ssbn,
No our armed forces are not trained in nation building. That again is politicians at work.
As for arm chair quaterbacks, at the onset they were wrong, however; that all changed with severe mismanagement again directly related to the politicians.
Military types don't have the ability to defy orders without ending up in chains, it's not about forgetting the lessons of Vietnam.
Lets get some numbers right. your quote "in numbers that are unprecedented in our history with the exception of WWI&WWII"
WWII deaths (US only)
446,000 deaths
689,000 wounded
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties#NotesKorea Deaths;
33,686 dead (combat deaths, not falling of a building or a car wreck)
wounded 103,000
39,000 Severely disabled.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_WarVietnam:
Deaths
Hostile deaths: 47,359 (a little better than 10,000 dead from non battle/hostile deaths).
Severely disabled: 75,000, 23,214 were classified 100% disabled. 5,283 lost
limbs, 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than in WWII and 70% higher than in Korea. Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WWII.
http://www.mrfa.org/vnstats.htmAt let us not forget the MIA's.
I don't know where you got your information from, but it is in serious error.
There is not comparison of Iraq to Vietnam or Korea much less WWII or WWI.
There are some lessons that have been forgotten about Vietnam, one of which is forgetting the sacrifice those men and women made. Right war, wrong war, doesn't make any difference to the dead. You speak of brave men and women coming back totally disfigured, in numbers unprecedented, that sir could not be further from the truth.
No death or wound of any nature should ever be belittled in any fashion, much less compared to each other in such a fashion as to imply a mitigation of their individual sacrifice.
"that word is profanity to the party that was in power when we started this misadventure!!!"
Misadventure? Yes, it was a poorly executed plan if there was a plan, but calling 3000 deaths a misadventure is just plan wrong, much less the wounded.
These men and women don't ask to go there, they are told to go there. Being a yes man to the president? getting in line and sounding like a never ending echo?
I suppose in your time (assuming your ssbn tag implies you were a squid) you told your CO to take a hike without a courts martial? I kind of doubt it.
Good bad or indifferent if theres any blame to be put off on anyone it's the Commander and Chief. Not the individual servicemen and women from private/seaman/airman to their officers corps.
I don't really care wheither its democratic or republican, in my eyes they are both equally worthless, and both equally wrong. To say they were "duped" or mislead into voting for the war in the beginning? democrat or republican either one that makes that statement should not be in elected office if they are sheep to be lead about by the nose only voting for something national polls show as popular. Blaming someone else for not researching a matter for yourself just doesn't wash. If you drive someone to a gas station who has not told you they intend to rob it and they rob it, your still going to jail. Where is that for politicians?
Neither party likes oversite. They kick and scream about the other party and how corrupt they are, but at the end of the day, they are both the same.
While I am at it, try checking these facts; what happens to the world economy and ours when N. Korea lobes a nuke into South Korea or Japan? It's over, thats what.
Screw Iran, they are not the threat they are being played out to be. If at any time they begin to be that threat, you can bank on Isreal taking care of it.
We would be better focused on N. Korea.
Heres some number to put things into perspective:
Source
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ Bureau of Justice Statistics
575 police officers killed in the line of duty 1996 to 2005 nationwide
2005 more than 500 murders in new york city alone, which is down from a record 2,245 in 1990
2005 Houston more than 325 murders
2005 Chicago more than 450 murders
2005 Los Angeles more than 400 murders
2005 Detroit more than 300 murders
Something to think about.