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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (115951)	5/24/2005 3:30:04 PM
From: aladin	Respond to of 793832

Mike, Do we really think that even WW2 could be fought today given the current cultural setting in the US today? This question has come up before on the thread and the answer I think was the closest to reality would probably surprise you. First background: For myself and my wife I can tell you that my two son's are far too valuable to fight against Hitler, Tojo or Stalin. Invading Saipan or Normandy with 50%+ casualties in the first wave on the beaches was insanity. However, I would have followed my father and volunteered and would have supported my son's decisions to volunteer (even though I would be against it). Now the answer: We had large families with lots of children and were less attached then (my Mother had a neighbor who had 7 sons serving)- smaller families and more resources have made us more risk adverse. John

To: michael97123 who wrote (115951)	5/24/2005 3:36:39 PM
From: cnyndwllr	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793832

On the scale of: 1, Let's go teach them a lesson; 2, I'll go if called because it's the right thing to do; and 3, Hell no, we won't go, WW11 was probably about a 1.5. Vietnam was close to a 3. Afghanistan was close to a 1 and Iraq is heading toward a 3. As far as who will fight in what kind of war; that depends. Some people will fight just for the fighting and a very few people won't fight, even when it may mean their own death. I believe that most of us will fight if we think it's necessary and if there's a possibility of winning. People are much more likely to fight when they believe they're protecting something personal to them than they are when they perceive they're protecting someone else's interests. They're also more willing to fight when they think the burden is being shared equally, especially by those who have power. As you can see, by most of these standards the war in Iraq is not personally "fightable" for most people, probably a large majority. Of course they may certainly be willing to do the Bush/Cheney/Clinton "Game-boy" battle....i.e., send someone else to fight and congratulate yourself on how tough that makes you feel. Ed