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What immoral acts do you consider US troops to currently be engaged in?

by penrod 13y ago

CWuestefeld 13y ago
My opinion isn't the question here. I'm observing first that there are many people who profess that one or more of our multiple wars are immoral; and second, that they simultaneously profess that the soldiers fighting deserve our support rather than scorn for supporting the putatively unjust war. If you believe that the war is unjust, and you believe that it's the duty of a soldier (or any person) to refuse to perform immoral acts, then consistency dictates that you should condemn the soldiers fighting in those wars, not revere them.
- nate_meurer 13y ago
  That's a pretty black-and-white world you're trying to impose on folks. I've spoken with a lot of Iraq war veterans. Every one of them has qualms with how the war was conducted, and many have doubts about the reasons for invading. But the things they have in common are an underlying desire to to "protect" their country in some sense, and the willingness to die for that cause. There's plenty of room there for both disagreement and respect.
  - CWuestefeld 13y ago
    I think you're still misunderstanding. This doesn't have anything to do with the motivations of the soldiers. I have friends who are absolutist peacenik liberals, who thing that GWB should burn in hell for all eternity for inveigling us in Iraq, because of "war for oil", "Halliburton will destroy the country", etc. From the point of view of one of these people, there is no moral authority to wage the war; to them, it IS black and white. Yet these very same people utter the "support our heroic troops" mantra. Given that someone is such an extremist in their opposition to the war, it's impossible to square that person's professed beliefs with their support of the soldiers waging that war. That is, unless we're willing to discard the idea that all people are morally bound to refuse to execute immoral commands.
Crito 13y ago
Participation in unnecessary wars. They may not have made the decision to start a war (that is on politicians), but they made the decision to participate.
Zigurd 13y ago
Since the disclosure of the Downing Street Memorandum it has been clear that the war in Iraq was a war without a legitimate cause, where the US and UK acted as aggressors toward goals that were withheld from the public.
PavlovsCat 13y ago
Aggressive wars and war profiteering (not saying US soldiers themselves benefit from it, but that's what they're being used for). The US is not alone in this, but it's in it, too.

What immoral acts do you consider US troops to currently be engaged in?

by penrod 13y ago

What immoral acts do you consider US troops to currently be engaged in?

My opinion isn't the question here. I'm observing first that there are many people who profess that one or more of our multiple wars are immoral; and second, that they simultaneously profess that the soldiers fighting deserve our support rather than scorn for supporting the putatively unjust war. If you believe that the war is unjust, and you believe that it's the duty of a soldier (or any person) to refuse to perform immoral acts, then consistency dictates that you should condemn the soldiers fighting in those wars, not revere them.

nate_meurer 13y ago
That's a pretty black-and-white world you're trying to impose on folks. I've spoken with a lot of Iraq war veterans. Every one of them has qualms with how the war was conducted, and many have doubts about the reasons for invading. But the things they have in common are an underlying desire to to "protect" their country in some sense, and the willingness to die for that cause. There's plenty of room there for both disagreement and respect.
- CWuestefeld 13y ago
  I think you're still misunderstanding. This doesn't have anything to do with the motivations of the soldiers. I have friends who are absolutist peacenik liberals, who thing that GWB should burn in hell for all eternity for inveigling us in Iraq, because of "war for oil", "Halliburton will destroy the country", etc. From the point of view of one of these people, there is no moral authority to wage the war; to them, it IS black and white. Yet these very same people utter the "support our heroic troops" mantra. Given that someone is such an extremist in their opposition to the war, it's impossible to square that person's professed beliefs with their support of the soldiers waging that war. That is, unless we're willing to discard the idea that all people are morally bound to refuse to execute immoral commands.

Crito 13y ago

Participation in unnecessary wars. They may not have made the decision to start a war (that is on politicians), but they made the decision to participate.

Zigurd 13y ago

Since the disclosure of the Downing Street Memorandum it has been clear that the war in Iraq was a war without a legitimate cause, where the US and UK acted as aggressors toward goals that were withheld from the public.

PavlovsCat 13y ago

Aggressive wars and war profiteering (not saying US soldiers themselves benefit from it, but that's what they're being used for). The US is not alone in this, but it's in it, too.