Iraq War - What's different this time?

[DarkCloud]

Re: Geronimo:

On a per individual basis and overall, the old fashion avenues of writing letters to congressmen and signing petitions is surely far more effective at modifying policy than protests have been.

This is actually a very good piece of advice.

For those americans who remember the immigration policy debate- one of the reasons it went down in flames was that the switchboards of the senators in DC overloaded with many ill-informed people who appeared to think that immigration reform=amnesty without consequences, as well as many people who didn't want immigrants in the first place for a variety of reasons. Without the hard work and many calls of thousands of interested people, the McCain-Kennedy bill of immigration reform might have passed.

Thus, it is important to note that even if you support government policies, it is a GREAT idea to send a quick lil email to Congresspeolple (at least in America) just letting them know that they are on the right track.

The coding system in at least some of the offices consists of this:

EMAIL ARRIVES
Legislative Assistant Reads
Assistant codifies it- (PRO Iraq War/ ANTI Iraq War)
END

They keep little tallies. Often you don't even need to make a thoughful argument because often they don't have time to read them or care about them. Thus, the time invested consists of the time it takes to send an email and write "I support the Iraq War" or "I do not support the Iraq War", etc.

~DC.

[Elok]

Most of the answers have already been covered. Plus we have the internet, which lets us vent our pointless hissy-fit feelings without disrupting traffic or inconveniencing people. The internet

I wasn't alive during 'nam; was "containing communism" as powerful a dissent-squasher as "war on terror" has been?

[Kuciwalker]

Some antiwar protestors regularly come by the CS building at my school because we develop a lot of the robots the army uses in Iraq. They don't seem to understand that pretty much all of the CS/ECE/MechE's here are proud of that.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Main_Brain
Draft Army vs Enlisted Army

Also:
In Vietnam, we were losing KIAs at ten times the rate we are now.

Vietnam was run by a military dictatorship and some of its generals were so corrupt, they were selling heroin to our troops.

There was very little worth dying for there.

[FrostyBoy]

Drafting during the Vietnam war? How did I miss that? I was pretty sure you were encouraged to join, but not forced to join!

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by FrostyBoy
Drafting during the Vietnam war? How did I miss that? I was pretty sure you were encouraged to join, but not forced to join!

That's some impressive ignorance, since you can't even claim the excuse of being a Kiwi, since you guys had the draft until the last few years of the war: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compuls...in_New_Zealand

[FrostyBoy]

I don't know, i'm not nerdy enough to know everything.

[Kuciwalker]

Apparently you're not nerdy enough to know basic modern history, either.

[Saras]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Apparently you're not nerdy enough to know basic modern American history, either.

Fixed.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Saras


Fixed.

wasn't kuci citing an article about New Zealands history?

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Saras
Fixed.

I specifically cited his local history, too.

[FrostyBoy]

pfft, New Zealand history.

[Patroklos]

The recent revelation that several soldiers protesting were actually lying has also cast doubt on all of their stories.

The video in the OP is a perfect example. I note that he always uses the word "we" when in fact he was the lowest member on the totem pole for his unit. Just because he didn't know something, doesn't mean somebody else (specifically those in a position to know) didn't.

In any event I don't believe the OP guy because 1.) he neglects to provide many a detail about his own thought process and 2.) seems to be self censoring his recollection to maximize exaggeration. Note he provides no other sources besides himself to anything he talks about.

[Theben]

The media has also greatly down played the devastation the occupation has wrought.

The media also ignores most of the protests that do take place. Their hasn't been a massive, single anti-war movement yet, it's quite scattered and incohesive.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by FrostyBoy
Drafting during the Vietnam war? How did I miss that? I was pretty sure you were encouraged to join, but not forced to join!

Most of the protesters were young people facing conscription thus their sudden opposition to the war.