Do you think it's possible to support the troops but not the war?

Question

Tonight my pastor said that he doesn't understand how people can say they support the troops but not the war.

I, personally, think the US military, and each of its members, deserves the highest respect and love we, as a nation, can give.

I also think the war should end, so I don't understand why he would think those are mutually exclusive feelings: what do you think?

Answer 1

I lived through this 35 or so years ago. I was a brand new 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force heading to undergraduate pilot training. I was very proud that I had made through basic training and Officer's Candidate School. I had to change planes at San Fransisco Airport. When I got off the plane to go to the next gate I was supposed to be at, I was spit on and called a baby killer.



During the Viet Nam war. The other side had much better public relations. Not only were people anti-war, they were anti-military personnel. It was a lose-lose scenario. Most of the enlisted men were drafted into the service. Most of the Officers (college grads) were drafted, but enlisted so they could be officers.



Now it is all different. Everyone says the war is a terrible thing. Horray for our soldiers. Everyone forgets that military cannot do anything without civilian oversight. The Commander in Chief of the military is the President. The Constitution says he is the only one who can declare war. The so-called War Powers Act, is Congress' attempt to gain a little power from the president. That law has never been tested in court.



I do not care how one feels about the war. If you are for it, fine. If you are against it, write your Congressman.



I do care about the young soldier sent to war. Young United States soldiers are being shot, maimed and killed. They die to protect someone they have never met. They die so Iraq can be free. They are also dieing so that you have the right to be against the war. They swore an oath that they would protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. That oath does not mention the Defense Department, Congress, or the President. What they are fighting for is a single piece of paper at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D. C.



Do not get me wrong. War is the most horrible thing one nation can do to another nation. There are no winners in a war. On both sides of a battle field their are physical and mental casulties. I wish someday man will stop being an animal and be able to live in PEACE.

Answer 2

The troops are fighting a war that our leaders deem necessary. Their work is to wage war and complete their tasks as ordered. They don't choose where to deploy.



Our leaders decide where and when our military deploy and what their mission will be. There are many reasons that they might have the military go into another country.



I do think you can support the people serving in the military and at the same time think that the reasoning that put them in harms way is flawed.



I believe your pastor was saying that you should support the troops and your countries leaders equally. It is his opinion and he has a right to express it as you do to disagree with him.







g-day!

Answer 3

What does that mean "support the troops & not the war"?



Honestly, I don't care if you buy me beers at the airport bar or shake my hand - you spit on me though, I'm gonna kick your butt. What we need though is for you to actually stand behind the mission. We need a united front. The people we're fighting don't care if they kill ten of us or ten thousand. They care about scaring the crap out of you back home so you'll force our politicians to bring us home. That's it, that's all there is. I got no problem if you think we should have never gone or it's not worth the cost. Fact is, the only way we ever win any war in history is to make the enemy understand we'll spend any number of lives for any period of time to defeat them. That's all that defines victory or loss, and the cost of loss is enormous to you at home. I don't mean you'll be speaking arabic or any crap like that, but you may well be out of a job & we very probably would be back there in ten years fighting a much bigger war later.



Just put your politics aside, win the war, then vote for people that don't make bad decisions. That's what responsible citizenship is.

Answer 4

however the question is what do people ever do to 'help' the troops. in basic terms asserting it out loud counts? or in basic terms putting those yellow thingies? To be user-friendly i don't sense mushy asserting something like that 'I help the troops' after Icontinual SUV and have not made any actual sacrifice in my existence type. i don't hate our troops of direction. i will probable tell people I help the troops, yet not conflict. yet what the hell does that recommend? Yea all of us say it. yet certainly maximum persons incredibly do not do something to 'help' troops. If somebody yells 'I help the troops' and ask you in case you help the troops ASK them, 'what are you doing to assist the troop as nicely yelling it?' Ask regulation makers to look after troops, get them wellness care they want. Ask them to stop abusing troops too. What they are doing is abusing our troops. they are utilising those volunteer military like they're some form of supermen. they are occurring third, 4th excursions with inadequate harm, no trip, no relatives time. The conflict is wrecking the militia and their relatives. i for my area do not see straightforward straightforward procedures to assist the conflict and troops comparable time. i think of you will ought to oppose the conflict it fairly is hurting our troops massive time. and intensely unfairly. I in basic terms observed a video clip on McLaughlin team television prepare final night. This soldier in Iraq ranting approximately his 15 months prolonged excursion. He says he will bypass on yet another 15 months for unfastened if Bush come out in the warmth and do it with him. He wasn't happy they save extending their excursion responsibilities. he's not on my own. The gov save telling them 'no you are able to't bypass living house, you should stay.' you are able to in basic terms push people so annoying formerly they only lose it. it incredibly is in basic terms impossible to assist the conflict in case you help the troops. The conflict is wrecking US troops' lives. It makes proper sense which you help the troops, yet not the conflict.

Answer 5

i think that is possible to support the troops but not the war. I am thankful for those people who for are willing to lay down their lifes for the lifes of others. You can support some one but not like what they are doing and this is just like the war i dont support the war but i support the troops for what they do.

Answer 6

Actually I would word it " Supporting the Troops but not the politics that put them there" My husband is on his 3rd tour in Iraq. I absolutely support him and his brothers and sisters that are fighting along side him. I hate this war..hate the politics..hate the government leaders that sent him and others to fight a war that no one can win. We may leave the people there in a bigger mess then we found them. I agreed that the Iraqi people needed help freeing themselves from the tyranny and oppression that they have endured. Now they need to help themselves and take responsibility for their own. If we pull out completely any time soon, it will be chaos for the people of Iraq. They have not shown us that they can or will step it up to police themselves.

Proud Army Wife!! HOOAH!!

Answer 7

You can be patriot and still civilly question the politics behind the war. The key is to never to let our political discussions be made public to the world or directed at the troops. The troops don't need to be made to feel that their work is flawed or that their fellow countrymen do not support them.



You can support your USA troops with positive upbeat letters that contain no politics & care packages by checking out anysoldier.com

Answer 8

Because of all the hate and politics flowing from both sides. You can support the troops but not the war. It's waving a flag, sending care packages, etc.

Answer 9

A Pastor that likes war.

I would change churches.

Supporting the troops in my opinion means keeping them supplied and well armored so as many of them as possible can come out of that mess in one piece.

Supporting the troops also means NOT working them to death with long deployments and the short turnarounds.

Supporting the troops also means making sure they get proper medical care because this war going to produce a lot of servicemembers missing/maimed arms and legs.

And a whole lot of head trauma.

And PTSD .

Mark my words....the people who are for the war will kick vets to the curb.

They will call them bums.

They will encourage their Mayor and Police to keep them bums moving along.

And that Pastor....I would give him the heave ho.

Answer 10

Absolutely! The Bush administration lied to Congress, hoodwinked the American people, and conned our valiant troops into believing there was honorable purpose in attacking another sovereign nation that in no way threatened, provoked or attacked the United States.

675,000 Iraqi citizens and 3,800 U.S. soldiers have given their lives so that a handful of wealthy elitists, industrialists and power brokers can become wealthier and more powerful.

I support our troops 100% - and we ALL could show our unwavering support by DEMANDING that they all be brought home immediately. This unconstitutional, illegal, unjustifiable, immoral 'war' is - and has been from its very first day - all about OIL and WAR PROFITEERING.

George Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld and all their war-mongering friends deserve a special oil-soaked, blood-stained corner of Hell where they can rot for eternity, along with:

* all 535 members of the most arrogant, incompetent, evil, contemptible, cowardly, corrupt Republican-led Congress that stood by and allowed Bush to run rip shod over our Constitution -and-

* all 535 members of the most arrogant, incompetent, evil, contemptible, cowardly, corrupt Democratic-led Congress that promised to end this war if they were elected, and - to date - has done nothing to honor that promise.

May God DAMN THEM ALL!!!



I respect, honor and support our troops.

I abhor this insane, obscene 'war'. -RKO- 10/07/07

Answer 11

I agree with you, but have seen that so many people mix the two issues that their arguments against the war become insults to our troops, which is uncalled for in my personal opinion.

Answer 12

Yes. I support the troops and I supported the war. What we have now is, troops dying to set up a government that the Iraq people don't want. We are not going to please 3 different tribes. Lets go home. And I still support the troops. They are doing their job.

Answer 13

Yes, you can support our troops without supporting the war. The Iraqi's call it an "occupation", the US calls it "war". Those that have decided to enlist, more than likely do so to protect our country - our rights; whether or not we can justify our presence there in Iraq, we can respect those that have decided to join "the cause".

Answer 14

I agree with you supporting the troops and the war are two seperate things. I don't support the war but love our troops. A lot of service men don't support the war themselves.

Answer 15

Absolutely.



I have a brother who just made NCO of the month and yet I oppose the war. So does he, for that matter and so does my mother, a Lt. Colonel, and my father, a Vietnam Vet.



I respect the troops and their responsibility to their country and think it is a great thing, but this war is not in the best interests of the nation.

Answer 16

You pastor is a moron, that is using his faith as a political machine.



let me ask you a question....

If your son is told by his employer to kick one of your friends out of the establishment he works for, when you disagree with the choice of the establishment to kick him out, does that mean you support your son doing his job any less?



the obligations of our troops to follow their orders, are in no way the same as the bad policies being made by their leaders, and we should still support our loved ones coming home to us in the way they left, no matter if we disagree with their orders. they still have an obligation to carry the out.



Ask your pastor, since he obviously supports the blood of Christ cleansing him of his sins, does that mean he would have supported them killing the guy? maybe he would have even held the nails for them??



only idiots equate lack of support for war with wishing our people defeated and killed.

Answer 17

ABSOLUTELY. I am an Army Wife. My husband does not support this war one bit. I hate the war. But my husband is there, right now... so of course I support soldiers. The best way to support soldiers is ending a war that is putting too much stress on the military.

Answer 18

Explain to me how you support the troops if you wish that they are killed and defeated so you and the cut, run, and surrender crowd in DC can win? I understand not wanting war, but the time for debate is before we send out troops into combat. When all of the Cowardly Democrats voted to send me and my brothers into combat because it helped their poll numbers, they were not concerned as to how many died, or whether or not we would win the war, all they thought about is whether or not they got to keep their cushy jobs. Now that it looks like it might cost them votes the same people who voted for us to go over and fight, are doing everything in their power to kill as many of us as they can.

Answer 19

It's definitely possible and within reason to support the troops but not the war. You want the best for the troops and their wellbeing, and their families, and going against illegitimate wars is definitely along those same lines.

Answer 20

How can you support the troops if you want them defeated?

Answer 21

I don't think so.

It's pretty much all or nothing.

We voted for the people that that voted for the war.

We are all in it. There is no Bush's war.

Answer 22

of course you should.it's not the troops fault we go to wars...but we sure are capable of dying over it..then when when we come home we are tarred and feathered..like it's our fault we started the damn wars..

i am a vietnam vet and let me tell you a lot of service men were afraid to wear their uniforms when they came home..like we begged ''johnson'' to send us over there...B.S.

Answer 23

support the troops, not those who misled them.

Answer 24

your pastor is an idiot...how can he support god and support the troops murders

Answer 25

Yes, it's only morons who think you need to do both to be Patriotic.

Answer 26

How can you support someone, but not the job they are doing? By saying you do not support the job they are assigned to do you are telling them you do not support them. That's like stating you support your local fire department but do not support them putting out fires.