Laws of war, man’s inhumanity to man.

War! HUH! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR!? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! WAAAAA WAAR!
no but seriously, the military is meant to protect the country, it is a sign of authority and respect, the biggest and best military out there is ours.
but now adays war is used to control, why do people want to control, so they can take resources. it’s completely fucking wrong what america is doing. trying to police the world, like the best quote i ever saw about the iraq ahganistan war is that we are spending trillions of dollars to blow up bridges and then build them back up. why the fuck did we INVADE another country?? i’ll tell you why, because the one of the richest men in the world named Rockerfeller, owns the oil companies. who pays for the campaign to get a president elected? the companies.

You see war as horrific, the Vikings saw war as glorious, the Japanese saw battle as honourable – all this tells us is that it’s a matter of perspective. Chopping up your fellow man and getting chopped up in return can be a passtime depending on where/when you live.

With the freedom of choice comes the inevitability of dispute.

That’s because the Irish are used to it.

“In the first quarter century of Viking attacks only twenty-six plunderings by Vikings are recorded in the Irish Annals. During the same time eighty-seven raids by the Irish themselves are recorded. An average of one Viking raid a year can have caused no great disorder or distress in Irish society. Attacks on Irish monasteries were common before the Viking Age. The burning of churches also was an integral part of Irish warfare. “

Oh gosh, I can’t help but put my two cents in here. The American military at this moment is probably the farthest thing from a murder tool. Our ROE’s are absolutely absurd. A man with a knife has to be within 8 feet of me before I can shoot him.. what if he’s running his ass off? Can you imagine the adrenaline pumping through your system? I hope I get his ass before I get got. That’s the mentality of an American soldier. It isn’t “where’s the taliban? I feel like killin’!!” …this is such an unfortunate misconception. Also, we all know World Peace is a dream that resides in the small brains of Miss America. That shit is not gonna happen, no time no where… not with human beings ruling the world. Jesse G. S., I couldn’t agree more. America has the absolute best military on earth and we like it that way. It’s like we’re saying… “Come at me, bro!!”

The laws around war makes sense..what doesn’t is how we used to stand in front of each other and take turns shooting like some turn-based strategy game

@Nikola i agree completely…

“The American military at this moment is probably the farthest thing from a murder tool”

You can’t lie to me, I’ve seen Kevin Dillon in Platoon!

The problem with war is that the people who fight in it are under the delusion that peace is the end result. If peace and non-violence is the goal of every sane human, why have we been fighting for 5000 record years? I say fight with no goal of peace in mind. Fight instead for the goals of personal honor. Why do you think the US is lost in Vietnam and is losing in Afghanistan? Because our “enemies” there want to win more than we do. They think nothing of giving their lives for their cause because the alternative for them is worse.
And what would be the result of nonstop war? Rules. If war is fought without an end in site; If only those who want to fight do so; Then eventually there will come a consensus about what is proper and what is not. We’ve seen this happen. Militaristic societies like the Japanese and the Romans had very well defined rules for war, and while the Roman’s made the mistake of assuming their military machine would survive the rigors of expansion, the Japanese are the model of peaceful war.
Perhaps you have heard of the famous rivalry between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin, two of the greatest military minds of history. But at one point, Takeda’s fief was cut off from the sea, meaning he had no more access to the vital resource of salt. But just when all seemed lost, a caravan from Uesugi’s camp appeared carrying several tons of salt. Takeda received this gift, and when one of Uesugi’s generals asked why he did so instead of starving him to death, Uesugi’s response was “Battle are to be fought with swords and spears, not rice and salt.
I say it is those who speak of peace that are dooming this world to bloodshed. Convinced that they know what is wrong with the human soul, they encourage the wars they are trying to stop. If the rules of war were allowed to evolve, then eventually battles would be decided with a game of rock-paper-scissors.

Desperation and fear. It’s in our genes so it’s part of reality.

@sean….yes!

@erin, that is very true and I , myself am not a part of our military but I totally see where you’re coming from. most people do have these “unsheddable” misconceptions about every soldier in deployment because of how they are portrayed in media, and it is sad because, knowing many people who are either currently in service or just got back….it just isn’t true

Ahh but Chris you are referring to the extremely large picture… which, I assure you, is not in the mind of any soldier before he pulls the trigger. A man kills another man before he gets killed. Our political “fathers” put us in situations where we have to think that way… therefore reaching their goals. But it is not WHY a man kills another man (or woman, for that matter) in one’s heart of hearts. Which is the point of this thread, I believe. Perhaps I’m wrong.

You, my dear, refuse to take human emotion into account. It’s okay though, I can see that is simply the person that you are and to each his own. However, I think you are skewing the causative properties here :-) …a man does not pull a trigger BECAUSE he is a piece of that organism… I believe it would be, a man kills another man AND he is a piece of that organism, therefore causing a change to the grand picture. But as a human being, standing in the dirt in afghanistan, he pulls the trigger to save his own, or his buddies, life.

I will tell you right now, I am not so naive as to think the president or congress give two shits about me as an individual or my beliefs. I joined the military because I absolutely love America with my entire soul… and I want to contribute to it’s great power… and therefore protect it. (and before you can say anything about that… let me just say this as well… I believe in the oath that I swore. And I will fight against our own government before I follow any orders given to me that are not a part of that oath. i.e. detaining innocent Americans, enforcing gun control. & there are plenty of military who agree with this. Oathkeepers.org) We are not naive.. we are aware. We are also necessary (if for nothing else but a showboat of power)