Originally Posted by Monkei (Post 737537)

Or maybe it turns out like Lybia did?

Originally Posted by wendyquat (Post 737578)

Unfortunately our military has been so degraded at this point I don't see how anyone could ask them to participate in another war! Especially when we don't even know who the enemy is!

Originally Posted by buggyone (Post 737581)

Time to bring back the military draft for 18 year olds.

Originally Posted by mulligan (Post 737664)

The problem is not lack of bodies, it's lack of funding. There are plenty of volunteers out there due to the poor job market.

Originally Posted by donb9006 (Post 737594)

To fight for the corporations?

Originally Posted by donb9006 (Post 737594)

To fight for the corporations?

Originally Posted by Monkei (Post 737709)

That is what this country has become.

Originally Posted by PennBF (Post 737821)

I don't understand the proposal to bomb the citizens of Syria. The leaders are the ones that approved using gas on their citizens. If some "gang leaders" in a major city (e.g. LA, etc) cause a gang fight and kill some people you don't kill all the citizens in the area. You go in and kill the leaders who are causing the problems. This should be a "surgical" action specifically cutting out the ones who authorized the gassing of innocent adults and children. These people will not change as there is no cure for psychopaths and that has been proven over time. They will not change. There is an old story about a snake on the side of the road and he asked the person to please take him to the other side and the person said no because he will bite him and the snake promised he wouldn't SO the person picked up the snake and when they got to the other side the snake bit him The person said why did you do that? You promised you would not bite me. The snake replied "that is what snakes do". Why would we be surprised these leaders would kill as that is what they do. :confused:

Originally Posted by Irish Rover (Post 737992)

Are we sure that Syria used the weapons? Perhaps the rebels are playing us. Be a shame to make another major mistake in a fight that we don't have a dog in.

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr (Post 737415)

As far as the president being a Muslim, I think that that kind of talk is ridiculous and divisive. I'm not a big fan of this president and his policies or some of the decisions he made but I'd prefer to stick with substance rather than rhetoric.
Sitting in the senate it's pretty easy to vote against the president. It's especially easy when it's the popular vote among your constituents and the vote is going overwhelmingly in the opposite direction.
It's not as easy for the president to play games like that. I think that the president had a shock when he went into the oval office for the first time and was briefed on things that only the administration knows. Suddenly there are a lot more things to think about then what decision will get you the most votes.

It was the same thing with Iraq and Afghanistan. Senator and Candidate Obama criticized President Bush and his policies on these two fronts. When he got into office, he followed the Bush schedule to the letter.

He keeps saying that he wants to close GITMO but he hasn't yet. Could it be that once he got into office he learned a few things about that whole situation and why we haven't closed that facility? That was a priority and yet, it is still open.

It's pretty easy for us as well as the house and senate to sit in judgement of what the president is doing, but what do we really know? We don't have doesn't of experts in these areas advising us on what to do. We don't fully understand the repercussion of acting or not acting. Senator Obama didn't either.