Most Veterans Say Iraq/Afghanistan Not Worth It…

I thought that in 2003 when I went back to Kuwait/Iraq a second time. I was fine going with the 4/32 armor for Desert Storm, but Bush I screwed the pooch and did not let us crush the Iraqs as we should have.

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A majority of veterans taking part in a new research study says that the cost and burden of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan outweigh any successes or progress made in either conflict.

A Pew Research Center report published Wednesday states that 64% -- or almost two-thirds -- of veterans polled in a new survey said the Iraq war "was not worth fighting," and 58% said the same about the war in Afghanistan.

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https://www.military.com/daily-news/...ew-report.html

It is in the best interest of the US to control the middle east. How it’s been handled is questionable.

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Originally Posted by KUSA

It is in the best interest of the US to control the middle east. How it’s been handled is questionable.

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Maybe so, but it does not require a significant and protracted "boots on the ground" presence. Technology is a wonderful thing when used correctly. IMO, so are battle field nukes.

Blame Bush all you want Congress left him nor real options. You are going to fight the muslims . be it here or in the yard or both but you have no choice but to fight or give up. They are coming . They are in our schools , our government , even LE. They have a goal and it is not to get along with you.
50% of those that severed no wanted to deploy and figured they would get paid and go to college at home station then get out.

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Originally Posted by Smitty901

Blame Bush all you want Congress left him nor real options. You are going to fight the muslims . be it here or in the yard or both but you have no choice but to fight or give up. They are coming . They are in our schools , our government , even LE. They have a goal and it is not to get along with you.

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Come on be real. Bush had 90 days to do whatever he wanted to and all Schwartkopf needed to do was continue the fight. It would have all been over in two weeks if he had.

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Originally Posted by RedLion

Come on be real. Bush had 90 days to do whatever he wanted to and all Schwartkopf needed to do was continue the fight. It would have all been over in two weeks if he had.

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You are forgetting all the pressure from congress. I was they would have wiped the entire middle east off the map. But that is not playing nice.

We should have never gone into Iraq in 2003, at all, whatsoever. They were not attacking the US.
All that did was destabilize the whole area.

Afghanistan - what business was it of ours what the Taliban did? They were not attacking the US.

These two wars, EVEN IF they were based on sound policy to begin with, became nothing more than money makers for greedy industrialists.

I realize that most members here are not old enough to remember when Dwight D. Eisenhower was President, but in his farewell speech he warned America to beware of the "vast military/industrial complex."
Words that were not heeded just a few years later with the Vietnam War.

I have been saying for at least 5 years now that Iraq and Afghanistan (and now, by extension, Syria) are not worth one more DROP of American blood.
BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW!!!

Just as Vietnam was a useful military might enhancing endeavor, with respect to technological advances, for the US,. Which ushered in the era of Helicopter operations and Joint forces operations. It was true in Afghanistan for Russia, who accelerated they're Rotary winged operations and counter guerrilla operations. This is true for us in Afghanistan and Iraq. It makes corporations and those who work for or in, or around those industries wealthy and prosperous , and actually helps the economy. The problem with all of these is quite simple. They all went well past any reasonable time frame society would give them.

You affect foreign policy by one of two ways. You either occupy them and stay for as long as you want to affect their policy decisions. Like we did in Germany and Japan. You see as we reduced our footprint in Germany...they have shied to the dark side again.

Or you make them so afraid that you're willing to do the above that they don't even think about pushing the limits.

Bush, rightly or wrongly showed the world we would act and stay the course. Obama came in and screwed the pooch so hard, that we had to go back and re-tell the story.

Now is the time to simply say, OK....we told you....and the next fugn country to dick with us gets a slew of missiles up their ass, that we charge the UN for because where the hell were they in all this?

In truth, this nation has not been at war since 2013-14, except for a very select few units associated with SOF. Traditional units rarely even leave their compounds in Afghanistan, let alone go out on major combat operations. Its simply a huge expense to maintain a footprint that we are ultimately going to give up. This leads to a slow growing belief in those countries that we are falling back asleep and don't care...which emboldens them to act more aggressive.

Merry-go-rounds, clowns, and Bearded women oh my!

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Originally Posted by rice paddy daddy

We should have never gone into Iraq in 2003, at all, whatsoever. They were not attacking the US.
All that did was destabilize the whole area.

Afghanistan - what business was it of ours what the Taliban did? They were not attacking the US.

These two wars, EVEN IF they were based on sound policy to begin with, became nothing more than money makers for greedy industrialists.

I realize that most members here are not old enough to remember when Dwight D. Eisenhower was President, but in his farewell speech he warned America to beware of the "vast military/industrial complex."
Words that were not heeded just a few years later with the Vietnam War.

I have been saying for at least 5 years now that Iraq and Afghanistan (and now, by extension, Syria) are not worth one more DROP of American blood.
BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW!!!

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Look what has happened to the Christians in every country where the U.S. state department has meddled.

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=Old SF Guy;1924081
You affect foreign policy by one of two ways. You either occupy them and stay for as long as you want to affect their policy decisions. Like we did in Germany and Japan. You see as we reduced our footprint in Germany...they have shied to the dark side again.

Or you make them so afraid that you're willing to do the above that they don't even think about pushing the limits.

Bush, rightly or wrongly showed the world we would act and stay the course. Obama came in and screwed the pooch so hard, that we had to go back and re-tell the story.

Now is the time to simply say, OK....we told you....and the next fugn country to dick with us gets a slew of missiles up their ass, that we charge the UN for because where the hell were they in all this?

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So true.