If this “docudrama” can’t even measure up to the standards of truth and accuracy set by the 9/11 Commission, a body not exactly known as the gold standard for getting to the bottom of things, we should be impressed that they got the date of the attack right.

I wondered how long it would take somebody like Fenella to show up in this thread. I figured someone would eventually start saying that if a sense of futility in the mission was a root cause of PTSD, then those among us calling the war in Iraq futile were wholly to blame for any PTSD our troops suffer.

Fenella, your talking points are old and tired, and even most two-time Bush voters don’t fall for them anymore. This wasn’t a defensive war, and nobody but you and yours are saying that “America isn’t worth fighting for.” You better believe that if America were invaded, I would be out there defending my country and my fellow citizens, not greeting foreign troops as liberators. And I strongly suspect that this is true for most of my fellow liberals here on this site decrying the damage this administration has done to our nation and its military.

Stop trying to paint all those who disagree with the Bush/Cheney administration as traitors, terrorists, or crimethinkers. If you feel that strongly, get thee to Basic Training and go see for yourself what it’s like to spread freedom and democracy at the end of a gun.

To all those who have accused anyone in this thread (or similar threads here and elsewhere) of anti-semitism because they questioned or criticized either Israel or AIPAC:

Do you also agree that those who question or criticize the current U.S. administration or PNAC are anti-American?

If not, please bone up on set theory before you interrupt the adults again. Thanks.

Blatantly:

http://letters.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/16/aipac/permalink/20fe6ebfcc2ad3b17827fb6f34fc8e42.html

http://letters.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/16/aipac/permalink/69bccdf47f909f38f7663730e6f02ff2.html

Subtly:

http://letters.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/16/aipac/permalink/15436be5f9a2c179eba293c44462c7e3.html

http://letters.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/16/aipac/permalink/3bfb66e4a8e275e2e15a219c95b5b5a7.html

Are two of each enough or should I keep digging?

Appropriate last words to end this “discussion.”

How about threaded discussions? Threading helps participants to keep tangents organized and allows for notifications of responses to comments. My experience has been that sites using this model tend to foster more in-depth discussion rather than mere comments.

I am deeply concerned with the increasing usage of mercenaries for fundamental ideological reasons: military forces, like law enforcement, need to be a function of government as opposed to a for-profit enterprise. It is as representatives of the people that they derive their authority. Even if one accepted the argument that a for-profit company will do the same work at a lower total cost (which I don’t), those hypothetical cost savings do not even come close to balancing out the loss of credibility. No platoon leader in their right mind is going to base tactical decisions on generating more billable hours. Yet not only can a private company be expected to do so, responsible management will require them to do so.

And what of these private armies when the occupation of Iraq is finally brought to a close? Does anyone really believe that Blackwater will willingly prune the company back to the size it was five years ago? Or are they more likely to continue growing by securing contracts to augment and/or replace domestic law enforcement?

I fear that future generations will look back on this era of large-scale privatization of our military forces and see the beginnings of our end.