First I will say that I have never been a soldier, so its not my opinion based on any actual experience I have. I have two older brothers who are in the Army. One is in Iraq, one is in Colombia. When I got out of HS I wanted to join too but they would not take me due to health reasons. That was almost an acceptable excuse, so the ass kicking I got was only half of what it could been. Anyway, I think that all of the people who have been expecting the Iraqi army to roll over have really misunderstood the nature of people, and soldiers in particular. If any of you here have actually served in combat and I'm wrong, please correct me.
I think that the reasons many people join the army have to do are varied. God, Country, stay out of jail (Conscripts) but when it gets down to the actual fighting I don't think any of them are thinking of that. And the people we have who have won medals for bravery etc I doubt were thinking about that or about being a hero. They simply fought because someone else was shooting at them and they are there to protect their buddies. No one wants to let their friends down, no one wants to see his buddy hurt or dead. So they fight. Regardless of believing in what the larger political purpose of the battle is, when it gets right down to the fight they are all there for each other.
I also think that for the politicans to have thought that the Iraqi people would welcome us in was kind of silly. No one wants to see his or her country attacked. Most people will try to defend it. Remember how we all felt after 9/11. Remember how unpopular Bush was on Sept 10th, and then that his ratings were near 85% a week later. People will come together when their nation is under attack, regardless in most cases of any other differences they have.
All this is just my humble opion and as Dennis Miller likes to say, I could be wrong. I'd like to hear what others have to say about this though.
Brandon
I think that the reasons many people join the army have to do are varied. God, Country, stay out of jail (Conscripts) but when it gets down to the actual fighting I don't think any of them are thinking of that. And the people we have who have won medals for bravery etc I doubt were thinking about that or about being a hero. They simply fought because someone else was shooting at them and they are there to protect their buddies. No one wants to let their friends down, no one wants to see his buddy hurt or dead. So they fight. Regardless of believing in what the larger political purpose of the battle is, when it gets right down to the fight they are all there for each other.
I also think that for the politicans to have thought that the Iraqi people would welcome us in was kind of silly. No one wants to see his or her country attacked. Most people will try to defend it. Remember how we all felt after 9/11. Remember how unpopular Bush was on Sept 10th, and then that his ratings were near 85% a week later. People will come together when their nation is under attack, regardless in most cases of any other differences they have.
All this is just my humble opion and as Dennis Miller likes to say, I could be wrong. I'd like to hear what others have to say about this though.
Brandon
