President's speech

[starang21]

Originally posted by Rudey
You're right. You are more educated than me and more well-read. I do not know what I was writing. I also said something I do not recollect about something going out of fashion. I make moronic statements. You are smart. You are good. A-OK partner!

-Rudey
--And DeltAlum, claiming something is a fact does not a fact make. That was my intention.

and ignoring it's occurence does not mean it didn't happen. no one heard the tree fall in the forest, does that mean it still stands?

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by AlphaSigOU
Most countries have signed and have agreed to follow the LOAC.

Although, to the best of my knowledge, we have never signed them, even though we do try to abide by them for the most part.

I've never understood that.

[xo_kathy]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Although, to the best of my knowledge, we have never signed them, even though we do try to abide by them for the most part.

I've never understood that.

Which brings me to my question - someone with some military knowledge help me out here...

Before confirming who/what the target of the first bombing was, CNN noted that it is against international law (sorry of the terms are off) to assasinate another country's leader UNLESS war is already underway. Then they made sure to note that these bombings were NOT the actual start of the war - just a quick drop on a target that came up. THEN they confirmed that we were indeed trying to hit Saddam himself. So, did we break international law??? Someone clear this up for me please....

[dekeguy]

Originally posted by starang21
you're trying to tell me that every single one of the american troops is an angel who fights just becuase he has to? yea right, why not sell that to someone who is more optimistic. of course you're going to expect a lot, you're the one who in command. but just because there are good men at the head, doesn't mean that there aren't a few fools in the trenches. no one is standing up for the iraqis, but i'm not going to sit there and believe that there isn't corruption within the government and that we're all just a bunch of goodie two shoes. that's idealistic and unrealistic. and regardless of whether or not your men are righteous or not...who's to say someone in command isn't going have some illegal dealings? who's to say there aren't ulterior (and illegal) motives behind this war other than to rid the middle east of saddam? you don't know that, i don't know that....we only know what they're telling us. we're not angels.

Lets review the bidding.
We are not boy scouts.
We are not angels.
We are not "goodie two shoes".
We are Soldiers. As American Soldiers we do not tolerate the sort of routine institutional barbarity practiced by Saddam and his ilk.
It seems a bit much to compare the US Army to the gang we are facing. We simply do not operate under the same rules. And we do enforce those rules. Thats why we have the UCMJ and when someone screws up big time he can look forward to that wonderful vacation spot the military prison at Ft Leavenworth. Not a place I'd like to be.
You seem to have an axe to grind regarding the Government, its policies, and allegations of corruption within it. OK, in America it is your right to hold your opinion and to speak your mind. Thats fine with me. I might not agree with what I think is your assumption that things are rotten to the core, but part of my job is to defend your right to believe that and profess your beliefs.
One thing to remember is that the Army is not the government, it is an instrument of the government. The government has a mandate from the people, yeah it does - deal with it, and the Army follows the orders of the government. We don't do things like overthrow the government if things are not perfectly to our liking. You need to look to some of our neighbors to the South if you want to see Military Juntas. Its a different approach and a different philosophy. Key word is different, its not the way your US Army does business.
Now, we have a job to do, we are going to do it as well as we can, and we are going to fight as clean a fight as we can, and we are going to follow the rules. I'm disappointed that you have such a low opinion of your brothers and sisters, your fellow Americans, that you assume that corruption and dirty business will be the accepted practice, and that "fools in the trenches" will be up to no good. Since actions do speak louder than words you will have to excuse me while I go deal with some pressing matters and we'll let events demonstrate how this plays out.

****************

This connection is routed through quite a lash up and relayed through my Dad's office back home. It works reasonably well, all things considered, but is a little unstable (I get blown off every few heartbeats) so it might be a while before I can get back. I'll try to monitor from time to time if I have the chance but if not, best regards to everybody at GC and say a prayer for us and for the poor s.o.b.s we are facing that this will end quickly and we won't have to play too much hardball.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Take care, dekeguy! I wish you and all of the troops there the best. God Bless!

[starang21]

Originally posted by dekeguy
Lets review the bidding.
We are not boy scouts.
We are not angels.
We are not "goodie two shoes".
We are Soldiers. As American Soldiers we do not tolerate the sort of routine institutional barbarity practiced by Saddam and his ilk.
It seems a bit much to compare the US Army to the gang we are facing. We simply do not operate under the same rules. And we do enforce those rules. Thats why we have the UCMJ and when someone screws up big time he can look forward to that wonderful vacation spot the military prison at Ft Leavenworth. Not a place I'd like to be.
You seem to have an axe to grind regarding the Government, its policies, and allegations of corruption within it. OK, in America it is your right to hold your opinion and to speak your mind. Thats fine with me. I might not agree with what I think is your assumption that things are rotten to the core, but part of my job is to defend your right to believe that and profess your beliefs.
One thing to remember is that the Army is not the government, it is an instrument of the government. The government has a mandate from the people, yeah it does - deal with it, and the Army follows the orders of the government. We don't do things like overthrow the government if things are not perfectly to our liking. You need to look to some of our neighbors to the South if you want to see Military Juntas. Its a different approach and a different philosophy. Key word is different, its not the way your US Army does business.
Now, we have a job to do, we are going to do it as well as we can, and we are going to fight as clean a fight as we can, and we are going to follow the rules. I'm disappointed that you have such a low opinion of your brothers and sisters, your fellow Americans, that you assume that corruption and dirty business will be the accepted practice, and that "fools in the trenches" will be up to no good. Since actions do speak louder than words you will have to excuse me while I go deal with some pressing matters and we'll let events demonstrate how this plays out.

****************

This connection is routed through quite a lash up and relayed through my Dad's office back home. It works reasonably well, all things considered, but is a little unstable (I get blown off every few heartbeats) so it might be a while before I can get back. I'll try to monitor from time to time if I have the chance but if not, best regards to everybody at GC and say a prayer for us and for the poor s.o.b.s we are facing that this will end quickly and we won't have to play too much hardball.

did i ever say things are rotten to the core? no, but i'm not the naive citizen who thinks their government is uber righteous. plus, if you would read my post, i never made any comparison to the US army being a gang of thugs, now did i? but like deltalum said, there's a reason why US gets accused of atrocities as well. not all of your apples are going to be good ones. you're the one who is coming to conclusions on my opinions and assumptions. it disappoints me that you seem to believe unrealistically that the ALL of the motives of the US are true and right, because the in REALITY, it's not. i'm going to take what they say with a grain of salt, because i'm not the blind american who believes everything that is heard.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by xo_kathy
Which brings me to my question - someone with some military knowledge help me out here...

Before confirming who/what the target of the first bombing was, CNN noted that it is against international law (sorry of the terms are off) to assasinate another country's leader UNLESS war is already underway. Then they made sure to note that these bombings were NOT the actual start of the war - just a quick drop on a target that came up. THEN they confirmed that we were indeed trying to hit Saddam himself. So, did we break international law??? Someone clear this up for me please....

It's probably safe to say that Sadaam was given due warning (the 48 hour ultimatum) in this case.

Also, I suspect that those who said the war hasn't started really means that the "planned" campaign hasn't launched yet.

The war is on, no question about it.

And, not to be redundant, but, even though I have questions about whether we should be there at all -- we are, so I hope DekeGuy and all the rest kick ass and take names and get this thing over as soon as possible and get home safely.