[Drammach]

Ever think about how many Jews are over there?

What if they go nuts and start killing muslims?
And how about the Hindu soldiers?
I'm sure You've read about the riots and murders in India, and even more so, Kashmir..
And fundamentalist Christians, especially the "cultists", and the "end of days" christians..

While You're at it, let's be sure to check out those soldiers with sympathies for the Aryan (white supremist) movement, just plain rascists, social democrats, (neo-nazis) and then there are... well, you get it..

They're all "Americans" over there..
Many Iraqis are confused by the many "different" americans.
They think the Mexican soldiers are Iraqi, Saudi, Jordanian, Syrian, etc.
Same with the black soldiers.
They don't know what to think of the soldiers with asian heritage.. ( one soldier was immeadiately nicknamed "Jackie Chan" by the Iraqi children. )
The soldiers just reply "American"..
They don't say african american, or mexican american, or asian american.

It's pretty much the same about religion.
It doesn't matter over there. They're all Americans.
Whatever God they pray to, it's to stay alive.
They don't have time for theological differences..

The muslim soldiers over there are Americans, first and foremost.
We have had one incident involving a muslim soldier, which didn't even have anything to do with religion, and we're ready to segregate them all.

Sorry, I can't even get close to that concept.

[so_real]

Didn't mean to touch a nerve their, Drammach. Let me widen my point for you. I would not send Jews to kill Jews. I would not send Christians to kill Christians. I would not send Hindus to kill Hindus. Etc, etc, etc. Does this make sense to you?

Theology is the most powerful dividing factor out there; skin color is a distant second. For the safety of our troops, there's no reason not to recognize this and take precautions. The world would not come to a screeching halt if 8000 muslims were not called to serve.

You seem to have a bit of chip on your shoulder. In fact, I'm glad we have multi-cultural troops, and I'm certainly not a racist. Yet, you immediately assumed otherwise and jumped down my throat. I'm glad you "can't even get close to that concept", because that means you are probably a really decent person. But, in reality, others are not.

If a known predisposition exists that can be easily controlled and may preserve the life of even a single soldier, why not act upon it? Without affecting the outcome of the battle (good, bad, or indifferent) two soldiers would be alive today and others could have been spared injury.

Again, I mean no offense. Ultimately we are on the same side. We both want to hear "mission accomplished, we're coming home".