Should we wonder why these military men come home with PTSD? We should not be in Afghanistan. <SNIP>
These men know they're not fighting a real war, it's a U.S. contrived war, for nothing. <SNIP>
Men who fought in the 'real' wars, the World Wars-- fought for something and they knew it. Men fighting a non-war in Afghanistan are returning home to live as a disabled veteran for life with ****ty health care from the VA and PTSD, and some like this Marine feel the guilt of committing cold-blooded murder for the rest of his life.
Our failed adventures in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan have drained America’s power and diminished its prestige. The bloated Pentagon budget actually makes us weaker...<SNIP>
America doesn't need a huge army anymore. <SNIP>
No wonder we can’t seem to win.
The historical record shows that there is some correct and some incorrect in your declarations. Because you are all over the map, I will try to sum up:
- Yes, we should not be in Afghanistan anymore. It has long been overdue for our departure. Since we exist within a culture that likes to use ideology as a measure of success in our wars (democracy, freedom, unicorns), our politicians set impractical goals that leave U.S. Presidents fearful about "losing" as civilians judge and take it upon themselves to declare failure at every turn. Thus...we linger and kick the can to a future President. The lesson we refuse to learn is that a military is organized largely to meet military goals, not social ones for a foreign population; and many cases we don't even understand the
enemy or the conflict. This is why "we can't seem to win anymore." The masses are constantly promised the impossible, beyond the practical mission. And don't confuse the military for the Marshal Plan after WWII, in which the Middle East has never received. Money and political coercion recreated Europe, not our military. We can kill the enemy; we cannot change his culture.
- Men are dying in a conflict that involves combatants. "These men" know that they are fighting a real war. And since we have a voluntary military, these men purposefully chose to join with the full knowledge that deployment was in their future. They were not drafted. They are not victims of government. PTSD has always been a product. It doesn’t matter whether we fight Germans, who did not attack America, or Afghans, who did not attack America. Since the Revolution, all our wars have been about economy. Don’t kid yourself with the false ideologies.
- The idea that the VA offers "****ty" health care is old hat. Its fine and the arguments you hear are largely about political exploitation, especially when they can find a case example that they can kick to death as a definition of the whole. This is not the 1980s VA anymore.
- No, this was a
Navy Seal...not a Marine. And it’s all murder. In war, it is merely sanctioned.
- No, "Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan have not drained America’s power. Our military power is constantly replenished. The very fact that there exists a Gulf War, Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq illustrates this. However, yes, these three wars have gone towards diminishing prestige. Add this to our Cold War history of the CIA's near absolute failure since its inception, and we have the story for how misguided we have been since inheriting this world from the colonial powers.
- Yes, we do need a big military. What we don't need is the gross budgeting that goes to the Defense Industry. We do not have the luxury of reducing ourselves. Republicans and Democrats (or Morons) reduced the military after WWII and this left us entirely drowning when the North Koreans crossed the 38th Parallel in 1949. Republicans and Democrats (or Morons) argued to reduce the military after the Cold War ended. Like before, they were wrong. They began exhausting the military (Gulf War, Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti, and so many other missions). In the meantime, Clinton went on to deal with the deficit and American debt throughout the 1990s and targeted Defense spending. But as the military was drowning in "Awaiting Parts," and cancelled exercises due to a lack of material, the Defense Industry continued to get gross and bloated contracts to build toys. Directly after 9/11, our troops found themselves deploying with duct tape on their NBC Suits and purchasing body armor. Direct your criticism towards the Senators who care more about providing jobs to civilians in their states by funding bloated Defense contracts and not on funding the actual military.
- And Trump is a whole 'nother thing. His existence and his behaviors have merely shed light on the BS that a certain element of our population used to get away with. Most disappointing of this element are the Veterans who look the other way every time he tells them to so that he can get away with insulting their honorable service.