Leaving the community

"Frank" wrote in message ...
Peter Duniho wrote:

Very well put Pete.

I'd add that even if the Iraq invasion was justified it was bungled badly.
The administration ignored its own experts and we lost lives because of
it.
For that reason alone they don't merit being returned to office.

How do you explain why the military voted overwhelmingly for Bush?

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...
How do you explain why the military voted overwhelmingly for Bush?

The military that makes a living going to war for the US? The military that
would be cut back if there weren't any apparent need for it?

Is this a trick question? You might as well ask why a Detroit auto worker
votes for a presidential candidate who promises to increase import tariffs
on cars.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...
How do you explain why the military voted overwhelmingly for Bush?

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...


The military that makes a living going to war for the US? The military
that
would be cut back if there weren't any apparent need for it?


Our troops only get paid during war time? Why would anyone ever enlist for
that?

Allen

"Allen" wrote in message
. com...
Our troops only get paid during war time?

I never said that.

"Allen" wrote in message
. com...
Our troops only get paid during war time?



"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
I never said that.


I would say our military "makes it's living" by NOT going to war.

Comments in text:


"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...
How do you explain why the military voted overwhelmingly for Bush?

The military that makes a living going to war for the US? The military
that
would be cut back if there weren't any apparent need for it?

The military makes a living by ensuring that no other nation wishes to go to
war against us, not by going to war. Don't you think every nation on earth
would come after us if we had no means of defending ourselves?



Is this a trick question? You might as well ask why a Detroit auto worker
votes for a presidential candidate who promises to increase import tariffs
on cars.

Poor analogy. In the "auto worker" scenario the worker voted for a candidate
that might help him keep his job. In the "military" scenario the soldier
voted for a candidate who had demonstrated that he would use military action
when necessary, and who might put him in a position where he would be
killed.

"Bill Denton" wrote in message
...
The military makes a living by ensuring that no other nation wishes to go
to
war against us, not by going to war. Don't you think every nation on earth
would come after us if we had no means of defending ourselves?

Irrelevant. I never said we don't need a military.

Poor analogy. In the "auto worker" scenario the worker voted for a
candidate
that might help him keep his job. In the "military" scenario the soldier
voted for a candidate who had demonstrated that he would use military
action
when necessary, and who might put him in a position where he would be
killed.

It's a fine analogy. An auto assembly plant can be a dangerous place. That
doesn't mean that the workers don't value their jobs.

Peter Duniho wrote:

The military that makes a living going to war for the US?

It doesn't work that way. Sir Arthur Harris (commander of Bomber Command in WWII) put
it very well in his memoirs. During peacetime, soldiers get paid for doing a few
exercises. They have a fair amount of leisure time. When war breaks out, those near
the action have a relatively high casualty rate until things pretty much stabilize.
They are subject to the vagaries of weather, can't bathe, and are poorly fed. Low
ranking officers tend to have a very high casualty rate, though the chances for
promotion are good for the survivors. High ranking officers may be prematurely
retired or, conversely, yanked back out of retirement.

If you win the war, once peace settles in, many of the officers are discharged as
surplus and have their military careers cut short when they would have otherwise
served for decades at somewhat lower ranks. If you lose, many of your officers are
shot.

The last person who wants to go to war is the one who has to fight it.

Paraphrased from "Bomber Command", Sir Arthur Harris.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message
...
The last person who wants to go to war is the one who has to fight it.

That's certainly not how I read CJ's question. He clearly is implying that
the people who have to fight the war are NOT the last people who want to go
to war.

Inasmuch as that may be true (and I'm not really agreeing that it is...I
doubt it's true that "the military voted overwhelmingly for Bush", not in
the sense of the word "overwhelming" I'm familiar with), there are plenty of
reasons why it might be true without contradicting anything CJ was replying
to.

Pete