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No Parade for Troops Is Planned

Thunder said:
not all Vets need a parade to know that their nation supports them & appreciates their hard work.
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And, you know all this how? The law of averages?
 
apdst said:
Are they the ones that wear the skirts?
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You mean kilts? No that would be the Irish guard and Black watch and if you called it a skirt in front of one of those lads they would rip your throat out
 
Wiseone said:
You shouldn't let your politics get in the way of your view of this war. A great number of a mistakes were made and many of the objectives laid out when we first went to war were never accomplished. They were not accomplished, NOT because our troops lacked the ability or strength to achieve them, but because poor planning or poor intelligence made the task impossible before it was even begun. On top of that it will take years if not decades to judge the full effect of the Iraq War, right now their government is pretty shaky and it falling apart would not be a victory for the United States.

We owe it to the troops who died, those who were killed or wounded, to recognize the mistakes that were made, the failures in intelligence and planning that led to some objectives not being complete. I know you'll probably look at this like Vietnam and declare that once we leave, what happens there stops counting and has nothing to do with us. I don't know how but somehow you deny that our actions have effects the day after we leave, and I tell if this government falls apart part of the blame will belong with the United States. After all, we are the ones to help create it and we should get some credit if it succeeds and blame if it does not. Don't make use the same argument you had for Vietnam, that when we left South Vietnam was a Democracy, never mind they never had an election and were overrun in a few short years, it was "ok" when we left, thats all that counts, that means we won!!

Its about more than winning and losing, and those terms are so hard to define in these kinds of wars. No, admitting mistakes and looking where we error-ed, is important and we OWE it to the troops to ensure we don't place them in impossible situations again, or situations were their sacrifices are ultimately a waste because our information or planning wasn't up to standard and someone was killed over it.
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apdst said:
It's not about the war. It's about our soldiers. I would expect you know that Lieutenant.
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Sorry you misunderstood me, I'm not talking about the parade I'm talking your view of war, Iraq, and our Soldiers in general. I entirely agree that some kind of homecoming parade is justified and call for, these Soldiers should be presented to the American public as the heroes they are. However I wouldn't go so far as to plan it as a victory parade, when what victory means in this war is hard to define, and with any definition you find its hard to determine if that definition was even met by whats happening on the ground.
 
Temporal said:
I'm still waiting for you to announce the details of the parade you're planning, since this is so important to you. :)
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It's going to be just like the Veteran's Day parade, except not about the war. :lol:
 
Thorgasm said:
I think ticker tape parades should only be held when Congress actually votes to go to war.
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Or when we defeat an enemy that actually threatened our existance.
 
I'm a non-combat veteran. Therefore, I can't speak to what our combat veterans returning from Iraq may want from their countrymen as far as celebratory acknowledgement of their hard work and sacrafic is concerned. However, my personal opinion is that a national celebration is not necessary. Not because our returning troops don't deserve to be publically acknowledged or greatly appreciated for what they've done but rather the "mission" really wasn't accomplished.

Those who are calling for such (mostly those on the Right who are attempting to politialize the situation) see this in the old light of victory by "total surrender". Got news for you; claiming "Mission Accomplished" while the fighting continued for over 5 years before our troops were withdrawn from the theater of operation is no call for a victory parade. Still, there will we those who will claim it's not about the war but rather showing appreciation for our troops. Well, what's wrong with ensuring they don't have to deploy again for another unjust war? What's wrong with ensuring they and their family receive the proper medical care and/or psychological counseling they need to resolve their PTSD problems? What's wrong with ensuring those Reservist, National Guardsmen or those who decide not to retire or not to re-enlist have jobs in the private sector or can pay their bills without incurring problems from creditors?

As a veteran, I strongly appreciate the sacrafic our troops made in Iraq and other parts of the world where they're foreward deployed or stationed abroad. But we can hold local celebrations in traditional ways, i.e., 4th of July, Memorial Day or Veteran's Day. In fact, during our local Veteran's Day parade several civilians including myself took the time to greet soldiers we saw passing by and thank them for their services - men and women who weren't even affiliated with the parade. Of course, Huntsville, AL does have a significant military footprint w/Redstone Arsenal in our backyard. Still, to say that our troops aren't being acknowledged simply because there's no national celebration to welcome them home is ...disingenuous. They are very much appreciated! But we can show how much we care by ensuring they have everything they need to reacclimate themselves here at home.

That's how you say "Welcome Home" while also giving local praise to our men and women in uniform returning from Iraq. No, we can't declare victory where there is none, but we can atleast give them their due credit for "a job well done" under some of the worse of circumstances.
 
apdst said:
Well, it's a good thing you're not speaking for our returning warriors.

The only glory in war is returning home, knowing your country loves you and seeing your countrymen show that appreciation.

Now, some folks want to deprive our soldiers of the only glory they'll ever get out of this, or any other war. That's a shame.
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So how much of YOUR money are you donating for this parade? Maybe you should do a car wash for it if you believe in it enough. Let's see you raise the money. What are you doing to make this happen? Oh yeah, you're on an internet board whining.
 
Temporal said:
I'm sure communities all over America are holding parades for their soldiers. I don't see why the whole country has to be dragged into one. Most people do not support the Iraq war anymore.
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Name one.

(With a link to a newspaper story, preferably.)
 
Thunder said:
who's gonna pay for this massive undertaking?
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The same people who pay for gay pride parades around the country. Do you oppose those parades, as well?
 
Give them jobs. Health care for life. A roof. Not torn up paper and a bunch of strangers hollering at them with smiles on their faces.
 
TheNextEra said:
So how much of YOUR money are you donating for this parade? Maybe you should do a car wash for it if you believe in it enough. Let's see you raise the money. What are you doing to make this happen? Oh yeah, you're on an internet board whining.
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By that logic, we should stop having all parades. Maybe you can start digging into your pocket and anty up for gay pride parades around the country?
 
Enola said:
Give them jobs. Health care for life. A roof. Not torn up paper and a bunch of strangers hollering at them with smiles on their faces.
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They already have healthcare for life. I don't think they want to be, "given", a job, or a house. They're probably very willing to earn those things on their own.
 
apdst said:
They already have healthcare for life. I don't think they want to be, "given", a job, or a house. They're probably very willing to earn those things on their own.
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Greetings and welcome to earth! What planet are you from again?
 
Enola said:
Give them jobs. Health care for life. A roof. Not torn up paper and a bunch of strangers hollering at them with smiles on their faces.
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Objectively, I don't know that a parade would receive a major turnout of civilians. I'm speaking out against the idea, but I don't know how realistic is would be. There was no single and clear mission in Iraq. For that reason alone it would be difficult to foster a great deal of jubilation among Americans. I do believe recognition for the troops coming home is extremely important. I just don't know that a parade is what is needed.
 
Parade or no parade, does it matter?
I highly doubt( as a veteran of the British army) that soldiers would wish to spend 2 days practicing for and a full day engaging in a parade!!
I reckon they would sooner get back home to their people!!!
 
apdst said:
They already have healthcare for life. I don't think they want to be, "given", a job, or a house. They're probably very willing to earn those things on their own.
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Health care for life! Damn, I wish I'd known that after I got back from Vietnam. I could have saved a fortune in health insurance.

Which branch of the service was it that you said you served in? Obviously I was in the wrong one.
 
This should be interesting.
 
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