[billhilly]

We don't want to see our children or grandchildren die for any reason, and in modern war, as practiced by the United States, most of the dying is done by the enemy. This misses the point, however.

There is an acceptable level of death while performing in the defense of society. Just look at the numbers of policemen and firemen who die in the line of duty. I have not researched it, but I would not be surprised if that number didn't exceed those american servicemen who died while fighting in Afghanistan. So long as society makes every effort to maximize the safety of its warriors, we have an acceptable risk. The failure to take those risks is where the real danger lies. Slavery and loss of lives is what is not acceptable to america.

Yes, I am a veteran from the fifties and sixties with twelve years of active duty. That doesn't make me an expert any more than someone who is badly wounded or a POW. All it does is refine the perspective.

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

We don't want to see our children or grandchildren die for any reason, and in modern war, as practiced by the United States, most of the dying is done by the enemy. This misses the point, however. There is an acceptable level of death while performing in the defense of society

Rigth on, this is exactly correct. A democratic nation should do everything possible to avoid war except compromise its security (to be read appeasement). This is exactly what we are doing with Iraq. All the steps have been taken to make the choice up to Saddam. We have given him the chance to no longer be a threat. If he remains a threat we will be compelled for the sake of our own security to eliminate that threat.

If we fail to do so, we do not preserve peace and save lives. We merely put off the war into the future when more people will die on both sides.