Do you think that the soldier, the vocal ones who support the war...

[WCGreen]

and president Bush no matter what are doing so in order to justify what it is they are doing...

Do you think they have built up this strong veneer of toughness and duty to one's country that they can't even question what it is they are doing without having the whole thing crash down upon them...

Almost like the Stockholm syndrome, the one where the victims identify with their captors...

And that same unequivocal backing that hard core republicans show for the war and their president is premised on the same feeling, that no doubt about anything connected to the president and his party can be justified...

I never hear people on the hard core republican side say anything like, well, he was wrong on this, but he still was right on a lot...

But it seems to me that I remember hearing that from a lot of democrats about Bill Clinton...

They admitted he was wrong about the Lewinsky affair, and made excuses for him but always were able to admit a flaw...

Just musing a bit here on a Sunday night...

[gateley]

1. If I were in the military in Iraq, I think I would HAVE to believe it otherwise

seeing the horror, participating in the bloodshed, the uncertainly of a solution -- would make me lose my mind. I'd make myself believe it and live in that denial. I honestly don't know how the ones who voice their disagreements and disgust do it -- they're far stronger than I would be. God love 'em!

[Klukie]

2. IMO....

These type of folks are followers, plain and simple. They never question because that would require that they possess an idea of their own. These type of people don't have ideas. They look to others to provide them. Once they have found their leader they never have to worry about individual thought again. They have found in GW what they perceive to be the qualities of strong leadership. This is simply because he talks tough. Since these type of folks never deal in substance, they have no clue that they stand behind a man that is completely hollow.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I don't think the soldiers can nuance...

Neither can the hard core Republicans...

Maybe subtlety is beyond them?

Or maybe they are brainwashed into thinking this way, much as the Stockholm syndrome folks are?

We Dems are more flexible... It's possible for us to see things in shades of gray...

We can accept someone on one level, and find fault on another...

I don't see the Repubs doing that, not so much...

[silverback]

4. Soldiers...

It's important that you try to understand what it means to be a soldier.

It's not their job to question, they're not in a position where they can afford to and keep doing their job. Their profession requires that they follow orders without always knowing why. War is hard enough to deal with without asking those questions. If the Army wants them to have an opinion, they issue them one.

That's not a personal failing of the troops, any more than the tendency towards dehumanization of the enemy is (decent men have trouble sleeping well otherwise) It's just the nature of war.

The troops are mostly kids, and their view of the war is that muslims are the ones shooting at them and killing their buddies and that's what they fight for, their life and the lives of their buddies.

The responses on this thread come very close to blaming the troops for OUR failings.

It's OUR job to ask these questions and it's our representatives that put them in the position they're in without thinking the thing through. It's a shame these guys provide aid and comfort to the administration but we shouldn't blame them for not wanting to believe that they've killed, and been killed, for nothing.

The chickenhawks are a completely different matter and all that's been said I'd agree with when applied to them.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. I understand what you're saying...

The soldiers are trained to fight to help their buddies and themselves survive...

That point was brought home to me again tonight as I watched Ken Burns' film "The War."

I apologize if I sounded as though I blame the soldiers for OUR failings. I sure didn't mean to say that.

And how I agree about the damn chickenhawks...

[jmp]

6. Soldiers are Americans first ...

And soldiers second. They have a DUTY to act in what they perceive to be the best interest of this country. The responsibilities of citizenship are not abdicated when you put on a uniform.