Originally Posted By: the G-man
Ray, with all due respect, the United States is not a military oligarchy. There is no requirement in the constitution that its leaders be culled from the military. Furthermore, for at least half of its history, there was--and is--no draft.

I never talked about drafts or law. I talked about the morality in someone who never joined the military and went to war sending troops to war and being so gung ho about it. And I asked why people like you and Wonderboy are so gungho to leave troops in a shithole where any goal is highly unlikely but fatalities are guaranteed when you have never been in the military.

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Therefore, your ranting and raving that U.S. leaders must be veterans in order to command to serve as president in a time of war is without either precedence or logic. It also means the only person you can legitimately support in this election is John McCain.

I never said that. I, again, attacked the people who never were in the military but seem "liberal" about it's use for whatever they think might be a good idea. I believe, not that only veterans be elected, but that the troops be used for worthy causes. Now they're in harm's way based on a lie and staying to satisfy Bush's stubborn ego.

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As for the "the violence is to repel invaders" argument, I thought most of the violence was the result of a "civil war" between competing factions of the Iraqi nation: Shiite, Sunni and Kurd. That's why Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer, among other democrats, advocated partitioning the country earlier this year.

lots of violence over there, g-man. with different reasons. All of which we could've prevented had things been handled right in the beginning.

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Finally, I don't think you can keep calling it a "stay the course" strategy any more, given that the surge was, in fact, a change of course.

the surge is really just more of the same.

Bow ties are coool.