Originally Posted By DlandDug >>we read about death tolls in this war... and don't have a whole lot of reaction...<< Say what? <a href="http://www.anti-imperialist.org/anti-war_10-27-07.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.anti-imperialist.or...7-07.jpg</a> <a href="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2008-03-18-PeacerallyMarchlong.jpg" target="_blank">http://images.huffingtonpost.c...long.jpg</a> <a href="http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/3/39/300px-London_anti-war_protest_banners.jpg" target="_blank">http://content.answers.com/mai...ners.jpg</a> <a href="http://images2.sina.com/english/world/p/1/2008/0319/U100P200T1D151060F12DT20080319193400.jpg" target="_blank">http://images2.sina.com/englis...3400.jpg</a> <a href="http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/03/large_SCRAM.jpg" target="_blank">http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/...CRAM.jpg</a> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2007/01/protest01.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.motherjones.com/new...st01.jpg</a> Believe me, there's plenty more where those came from...
Originally Posted By ecdc I'm with Kar2oonMan. You can dig up pictures of people protesting the war to give the impression of action. But there's no real data behind the images. What percentage of Americans have protested the war? By and large Americans seem pretty apathetic.
Originally Posted By ecdc As for the Koran, I'm all for respecting the sacred beliefs of others. But respect ought to be earned with a little bit of intelligence. Anyone, anywhere, can write anything and call it sacred. Is it deserving of respect just because they say it's sacred to them? Furthermore, respect is a two-way street. How much respect do these people give Christians? Jews? Atheists? In my limited experience, the religions that demand the most respect are usually those least-deserving of it. I'm looking at you, Scientology.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 It's not about respecting the sacred beliefs of others. It's about respecting the sacred belief of others when you are at their house. Can you imagine if a group of Muslims came to America to visit, Muslims who are part of a foreign army and one of them decides to shoot the bible or burn an AMerican flag? We'd be outraged and demand that the Government that those Muslims live in apologize for their actions. When a soldier puts on a military uniform, he isn't just speaking for himself, he is representing the country as a whole.
Originally Posted By X-san ***Can you imagine if a group of Muslims came to America to visit, Muslims who are part of a foreign army and one of them decides to shoot the bible or burn an AMerican flag?*** So long as they don't crash any more planes into buildings, I couldn't care less. Seriously, do we have freedom or don't we? I feel well within my rights to shoot a bible or burn a flag if it's my property and want to do it (I probably wouldn't, but even so I want my right to do it if I want...after all, it's only stuff right?). What does the people being a member of a foreign military have to do with the issue, anyway? Unless you're talking about an occupying force, they're no different from any other tourists and have the same rights and should pay the same legal penalties if they break the law. As far as I know there's no law against shooting a book (assuming you have a permit for the weapon) or burning a flag (I do realize they're trying to change that). What's the penalty for burning bibles in Vatican City? I wonder...
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 What does the people being a member of a foreign military have to do with the issue, anyway?<< Because that is what occurred. It wasn't a private citizen who shot the Koran, it was a member of the military who is under the leadership of George W. Bush.... That is why an apology was issued.
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 But I just don't understand the comparison between that and some member of a foreign military in America because, obviously, it's different for an occupying force. I assume that an occupying force is not subject to local laws in the same way that a soldier on vacation in a foreign country would be.<< We are not an occupying force....
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Yeah, keep telling yourself that. << I will because if we were an occupying force, we would be making policies, but we are following the policies of the Iraqi Government. Here let's look at the definition of an occupying force. occupy - March aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation Last time I checked were didn't conquer Iraq.... Now let's look at force force - Take by force I will give you that one, so if we are not here to conquer...Then what should we call the troops here. Let's look at this word liberate - Grant freedom to; free from confinement Which is exactly what we did, we liberated the country and had the people vote for a new Government. It is an insult to every member of the military if you call us an occupying force, because we are not occupying, in fact if the Iraqi Government asked today for us to leave, we would do so.
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
Originally Posted By X-san ***Last time I checked were didn't conquer Iraq....*** Am I not understanding this or something? We marched in and took over, deposing the government in the process. What part of the definition of "conquer" do I not understand here?
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 ALl of the Iraqi leadership are elected officials. We came here to liberate the country from a man who was tried and convicted of numerous war crimes....
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Can you imagine if a group of Muslims came to America to visit, Muslims who are part of a foreign army and one of them decides to shoot the bible or burn an AMerican flag? We'd be outraged and demand that the Government that those Muslims live in apologize for their actions.<< Yes, we would. Because this is the kind of silly minutia people get worked up about. I understand it isn't smart to intentionally offend people when we're in their country. But it is odd the things that get people fired up and the things that don't get a lot of notice, isn't it?
Originally Posted By X-san ***It is an insult to every member of the military if you call us an occupying force, because we are not occupying, in fact if the Iraqi Government asked today for us to leave, we would do so.*** Well, for some reason my post about not believing that for a second got erased, but anyway I don't believe that for a second. And it's no insult. It's a fact.
Originally Posted By X-san In other words, we went in there by force and occupied the place. The fact that we set up a new, interim government is irrelevant. It is also SOP for occupying forces. We did the same in occupied Japan. William, you can't believe everything your commanding officer tells ya.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Yeah William, your C.O. will enjoy hearing that one while he sends you to the brig.
