[andyfox]

"this is a war for National Survival"

I think the crux of the disagreement critics have with the administration's policy is that the invasion and occupation of Iraq have nothing to do with national survival. That we were attacked by Al Qaeda which was being harbored by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"all the bs 'background noise' is political fluff on both sides. 'Background noise' is all the talk about what 'we' should or should not be doing, all the political bs."

No doubt a lot of the talk in Washington is politics. After all, our leaders are politicians.

But, to the best of my knowledge, most of us who post here are just interested citizens. There is no political advantage to be gained or lost by what we post here as we're not politicians.

"So 'we' should grab a ruck and a rifle and see wtf is really happening in the world before commenting on anything"

I disagree with this. Every citizen is entitled to voice his or her opinion and it doesn't necessarily require a chicken to recognize an egg. There is also a sporting events forum in which many of us comment on trades and strategies. We don't need to play the game to have some knowledge of expertise or have something to contribute. After all, the president hasn't grabbed a ruck and a rifle, but that doesn't affect how I view his decisions.

"'we' aren’t in Iraq or Afghanistan, We (the military) are."

The military is there in the name of the United States. And maybe some of us have friends, or relatives in service. Maybe some of us have been in service before or have lost friends or relatives in service. While it is easy for me to sit in the comfort of my home or office, I wouldn't think to criticize the actions of the men and women on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan, as I know little about their day to day activities. But I do know what the president, the vice president and the attorney general have said over the past few days and I see nothing wrong with a bunch of us discussing it here on this forum.
"We," meaning the armed forces of the United States, operating in the name of the country, are indeed in Iraq and Afghanistan.