Once again, you miss the boat...
First - An American media that salivates over the oportunity to print state secrets is an enemy. An American media that seeks to exploit government and military attempts to do its job just to earn a buck is an enemy. Politicians who seek to earn politicial points at the expense of the military is an enemy. A bloated Defense Industry that focuses primarily on the next toy rather than what the "soldier" actually needs to fight today's wars may as well be an enemy. And those who would sacrifice our military personel to the alter of world opinion is no friend. Did the "Greatest Generation" have to deal with such obstacles from their own people?
Second - I said nothing about disagreement or opinions being a prescription of an enemy.
Oh Bull****! You are talking in talking points, and every single one of them is wrong. You point those you disagree with in the most negative possible light, exaggerating at every step. How exactly do you expect to be taken seriously. What is truly sad is you are better than this. You are a smart guy, you can think more accurately.
The media considers itself a watchdog, and it also considers itself a business. It prints what will make it money, and what it thinks important. it is not out there doing anything improper, and it is not some monolith. "The media" is a favorite target of the slow witted who need an excuse for things being reported that they do not want reported. "The media" is a key part of democracy, and do function to a certain degree as a watchdog. They do "exploit" events that they consider newsworthy for profit, but this is little different than a farmer, who "exploits" peoples need for food for profit. It is capitalism. Sorry, but no, the media is not an enemy, that is just exaggeration and hyperbole.
Politicians, even when we disagree with them, still for the most part are trying to do what they think is best for the country. Just because you do not agree does not make them the enemy. If a politician criticizes the military, it does not mean they are trying to score political points, in fact that is a poor way to score points. It usually means the military has done something they do not approve of, and since they are the bosses of you in the military, they have every right to do so. The military is
not above criticism, and politicians can and should look for things the military is not doing right, and work to change those. No, politicians are not the enemy, not republicans, not democrats, not independents. To say they are is just exaggeration and hyperbole.
The defense industry is a capitalistic enterprise. Their primary goal is to make money, not win wars. Unless you want to socialize the defense industry, that is the way it is. We have to reward those companies that do well, and not reward those who sell overpriced junk. There are very few companies in any industry that, when offered the chance to sell overpriced underperformed items, won't jump at that chance. The problems is in ignorance of what the military needs among those who buy, and corruption. The former needs to be remedied with education and better processes, and ignorance does not an enemy make. the latter needs to be rooted out, and the offenders jailed. Corruption does not make an enemy either, it makes a criminal. Calling the defense industry an enemy is just exaggeration and hyperbole.
The military's job is to serve the country, and if the country is served by improving foreign relations, then it is the military's job to support that. Don't like it, then it is time to get out, but that is the reality of the situation, and has been since long before you or I enlisted.
You hit the populist points pretty hard Gunny, but you failed to think your arguments through. Further, all this has exactly nothing to do with the case in hand, where you, like too many others, are jumping to the convenient conclusion that gives you a handy chance to express your outrage. I do not know the whole story with why these soldiers have been tried, and I am willing to bet neither do you. I am pretty sure that if you stepped back, reread the information available, you would quickly come to the conclusion that things do not add up right based on that information, and that would lead you as well to suspect there is things going on we do not know. Outrage in the absence of facts serves no purpose.