[fourdeuce82d]

I wonder if Americans are prepared to take these kinds of losses for a war that many are uncertain what the goals are now.

None of my family or loved ones are in theater, so I don't feel I can speak for those who are.

I think we kicked out an evil bastard, we have given some poor benighted people a shot at a better life, and we may be re-writing the rules for a Phooked up part of the world, with the result that the Islamo-naziis fade away.

Like I said, I don't have anyone at risk in this..but I remember being out in the field, and hearing that we had six dead and ~100 medevacs in a jump gone wrong in 29 palms.

We kept training, and we kept jumping. 7 years later the berlin wall came down.

And it was worth it.

[neverdem]

There's no substitute for victory according to the late General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur. If we accept anything less, I think more trouble will come.

Accepting a tie in Korea, and then writing off Viet-Nam, Lebanon and Somalia set awful precedents.

I was guilty of endorsing the withdrawals from Lebanon and Somalia because there didn't seem to be any objective other than being there.

I'm afraid modernity has re-awakened a clash of civilizations. If it's inevitable, which I would rather avoid, I don't think time is on our side.

The rationality of consensual democracies can easily be perceived as weakness by cultures charitably described as primitive or, at best, a toss-up between tribal or feudal, as well as practicing religious persecution sanctioned by Sharia.