. If we withdraw immediately from Afghanistan then the Taliban will surely walk over the Afghan police and army and retake control. Then everything we fought for would be lost and it would be another senseless war like Iraq.
Afghanistan needs a better leader. It's a shame Massoud died before 9/11 otherwise he would have been much better than Karzai
Nucular – you need to complete your education before posting with adults here, as you are just 15 y/o,
Proud of your interest and involvement! You have made many excellent points. This particular troll has confessed to being a traitor and a deserter so he has a vested interest in our destruction (of whatever nature) of only to justify his specious positions.
But take care out here. You won't find many friendlies on the Afghan blog. And be aware of the wide readership of our comments who will never post or identify themselves.
"...IF only to ...." typo.
No interest in US destruction, on the contrary I want a better US with less debt and more honor, like Paul Ron, or Jesse Ventura stated many times.
Why do I need to complete my education before posting here? I can clearly form opinions based on facts. And don't even begin to criticize my grammar when you make various spelling and grammar mistakes yourself. I highly doubt that you have a higher education than my teachers considering half of them have Masters degrees and one has a Doctorate.
Nucular . sometimes typing errors can occurr, as the keyboard is small for my fingers. You shopuld look at the ssubstance of the problems not at the surface.
front line: thank you for all you have done for all of us, including those like salerno who cannot understand the depths of your devotion to those you will never know.
salerno: you should be ashamed of yourself.
etch – I don't need front line devotion and did not ask him to enlist. Anyway I think people like him enlisted to get a job having no chance to do anything else because their lack of skills.
Lack of skills? How dare you. He volunteered to serve and protect his country and you say he did that because he lacks skills? Your SKILLS appear to be trolling the CNN Afghanistan boards 24/7 spewing hatred towards the US military and government. Why don't you enlist because it has become apparent to everyone with half a brain that you lack any "skills".
Ignore him. He is only a vulgar troll making shameful comments AND a self confessed traitor and deserter. He hides behind the anonymity the internet provides.
For me a deserter is different from a traitor. Anyway truth and honor are important. Their negation is disguised form of patriotism.
Nuclear: the above comment is a classic example of twisted "logic" and a tactic quite common with trolls to (through some kind of odd mind set) justify their foolishness. Deep waters with issues of magnitude here, but most of the fish are only guppies.
Nevertheless...take care......
Mikey is trying to indoctrinate you nucular and chances are on his side that he will succede as you have no way to get easily any independent view.
Nuclear can EASILY get independent information, fool. This is AMERICA where FREE SPEECH is a RIGHT.
Thank GOD he doesn't need permission from creeps like you to go and LEARN the truth about anything he wants on the planet.
American people are suggestioned and brainwashed since the early age.
People have their own oppinions. Not everyone supports "war" or joining the army.
Yes, they are patriotic and we must see them as heroes but in the end...
how many innocnet lives must be buried till they realize "war" is never the answer?
Nucular – If you do not understand Janes moderate position, you will have to deal with mine. US soldiers are boyscouts wiothout any skill. They joint the army to get an education for free, ( as it is espensive), and a job. Healthy and intelligent people do other better jobs, but you need to have skill. The easiest way to find a job is to enlist, as almost everyone can do it. If the training is damaging your week mind is your problem.
They want to join to serve their country. As with all jobs they get benefits as well. People don't join the government because of the benefits it provides, people join the government because they want to serve their country. FBI, CIA, DEA, State, military, it doesn't matter. They are all patriots (Republican, Democrat, Green, Socialist w/e) who are putting their skills they gathered through EDUCATION (something you obviously failed to complete, considering you cannot use the correct form of weak) to good use: Serving their country.
They don't join the military to follow orders, because you follow orders in every job. Obviously you have never held a job so you do not know that...
Don't you dare say that they do it because they don't have skills, because I bet 98% of them could have pursued another job easily. And the military is hard to get into now, why don't you try it?
Nucular – you spelled illeterate instead of illiterate. You need to complete your education. My level of education is superior to that of your professors. It is normal you are ignorant as you are just 15, it is worrisome that adults are not much better than you. US has an eduvcation problem and there are a lot of ignorant people. You are not even in the first 20 countries for education.(high school).
You and we DO NOT have to deal with our pet troll's positions. They are bogus anyway. And your grammar and spelling is far better than his, though he wants to discourage you with useless criticism and disparagement.
Your writing tells us that you are VERY intelligent and very well informed. Press on! (Just be careful of personal information that you might unwittingly include in your posts.)
Why don't you ever respond to my comments? You make up some random excuse or you plain ignore it. I respond to you, now you respond to me.
We used to care about things in this country – about each other and how things were "out in the world". We used to help each other in our neighborhoods, when there were natural disasters or if a neighbor's home burned. It bothered us when some other country's poor were hungry or put down by tyrants. In time of need those people knew that behind the Marines came the Red Cross and the Peace Corps. Now we have let it all go for some reason, let ourselves down. I am nearing 70 now and I remember a time when this country stood tall. But it all changed after Viet Nam. Our gvt either lied to us or didn't know what the devil they were doing which is worse and I think the shock knocked us for a loop. Drugs came flowing out of SE Asia and cartels managed the flow, probably with the connivance of the gvt. Some smartass up there saw a chance to pay the war tab by getting us addicted. That started the decline and right now we are falling. Our moral standards fell away and we deserted what this country once stood for..."we hold these truths to be self evident...". Nobody ever had to tell us what we stood for but now it seems to be lost and this one Marine who took his own life was a casualty of that freefall. We send them into hellholes with the purpose unthought-out, no exit strategy and not enough materiel. What kind of country sends its elite warriors into battle without good body armor, without the right weapons, without good communications or sufficient transport? We said we wanted to feed the hungry in Mogadishu, Somalia on the Horn of Africa and catch a bad guy if we could. Instead we couldn't respond when events turned against us and the Rangers and Delta Force suffered heavy losses. The very people we tried to feed took our food but supported the warlord because that's how life is out there. And we were clueless. We overran Iraq in a matter of days and stayed to be killed because we didn't understand how life was out there. They hated their tyrant but they hated us more because we are not them. Smart alecks in our gvt got us in there not to free the country but to make money for their private concerns. They lied to us again and nobody ever pays. They smirk and say – "hey, that's life today!". We are unravelling as a nation and we are the last to see it – foreigners see it and are saddened but can do nothing. This Marine died because there was no support structure out there, just bits and pieces that don't work beyond the immediate. The network that started on Bunker Hill is coming apart – you can hear it ripping! What Washington's men endured at Valley Forge is being negated by selfish concerns. We are in paralyzing debt that can permanently cripple us and our politicians are screwing around and screwing us over.
This Marine has fallen. What can we do to honor him? Will we sit on our ass and cry or will we stick our heel under that ass and lever up, pick up his fallen weapon and go to support the country for which he felt he had to lay down his life?
Carol – I agree with your analisys. It is intelligent. US government is controlled by 2-3 big global family trusts. Many other little interests are lobbying the Congress too. This is one problem.
I don't understand the solution you are suggesting: piccking up his weapons for doing what ? The problems are internal, inside US society.
US military training is dangerous as it is something destroying people personality and creating mind psoblems.
They say "war is a necessary evil." But nobody knows this more than those Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines that are on the front lines. Though I must disagree with Salerno when you say that "US military training is dangerous as it is something destroying people's personalities and creating mind problems." For the thousands and thousands of troops that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade, these wars have brought to light the issues of combat stress and PTSD. For those of us out in the far reaches of these desolate places, our inability to close with and destroy the enemy weighs heavy on our minds when we watch our friends taken out by snipers and blown up by IEDs. Our hands get tied with stricter and stricter rules of engagment. We recently had a scare when we almost didn't get paid because the government was on shut down. If that happened, we would still be fighting and dying for no pay....while other government employees sat at home with their families. Our military fighting force should be used as a sword to go after our nations enemies and destory them. We should not occupy. We should not peace keep. We should be used as that junkyard dog that is only turned loose when absolutely necessary. And when our adversary has been defeated, we leave. We don't linger and pump trillions and trillions of dollars into nation building. We don't leave our military fighting force to slowly be destroyed one, two, ten soldiers at a time. If we need to stay to provide security for the area, then need to remain in an offensive posture. War is a terrible thing. But unfortunately, war has become a business for some...and it is on the backs of our nation's youth that pay for it in blood. I know there are some that may not agree with me. That is fine, that is your right. Our nation does need to change it's perception of how they use their military. We have to accept that fact that in war we will lose service members. But we must be willing to sacrifice those soldiers only for a just cause. THAT is what we sign up to serve our country for. Not to be used for a political purpose or so that few can get rich or careers enhanced. Don't forget about us. Know that our families are struggling without us. Everyday they fear that knock on the door or that car door that slams suddenly outside...praying that it isn't a message saying that their loved one has died. We need the support of the American people. We need their thoughts and their prayers. We need them to be willing to sacrifice, to take pride in what they do, to appreciate all that they have around them. Please continue to speak your mind. Write to your government officials to tell them how you feel. Vote for change. Be proud to be American and help change how things are done. If not, then what we are fighting and dying to protect IS in vain.
Front Line – You deserve part of the blame with US politicians as you voluntarily enlisted knowing that the US was engaged in unnecessary wars in the last 60 years after WWII. You did not realized the evil of wars untill you are hit, like in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. Nobody talks about war in Serbia as almost nobody died betwen US soldiers, but thousands of civilians were unnecessary killed. So it is positive that you have some experience of the war too.
FrontLineSoldier: I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service to this country. I am not a religious person but every single night I say a prayer that each soldier comes home safe. I can't even begin to understand what you are going thru on the front lines – but I thank you for doing your part to keep the US safe. I know these words seem trivial – but I think about the soldiers throughout the day all the time. Stay safe.
Salerno – Some of those soldiers were in the reserves and never expected to be fighting in a war.
But they enlisted, as there is no draft anymore. They could still desert like A. Shepherd or object like Izbicki.
No Viet Nam era disparagement from me. I thank you, sincerely, for your service and sacrifice.
Ignore the ugly minded trolls. They hide behind the anonymity that the internet provides because they know their comments are shameful and disgraceful. One is, indeed, a confessed traitor and deserter.
Dear Front Line Soldier – First, many people's perspectives are one dimensional. It is easy for those who have never been in war, have never made any stronger commitment to anything beyond themselves for the greater good to understand the strength it takes to become a soldier- physical, mental, emotional. My father, husband and now my son have made those sacrifices – all in a time of war.... I worked closely with many honorable and amazing warriors, both men and women as a contractor for 10 years.... and with these connections have learned much.... My husband and I were also very close friends with a man who chose to be a conscientious objector during the Viet Nam war – one weekend, he confessed that since that time, he had/has been haunted by the thoughts that since he chose not to serve – who may have died and/or suffered the consequences of his actions... my husband, who did serve 2 1/2 tours as an Airborne Ranger, was severely wounded and suffered years and still suffers from PTSD but bears no ill will to his friend or anyone else, who, for religious or ethical reasons did not choose that path....
My son is now in Afghanistan – an Army Blackhawk pilot, who enlisted before Iraq, as an NBC specialist, served in Iraq, with one of the longbow units, and with the support and encouragement of his superiors was accepted to warrant officer training and then on to flight school.... And for all those that think soldiers are somehow unintelligent and unable to do anything else with their lives, shame on you! Shame on all those who are so single minded and believe you are the center of the universe ... .shame again....
Thanks you! Thank you! I would hug you if I could!
Thank you! Thank you and your family for their incredible service!
Thank you!
Shame on you wanderabout – you, your family and your son are the worst examples of human kind. Fortunately often several pilots die in wars or during military drills, making the world safer and the air cleaner.
wonderabout – try to ignore this vile and filthy troll. He is beneath contempt.
Please, ignore Mikey. He is beneath filty, beneath trolling, beneath vileness and beneath contempt. He is beneath.