Reply #13: Anybody who takes up arms on behalf of their country is a patriot [View All]

[HuskerDem]

You are right. It's all about the language in which the war and it's participants are framed. I've long had a problem with the word "insurgents". The vast majority of Iraqis fighting against against the invading "coalition" are patriots who have taken up arms to defend their land, life and families. They want Iraqi's to determine the future of Iraq and find foreign armies on their soil insulting.

The vast majority of our soldiers are there doing the best they can, trying to stay alive and make the best of a truly nightmarish situation in a war their countries leaders never should have put them in. Many of them are there because they had little employment prospects and perhaps a family to feed, or needed money to pay for college. Nearly all are patriots who believe deeply in duty, honor and country.

Only a FOOL would believe that either side is populated solely by those of valor and virtue. Both sides harbor monsters. Both sides are often being manipulated by those above them whose motives are frequently much more nefarious than the intentions and the heart of the soldier on the ground.