There's a difference between support the war and support the troops.?

Sgt. Brooks Girl

The troop's don't choose the battles!! They don't make the wars!! They fight them because they have a love for their country, and feel the way to serve it best is to defend it! I totally agree with you!! Why do people harbour so much hatred to our troops? Their doing their job's! My husband served a tour in Iraq, and is still in the Marine Corps. But he doesn't agree with the war. Is he a evil person? NO! But he made a commitment that he has to keep. It hurts me to know that he risked his life, and sacrificed his time away from his family. We missed him terribly, and worried, and cried, and put our lives on pause awaiting his safe return. So he can ensure our freedom, to criticise him and his brothers for doing it.

C = JD

How do you think you make a soldier feel when he's dodging bullets and only hears people complain against the cause he is fighting? Do you think that is support? Would you not feel demoralized when some idiot tells you "I support you but don't support what you do." The whole notion is absurd.

It's like having admiration and respect for Julia Child but hating her cooking.

mommy2be in march!

well how can you say you support the troops when your dont support what they are doing.........if you support them then you are behind them being over there and the job that they are doing....its kinda hyporcritical other wise...
And yes they are all heros in my mind, and deserve the upmost respect and gratitude from our civilians......
Just because a few dumb butts make poor choices and do stupid stupid things everyone views that and says there all that way NOT TRUE a few bad apples ruin it for the whole bunch.

MikeGolf

Because empty 'I support the troops' claims while you are working to wreck everything we are trying to do is not 'support.'

How can you 'support' me when you oppose what we are trying to do?

Joey Bagadonuts

OK.......if you are against the war.....tell me how are you PRO-troops?

What have you actually DONE to show your support for the troops?

Bow Hunter

Everyone has the right to support or not support both the war and the troops. But before you start ranting about how wrong and unjust the war is remember this. You don't really know the reason for the war. All you know is what the media is telling you and what the politicians are saying to further their careers. You're sitting at home safe and sound out of harms way criticizing something you don't have a clue about. Over 3,000 troops have been killed in 3 or 4 years. In 1968 15,000 American soldiers died in a war a Democrat put us in. That is in ONE year alone. We have used Nazism and communism as excuses to defend other countries and Saddam Hussein is no different than Hitler and all of the commie leaders thru the ages.

Joe K

I have had this issue come up many times and as soon as I explain to them the difference, they understand. The troops got into the military so that they could be part of protecting the country and so that they could reap the benefits that the military provides. When Iraq came up they had to go simply because of the commitment that they made when they signed up. As employees of the military, they are not at the liberty to decide whether or not they want to participate in this particular war and they are not at liberty to decided what is right and what is wrong. They take orders from their superiors and they have to go to war when called up.

Alex B. Ph.D.

C = JD is 100% right. It makes them feel they are fighting for people unappreciative for what they are doing

ur a Dee Dee Dee

You can be one or the other:
To support the war is to believe and agree with the reasons why we are there.

To support the troops is to support the men and women whose jobs it is to serve and not make the decision to go to war. And to die and get injured and be away from loved ones because it is their job.

...see the difference?

There have been troops who have done things that do not represent the ways of the majority of them, but you have to remember 2 things: 1- not everyone who is deployed volunteers, you can get volun-told to go. Even if your job in the military is something like a dentist or something. 2- military members are people too. We are just like everyone else, we make mistakes and some people have more common sense than others. We are the same as civilians in that sense, we just have different jobs.

Battlerattle06

I am for the troops, yet disagree with the war, as do many others like me, namely the troops. Our troops did not make the judgment call to go "over there", nor did their loved ones, but felt the desire to "serve", long before the "war", my son included. I agree that there have been a few that abused their power during their commission, but DO NOT represent the overall majority representing our country. I love, and support our troops without a doubt, and can only hope that the general public understands that it was not their judgment call to make being over there. Now let me go on to say that my son loves his country, but doesn't always agree with the policies of our government, nor do any of us. To our loved ones whom serve, or have served, I deeply thank you for the sacrifices you made. My prayers, and love are with you all. Best Regards!

iraqisax

During the Viet Nam situation, the media was able to vent the frustration with the way the situation was being handled by Washington on the military. American military were shamefully treated by American citizens. They were referred to as baby killers. For reasons I have never understood, the politicians who stabbed out military in the back have never been made to answer for it. Robert Strange McNamara even admitted he was lying during the conflict. Why hasn't he been held accountable?

Today, people realize that the military doesn't have much to say about where it is sent. They are trying to accomplish a difficult mission. Most American support them. The tiny number who have committed atrocities need to be singled out and punished. Otherwise, the taint the rest of us. The military profession needs to maintain its honor. That is the huge gulf between the military and the politician. We will never be able to understand each other.

judever

It depends on what the word support means to you.
To me, Support means that I am proud of the job they do and believe that they are doing things to the best of their ability. Also it means that I have to show my support through my actions. If my actions or words are unsupportive, it just makes me look insincere.
It's hard to make the troops feel the support if they are being told that they are doing their job wrong and you don't like the outcome of their sacrifice and hard work. You can't praise and criticize at the same time without one loosing it's meaning.

GERALD S. MCSEE

I basically agree with you. Not supporting the war (or whatever it is chosen to be called) is actually being against the decisions of our President.
The troops did not start or go there on their own. They were sent/ordered. Regardless of what they think they had to go, sort of like herds of cattle being driven to the slaughter house. They follow orders.
I empathize with the troops. I go out of my way when entering a base, seeing them in a store to say thank you and maybe even pay for a coffee or treat.
As to the wrong things done by some military, at least some of them would have been done if they were not in the war zone. But depending on the personality war can/does make or contribute to stress factors that results in actions even the individual troops would say, I can't believe I did that. But they were sent by our President.

devilduck74

You cant be both:

You cant really support the troops and not the War...Troops fight war.

Thats like saying I support Goodyear Tires but I hate rubber farmers.

lastresortcoseverythingtaken

I support the soldiers 100%, and I would probably not be brave enough to face what they are going through on a daily basis. I also partly support the war-not the killing of 1000s of people, but I support getting Saddam Hussein out of power. there were many reasons for the war, and that is the reason i support. But that said, i do not support any other aspect of the war.

LuvMySailor

People who think supporting the war and the troops is a package deal are not thinking about what support really is.

My husband, and many of my friends' husbands, serve in the military and my heart supports them 100%. However, I feel the war is a disgrace and a terrible waste of this countries military power and funding. That said, even though I hate the fact at times that people I care dearly for are in the sandbox, there is little the common citizen can do but be proud of how our troops are handling the task given to them.

sammie

I am against the politics which enabled the war i support our troops as i am married to one ... Civillians are shocked at callous deeds commited by our forces yet have no feeling when it happens to our troops and demand they come home...They work in hostile environments and are trainned to soilder on they have no emotions when in theatre and incidents happen especially when under attack or threatened or have recent losses

DJ Cosmolicious

I agree that you can be against the war without being against the troops. There are gradations of feeling, as in all things. Reading the comments so far, there are so many extremist opinions, too many people who think you can be only one thing or another, black or white.

Obviously, there are peaceniks who are just anti-military in general, and inappropriately vent their feelings on the troops in war or in peacetime. The military will always have enemies in the United States, people who dislike the military as an institution. But I believe that's a tiny segment of the population.

I'm a military veteran, and I disagree with the war, and I did not vote for this President or his party, and I think the war was wrong from the beginning, and has gotten worse since then. I believe it's my right to do so, and to express my opinion freely. The framers of the Constitution purposely pitted the different branches of government against each other and enshrined some basic individual freedoms in the Bill of Rights because they distrusted power and distrusted government. They foresaw there would be situations when the President, or other members of the government, would act irresponsibly. And they encouraged dissent. A lot of them were newspaper owners, and the newspapers of that period were fiercely partisan, not even remotely concerned with objectivity. They routinely slandered each other and wrote scathing critiques of the government in power. That's the America I love, the America I thought was worth giving my life for. Members of the military swear an oath to the Constitution, not to the President, although they obey his orders as Commander-in-Chief, and are more limited in their right to criticize him when they are in uniform.

So I respect and support those members of our armed forces that stand and obey their orders, and go over to that pit of Hell we call Iraq, and do their duty, despite the fact that we're losing, and that we were lied to as to why we needed to go over there, and that the elected civilian leadership that got us into that conflict is incompetent. That's the beauty of serving in the military of a democracy - your service is much more valuable BECAUSE you serve in a questionable cause. You serve the people of the United States and its Constitution, no matter what. Even when the cause is hopeless and stupid. It is that which ennobles those who serve.

I also agree with those who question the folks who say they support the troops but don't support the war, asking HOW exactly it is they support the troops. By not spitting on them when they come home, as in Vietnam? That's nice, but I agree that it would be better if everybody who says they support the troops were doing something about it. Check with your local VFW, even if you disagree with their views, and find out how you can help. Somewhere in your neighborhood or community is someone with a son or daughter over there. Find out what they need, what you can do to help. Write a letter. Bake some cookies. Don't just stick a yellow ribbon magnet on the back of your car.

truth seeker

It's moronic to think that the two can't be separated. People ask "how does that make the troops feel". another stupid question. Do they they not realize, that just statistically speaking alone, there are many of the troops own parents that are against the war. Yet, these parents support the troops don't they? of course. the two are separate. to think differently is to NOT think.

Samurai Jack

You are correct.

wiseguywisedude

YOU TELL `EM AS IT IS...
The only reason all this is happening is because of IGNORANCE. Just because we live in the super Power doesn`t mean that we are super intelectuals. We have to admit first that we need to learn from ourselves, and others, and then open up our eyes, and ears for more than what the Media tells us. We were given a mind by GOD, we should be able to put 2 and 2 together. I truly, and whole heartedly SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, but truly, and whole heartedly HATE THE WAR that has been put on us , cause it`s an unfair, and unjust war.

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