The only nonfiction that ever gave me bad dreams

[andyfox]

"Don't ever, ever, do anything to compromise your ability to defend your homeland from a foreign army."

Isn't there a foreign army in Iraq just now?

There are plenty of sickening things to read about concerning the United States army in the Phillippines a hundred years ago and in Vietnam 35 years ago. 100,000 women and children were melted in Tokyo 59 years ago.

I have no illusions about the bad guys, be they the Russians in Germany in 1945, the Vietnamese Communists, or the Japanese in World War II (and before--see the Rape of Nanking). But criticism of what my country does when it imitates the bad guys doesn't mean that one sees evil in all things USA or that the critic is self-hating. It means, for me, that I want my country to live up to a higher standard 100% of the time, and on those occasions when it falls short, it pains me, because I see and understand the tremendous impact for good my country is when it doesn't fall short. But one can't just assert were the good guys; we have to act like the good guys too.

[andyfox]

I heard on the radio yesterday that it was Stalin's 100th (I think) birthday, and the people in his town had a raucous celebration commemorating the "great man's" birth.

Sickening.

[ThaSaltCracka]

I just wanted to say, excellent posts by Nicky and Andy.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
There are plenty of sickening things to read about concerning the United States army in the Phillippines a hundred years ago and in Vietnam 35 years ago. 100,000 women and children were melted in Tokyo 59 years ago.

[/ QUOTE ]

What did we do in the Phillipines and in Vietnam that rivaled the cruelty of the communist Russia and Nazi Germany?

As for Tokyo, the fire bombing is a horrible thing, but it was done for a very good reason. Even japans premier Fumimaro Konoe said "the determination to make peace was the prolonged bombing". I would much rather firebomb a city than loose a million of our soldiers. Soldiers are people too.

[adios]

[ QUOTE ]
Isn't there a foreign army in Iraq just now?

[/ QUOTE ]

Does this make the U.S. the bad guys and/or weaken ability to protect the homeland?


[ QUOTE ]
It means, for me, that I want my country to live up to a higher standard 100% of the time, and on those occasions when it falls short, it pains me, because I see and understand the tremendous impact for good my country is when it doesn't fall short. But one can't just assert were the good guys; we have to act like the good guys too.

[/ QUOTE ]

FWIW I see the U.S. military as being much more concerned about civilian casualties now especially when compared to the employment of B-52 carpet bombing in Vietnam and the incendiery bombing in WWII of places like Dresden and Tokyo.

[elwoodblues]

[ QUOTE ]
What did we do in the Phillipines and in Vietnam that rivaled the cruelty of the communist Russia and Nazi Germany?

[/ QUOTE ]

You missed the point of Andy's post. Your suggestion is that as long as we are better than Nazi Germany, then why worry. As Andy wrote:

[ QUOTE ]
I have no illusions about the bad guys, be they the Russians in Germany in 1945, the Vietnamese Communists, or the Japanese in World War II (and before--see the Rape of Nanking). But criticism of what my country does when it imitates the bad guys doesn't mean that one sees evil in all things USA or that the critic is self-hating.

[/ QUOTE ]

[whiskeytown]

probably not...

but to quote the bible, you reap what you sow - and they reaped misery for yrs. on the Russians before getting it back.

RB

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
I see the U.S. military as being much more concerned about civilian

[/ QUOTE ] Me too. War isn't perfect or precise, but I doubt any other country would take as many cautions as the U.S. Army, and be as successful as the U.S. Army is.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
probably not...

but to quote the bible, you reap what you sow - and they reaped misery for yrs. on the Russians before getting it back.

RB

[/ QUOTE ]so what, that doesn't justify anything the Russian army did in Germany.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]

You missed the point of Andy's post. Your suggestion is that as long as we are better than Nazi Germany, then why worry. As Andy wrote:

[/ QUOTE ]


I understood his point, I just thought if he was going to mention our horrible deads, then maybe he should mention that they were the best option we had at the time. We didn't have precision guided GPS bombs in WWII. It really seemed like his post was creating too much similarity between us and Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. That simply isn't the case.

Constructive criticism is good, but not when it makes you artificially look like a bad guy.