re: Different Clowns, Same Circus. War machine undefeated.

Afghanistan: If you served from October 24, 2001 to August 31, 2021, in AFG over 30 days or were in combat one day, you were awarded the AFG Service Medal. Doesn’t matter if you were there under OEF or OFS. US forces saw combat in AFG to the very end…remember Abbey Gate?

Iraq and Syria: If you served after June 15, 2014 in either one of these two cesspools for 30 days or combat ops are STILL awarded the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal. In the US military, a campaign involves combat operations.

So yes, these are all WARS.

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Starting over: Stripping away all hyperbole, what do you feel about conflict in the Middle East in general, and the specific relationships between the US and Middle eastern countries? (I have other thoughts on Afghanistan, but I'm interested to hear what you think about that as well. I guess I'm legitimately curious what your actual stance here is. Is it simply anti-Israel? Is it anti-Israel funding? Do you see any role the US should play in Middle Eastern politics? As a former soldier, I'd hope you'd see peace as the most desirable outcome, but we're a long way from true peace right now. What is a realistic path there that doesn't involve the elimination of a country or a race?

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I’ll take the peace pipe offering and address your serious questions:

The entirety of the peoples that inhabit the lands of what we call the Middle East - the peoples over there have no concept of such a place as we call it - is more complicated than any Western folks can truly comprehend without spending a lifetime there.

As I “only” transited and/or deployed to 6 of the “countries” in the region, I’m no expert. However, I learned several key things that color how I see it now:

1. It’s ALL TRIBAL! There is no national consensus nor a majority desire to be “nation-states”. That’s a largely western concept.

The common folks just want to not be beaten for disagreeing with whatever ingrate runs their village or police/military force, get some clean water, enough food for their families and just be left alone. They don’t share our ideals of democracy nor want our way of life.

2. How they view their version of Islam is based on #1 above and/or their lot in life/to whom you were born to. Shiites hate Sunnis and even though they both hated what Uncle Sam as represented to them, they hate each other even more. We lost our opportunity with the Shiites in IRQ prior to my time over there after Desert Storm…thank ol George Bush for that one.

This sums it up. Iranians are Persians so they look down on Arabs and doubly on Sunni Arabs. They say America and Israel are Big and Little Satan but they hate Sunnis more:

So all that to say…we don’t need to be there for ANY DAMN REASON ANYMORE.

Fold the tent, hand it over to them to duke it out till Jesus comes back as they have fought amongst themselves since Ishmael (Arabs) and Isaac (Jews) - both brothers and both killing each over for centuries.

One more thing: I want to give Pres. Trump a pass on his first term (not getting us out of those crap holes) as I retired under his watch. Our military was in a downward spiral - morale wise and combat experience leaving in droves - under his watch, that began in earnest under Obama.

I don’t give him a pass on starting any new conflicts going forward PERIOD. Unless we are attacked by a nation-state, no more going on safari in lands that hate us looking for Pancho Villa.

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quote: Pete Hegseth was called a "Christian Zionist" What does the term "Zionist" mean to you?

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No simple answer to that. Jews as a whole don’t agree on its meaning as there are several forms, i.e., religious zionism, political zionism, etc.

My concern is with Zionism in all its forms amongst Americans who control our govt - whether “Christian Zionism (this is a dichotomy - this is like calling yourself a Christian Satanist-no such thing) or the Secular Zionist in Israel who have control over our affairs here.

People like Cotton and Thune and Huckabee view Zionism as almost like the nice urban fella who has to overlook the brutalities perpetrated by its 3rd distant cousin who lives in a trailer park surrounded by people who hate him all because someone at a family reunion told him that 3rd cousin is family.

The truth is, that 3rd cousin will beat your arse it you move into their trailer, doesn’t believe a damn thing you do and wants you to stay in your town, but keep sending money so he can beat his neighbors’ asses.

Trademark notice on this concept. All IPR retained by Mr. Leeeroy Jenkins.

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Afghanistan: If you served from October 24, 2001 to August 31, 2021, in AFG over 30 days or were in combat one day, you were awarded the AFG Service Medal. Doesn’t matter if you were there under OEF or OFS. US forces saw combat in AFG to the very end…remember Abbey Gate? Iraq and Syria: If you served after June 15, 2014 in either one of these two cesspools for 30 days or combat ops are STILL awarded the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal. In the US military, a campaign involves combat operations. So yes, these are all WARS.

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Wrong. Both were conflicts and both were considered concluded before Trump took over. The mere presence of troops does not equal a conflict or a war. We still have a presence in Korea. A lifelong military man such as yourself should know that.

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You’re not a serious person.

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Words have meaning. The words I used were for a reason.