Five years and counting
by Chris 4 comments Leave a comment March 20th, 2008
In the words of the photographer John Moore:
Mary told me about her slain fiance Jimmy Regan. Clearly, she had not only loved him but truly admired him. When he graduated from Duke, he decided to enlist in the Army to serve his country. He chose not to be an officer, though he could have been, because he didn’t want to risk a desk job. Instead, he became an Army Ranger and was sent twice to Aghanistan and Iraq - an incredible four deployments in just three years. He was killed in Iraq this February by a roadside bomb.
I must be a cold hearted bastard for saying this, but the guy did choose to sign up for this. Just the same as everyone else who dies in this war. Death of soldiers happens in war and that in itself isn’t justification for ending it.
Amen, Ian. And may the soldier here rest in peace.
Many signed up for this, but many signed up to fight Osama bin Laden after 9/11 and have been forced to go to Iraq instead. Many have been forced to continue on extra tours. Many do not receive the healthcare they should when they come back home. Many end up homeless and with PTSD.
“Just the same as everyone else who dies in this war.”
Would you include in this the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who have died?
“Many signed up for this, but many signed up to fight Osama bin Laden after 9/11 and have been forced to go to Iraq instead.”
I don’t think that when you sign you contracts with the military that you check off who you get to shoot at. You agree to go where the President sends you, and that is it. Sorry, but thats just sour grapes.
“Many do not receive the healthcare they should when they come back home. Many end up homeless and with PTSD.”
Look, I feel sorry for the soldiers who sacrifice too, but how is the Iraq War different from any other in this respect? That’s part of war. Who signs up for the military in this country without thinking they might actually have to go to war? There are consequences to choosing to join an organization that intends to solve the world’s problems by killing people.
“Would you include in this the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who have died?”
OK, I can see how you got that from what I said, but I should clarify that I mean our soldiers. Civilians are a completely different thing. Soldiers dying in war is the nature of the beast, but I don’t think civillian death is excusable.