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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
The bit that I didn't buy was the US military not going after the terrorists' families. The CIA at least has been doing that rather systematically, what with all the drone bombings of weddings and such. I know they hold themselves to different standards from even the Special Forces, but still, I was under the impression that "hadjis" received nothing but contempt from US troops.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.They'll kill a terrorist's family if they are in the way of killing a terrorist themselves and not care, they view terrorist sympathizers as the same thing as terrorists, a view that is widely held. But killing a family, especially children, for no purposes other than revenge is very much frowned upon. Mind you that doesn't mean our brave boys aren't above that, apparently a sergeant suggested killing baby Noor because her uncle was detained under suspicion of collaborating with Jihadists, thankfully the LT on scene disagreed.
Edit: The problem with a "progressive" society like ours is that most left-wingers view Military service with suspicion at best. Therefore the inception is dominated by those on the right. Well that and being shot at dons't lend itself well to cultural sensitivity.
edited 10th Apr '16 3:37:41 PM by JackOLantern1337
I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.Even the CIA doesn't target civilians deliberately, it just doesn't care when they get in the way. From a military perspective it's not just morally abhorrent, it's also a waste of time and effort.
Yeah the peace prize one made me laugh, personally I'd have also liked a "European NATO members are meeting to consider if the US should face suspension from the military organisation following its withdrawal from the Geneva Convention".
I don't buy that about the left and the military, Handle isn't American and comes from a part of the world full of conspiracy theories about how the US military are secret ally all baby killers. Hell even over here the military is respected, at least the troops are.
edited 10th Apr '16 4:17:28 PM by Silasw
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran![]()
Yeah, I would say there is a pretty big difference between collateral damage or the rare unauthorized revenge killing (that may result in a court martial), and having an explicit on-the-books policy of killing the family members of people who have wronged us.
The former is simply the reality of warfare, not something to be proud of, but on a certain level much an inevitability if you are engaging in any sort of warfare anywhere near a population center.
The latter is, at best, a major step towards becoming a real-life example of He who fights monsters.
edited 10th Apr '16 4:23:56 PM by Falrinn
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Sorry I meant the Military as an institution.and their compatibility with it. To be fair it's not like the military is open to many differences, especially in the lower ranks especially, hell they have a phase of training called "indoctrination."
The Taliban tried to Kill John Kerry
Those mother fuckers.
edited 10th Apr '16 4:39:13 PM by JackOLantern1337
I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.Yeah, if the US armed forces were really as bad as people think they are/Trump wants them to be, you'd have a My Lai or a Haditha massacre every other week. Big difference between collateral damage and sporadic incidents and having the military act like the damn Einsatzgruppen as a matter of policy.
edited 10th Apr '16 4:58:19 PM by Rationalinsanity
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Are you surprised? It's the Taliban, after all. They're not like the PA, who mostly keep to incitement, lawfare and the like. They're actual terrorists.
My impression of the Left's view on the military is that it's mostly impressionable young adults being given stupid/immoral orders. So the troops themselves are sympathized with (although maybe not agreed with), but the military overall is still viewed with suspicion. That's why progressives try to prove their support for the military with things like improved veterans' health benefits while still disapproving of anything they do.
To make a totally unhelpful analogy, it's the difference between The Patriarchy and men. One is an abstract cultural system that We Should Be Against, the other is just an arbitrary assortment of people living within that system.
edited 10th Apr '16 6:06:26 PM by Clarste
Why can't you? As long as they're not shooting your diplomats when they're going to negotiate with them.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranNegotiating with terrorists isn't a great idea since terrorists tend to move goalposts around even when you give them exactly what they want.
Leviticus 19:34edited 10th Apr '16 7:16:21 PM by Demonic_Braeburn
Any group who acts like morons ironically will eventually find itself swamped by morons who think themselves to be in good company.![]()
And national governments don't move goalposts? Plus terrorists can only move the goalpsots so far before they loose the support of the part of their base that wants peace (that actually applies to any warring party), you might think that such elements don't exist but they do, people generally want war over, they want certain things more then that but if those things are offered and their leaders refuse anyway then they're gonna be pissed.
A) The RNC is comically underfunded in its warchest for Senate races in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, due to the current fiasco. Kasich and Cruz have little incentive to help fundraise for the Senate nominees and Trump has no major fundraising network to use.
B) An anonymous group of conservative billionaires wish to draft General James "Mad Dog" Mattis as a third party candidate to deny Hillary and Trump the 270 Electoral votes to become president.
I'm not too big on their odds of surviving a more formidable counter than "panicking civilian", but that's still a lot of potential damage.
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiotThe Man has become The Patriarchy, as that which is keeping us down. In other words, The Guy, who runs everything, who makes you suffer, and whom you must defeat, is your father.
edited 11th Apr '16 5:04:40 AM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.You know what I've seen surprisingly few people discuss? Bernie Sanders' thoughts on GM Os. It's one of the only things I don't agre with him about

RE: Quebec
There's an ugly strain of racism and religious bigotry in the separatist movement there. For too many people in the separatist movement it seems to be about having the "right" to force anyone who moves to the province to speak French and attend Catholic services.