War in Iraq, is there a point?

He's one soldier, & most assuredly has earned the right to his opinion, however he isn't the Commander In Chief, either, now is he. BTW, for every less than enthusiastic soldier there are thousands who are dedicated to their jobs & whose morale remains positive. What a shame your friend's morale is so low. My heart goes out to him, along with my gratitude, respect & understanding. Please tell him that there are millions of Americans who truly appreciate the hard work & sacrifice he is making on our behalf, and that we think the job they're doing is spectacular.

This is exactly the point I've been making for the last two days, GDR. The decision has been made & we are there. The time for argument has past & it's time to support the nation & its military. Root for the home team, help us win this fight, or at the very least do no harm to the war effort. Voicing opposition publicly emboldens the enemy which lengthens the war & leads to more death & destruction. The concept that dissent is an American's right & the rights & safety of the troops & Iraqi people be damned is unconscionable. The selfishness demonstrated in the name of free speech regardless of the consequences & the price that others have to pay in their own blood, is staggering. I'm astounded by the lack of respect & regard for our troops & the Iraqi people who want freedom & want the terrorists to stop messing with the democratization process in Iraq. Dissenting liberals are thwarting their efforts. Why don't they care about them? Why do they only care about themselves & their blessed right to dissenting free speech no matter what the cost that others have to pay?

Quite right, CS. The French, Germans & Russians were not ever going to side with the USA, because they stood to lose billions of dollars. What I don't understand is how they thought they'd keep us from taking Saddam out after 9/11. Surely they had to know we'd not be deterred from our course.

Not an apt analogy in the least. Vietnam & the war on terrorism have nothing in common. And the decision is already made, the election is over, we have a Commander In Chief & his is the responsibility & power to conduct the war. Ours is the responsibility of patriotic citizen, which means supporting this nation. Whether you agree or disagree with the politics of GWB, we are not over in Iraq committing genocide, we are the victims of terrorism. We are defenders, not aggressors.

You cannot say you support & love our troops & then make public statements that put them in additional danger, which is what you're doing. You are giving aid & comfort to the enemy every you publicly voice your dissent. For the love of God, please stop it. You are encouraging the enemy to fight harder, to fight longer, to build more bombs, convincing the resolve of the American people is weakening.

Well, obviously, if our government were conducting war as the Nazi's or Stalin did during WWII, or Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, or the genocide occuring in the Darfur Province of Sudan today, then I'd say we'd all be screaming at the top of our lungs. But that is not what's happening. Millions of us in America support this war & although things are very difficult at the present time in Iraq, we must stand firm & stay the course. Too many people are counting on us. We cannot walk away from this & running off at the mouth out of pure political hatred of GWB, or the desire to regain political power, is no reason to risk the lives of our troops or the Iraqi people.

I do trust the American people, a majority of us elected President George W. Bush as our Commander In Chief & Republican majorities to both houses of Congress. Why don't you trust that decision made by millions of your fellow American citizens?

I guess, in the final analysis, if all that matters to you is voicing your moral oppposition, no matter what the cost in human life, then that is your American right. However, it is not what a good & patriotic American citizen should or would do in circumstances such as we face today with respect to the war on terrorism & the war in Iraq. But by all means, exercise your rights.