Definitely one of the more interesting takes on ‘supporting’ the troops I’ve read in a while. Fundamentally the question is flawed. I come from a country, and was raised in another one, which both had mandatory conscription. The mantra always was:

leave logic at the door when you enter the army.

The reason was simple, in the army you take orders and you do as you’re told. The thing is though, and this is only starting to take form in my head as I’m writing this, does this mean that by joining the army you believe in the path that your country takes when employing said army?

I’ll be more specific. After University the plan was ALWAYS for me to join the army. Now I’m not a violent man however I felt that the Lebanese army wasn’t going to be taking over the world any time soon. By joining the army I would be part of that group of people that would try and defend the country. It wasn’t an agressive force, but rather a force for protection. Regardless of how effective it is, it seemed like I wouldn’t be expediting my morals. I wouldn’t be asked to take over countries and fight for imposing my country’s opinion for someone else’s, as I have seen what that actually means unlike the plethora of idiots that support war, in ANY form.

Which brings me to the American troops. When you join the American army you really should know what that actually entails. You join on your own free will. It’s not mandatory, but rather a decision you make in your life. When you join the American army you KNOW that there is a REMOTE (read the sarcasm) possibility that you will be sent in to take over countries, in a hostile manner. You will be sent in to ‘fight for the good guys’. You’d have to be pretty ill informed not to know that little fact that you are not a peace keeper. You are not a defender in the traditional sense, you are part of the aggressors. Oh sure you are given to believe that what you are doing it the righteous thing, however I don’t agree with this as the proof is in the results. History keeps repeating itself time and time again and history has definitely not been kind to American foreign policy.

Yes I know that there are some good guys in the army who just want to make sure that their country is defended properly, however going into all other countries and destroying them does not in my book constitute as defending anything. Of course the obvious question is doesn’t America need an army? You cant' join the army and say you don’t want to be stationed anywhere but in America, that’s not how it works, which I know. As a human being though I make my decisions and I live my life based on those decisions I make.

By joining the army and going to Iraq, you’re not defending your country, you’re defending you’re country and it’s business partner’s financial interests. That puts you in a group of people that I cannot offer any support towards. That might seem harsh, but the truth of the matter is you have MADE the decision to continue to give your LIFE to a group of people (be they the government or the army itself) who is there to exploit another group of people, not to defend.