I came over from ubuntuforums.org and I'm only asking this question to determine as quickly as possible if this is a fascist hideout type place. I use the net to learn about Ubuntu and anything else interesting. However, conversing with fascists is not my idea of time well spent.

Do You Support The US Troops fighting in Iraq?

I don't feel that i can support troops in a war that i don't support, led by an administration that i dont support, guided by principles i dont support.

What a meaningless catchphrase. The whole reason the phrase 'support the troops' came about was due to the neocons implying that if you disagreed with the war, you were being "unamerican". The response was "I support the troops but not the war". Completely ridiculous that the thing even came about.

End result:
Custom Ribbon Magnet: I Support Ribbon Magnet Companies

Gee, maybe I will hang around here for a while (happily surprised to discover that this place seems to not be populated by the fascists usually hanging out in US political forums).

Agreed. I was pleasantly surprised by this thread too for instance.

I support the troops in the sense that I don't think they should die. I support them coming home. I do not support the war.

You can blame Free Republic for that. It seems that Freepers want to fill the internet with their bile to give the impression that there are more of them than there actually are.

PWill,

What punishment would you deem justified for someone that killed your entire family?

I dont think that not supporting the troops implies that i want them to die, i just think they are fighting for an unjust cause, and putting themselves in harms way for lies and corruption...

I'd like to blame the Freepers. Believe me I would. But you can find fascist support the troops drivel at DemocraticUnderground, Internet Infidels, Dailykos and tons of other supposedly more free thinking communities. We're kidding ourselves to lay the blame just on the Freepers. This whole place (the US) has gone fascist.

"Support the troops" is hardly fascist drivel. The original phrase was basically a dodge of the weighty claim of "Unamericanism" in the post-9/11 world.
If you opposed the Iraq war, you were called Unamerican and potentially traitorous. Someone responded "I support the troops but not the war", and it caught on. Eventually the neocons took it over and turned it into "I support the troops AND the war".

If it isn't fascist drivel (it is), tell me how you can actually support the troops. And don't give me any crap about saying prayers or any nonsense like that. I want tangible examples.

I think many of you get it, that supporting the troops and supporting the war are two separate issues. The men and woman fighting for us over there have my respect and admiration.

The war is flawed though, not only in its execution, but its reason. It went from WMD's, to freeing the Iraqi people, to fighting terror. Well fighting terror has always been the broad theme.

It's just funny though that war supporters don't pick up on this evolving mission. No WMD's, oh ok lets do it to free the Iraqi people. More Iraqis are dying now than were under Saddam's rule, oh its about spreading democracy. The Iraqi people want to see us leave, oh well they don't really know what they want, we need to prevent terrorism from spreading there.

I pay taxes.

No, I do not.

I do not support the war in any way, shape, or form.

I even have family in Iraq right this moment. I do not support him. I want him to say "Fuck it," pack up, and leave as soon as he possibly can, and I do not support anyone else's decision to ever actually leave for there in the first place.

Jentsu has the fucking right idea. And that silliness about paying taxes being a way to support the troops is technically correct but actually a pathetic dodge that indicates you too understand that 'support the troops' is purely a propaganda phrase designed to build support for the policy, not the troops.

Fascist propaganda.

Again, it wasn't designed for that, but ended up getting hijacked for it. The original use of the phrase was to say "I support the troops but not the war" so you wouldn't get accused of opposing the President and being UnAmerican in that crazy period right after 9/11. The Right hijacked it after a while and turned it into their tool.

It is possible to detach the phrase from the propaganda. I support the troops which is why I so desperately oppose this war. It is a misuse of their dedication.

I don't know what your views are on having a military at all, it would be nice if we didn't have to have a military but to me it is a practical necessity. Since it is a necessity to have people willing to put their lives on the line to defend the country, I have great respect for those who are willing to do so. Therefore, I support the troops in that respect.

If you prefer, you can change "support the troops" to "I respect people willing to die for the ideals this country is supposed to uphold" or something equally as cheesy.

Unless you own a TV network (not just a station) it is not possible to detach the propaganda from the words. And yes, it was designed as propaganda. What you said isn't true. The phrase was coined to encourage support for a policy that was understood to be unpopular.

And this stuff.....????
....blah..blah...blah..We've all heard it before. Tell me when was the last time that US troops defended the borders of this country? I dare you find anything in the last 50 years that even comes close.
The word defense when used in terms of the US military is just more propaganda.

No, and I'm not a fascist.