Donald Trump on waterboarding: ‘If it doesn’t work, they deserve it anyway.’

[fskimospy]

So you're OK with people who want to send others out to vicious wars, but only if they have military service? My examples and common sense indicate that combat service makes little difference to whether a person supports/opposes a specific future war (or wars in general), so why do you continue to call out someone else on their service (or lack thereof) as if it makes a difference?

It's not relevant, and your examples are a small handful of people. 'Common sense' most certainly does not say it makes little difference as to whether or not people support future wars. In fact, the research shows exactly the opposite. Veterans are less likely to support foreign wars than non-veterans.

You seem to be confusing my contempt for his viewpoint with some sort of idea that I find it illegitimate. He's perfectly welcome to have that opinion, I just think that it's a shitty one that would be different if he had more experience with the issue, and I have no qualms with reminding him of that.

If anything you should want to back up from that stance because far more right-leaning voters have experience than left-leaners, so seeking to trivialize the opinions of non-vets on these issues would be against your interests.

I don't base my opinions on what would be most convenient, so that's not really a problem.

 

[mikeymikec]

nvm

 

[zinfamous]

I have never said we should go to war to go to war. I said that if we go to war it should be to win, not to not lose. I would prefer not to go to war. I have a lot of friends that were marines and army in the last 20 years. I have seen what it does to them and their families, at least from an outsiders perspective, it isn't great. But what is worse is that they went to war for no reason when it comes to Iraq and now their efforts are seemingly wasted because we weren't committed to winning. Part of that is that you can't really win against a non state.

Hate to break it to you, but your friends went to war for no reason from the beginning.

Of course you should know that by now. It was purposeless from the start. Validating their service by hoping that we had committed to carpet bombing and wiping out hundreds of thousands more people (whatever it takes to win) simply to validate their participation in a fraudulent invasion, is a morally corrupt perspective.

 

[Moonbeam]

If you go to fight and lose because you hamstring yourself, have you won?

I can't lose. I believe in what was left after everything that can be taken was taken. What was left was essence which will reappear over and over again as long as there is a human race. I already won the final battle. There is one truth that covers us all and it can't be denied expression. You are fighting the wrong battle.