Originally Posted by Dylan

My friend Charlie who joined the army last year had to buy his own bullet proof vest, or body armour. I forget which.

At any rate, his mom bought it for him, and paid a small fortune for it. That's just silly. Not everyone can afford it, and it set his family back quite a bit. We should be taking better care of our soldiers. Some of them are my friends.

That being said, I don't really think the army is a positive thing. Soldiers kill. Soldiers are trained to kill. That is their function. We aren't talking about charity workers here. The real question is whether that killing is ethical, reasonable, and justified.

Personally, I don't think so. My friends have other opinions. Everyone should be cool about it, and do what they think is right. I respect my friends for their conviction, and for pursuing what they feel is an expression of patriotism, even if I don't believe in violence on a personal level.

Oh, and Sarge... If you think that we went into Iraq to 'liberate' people, you are incredibly naive.

We are allies with Kuwait, where they put electric drills through people's skulls on a regular basis. We are on friendly terms with China... Well... Do I even have to explain what's wrong with China? We helped fund the ousting of the democratically elected president of Haiti in favor of dictatorial oligarchs.

If the US went into Iraq to fight for freedom, I have a bridge to sell you.

That being said, saying that it is all about oil and money is an oversimplfication.