Are soldiers dumb animals?

[Road Warrior]

It was Alexander Haig, Chief of Staff who heard him say it. The US was at war with Vietnam at the time.


It doesn't read well, it would be interesting to see if Kissinger ever defended the comments.

The actual quote, “Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy" is in “The Final Days” by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in chapter 14. Page 194 in the paperback version (1995).

I can't find the context or if Kissinger ever confirmed or denied making the comment.

 

[FearGod]

An order to kill "innocent people" is an illegal order and no soldier is required to follow it. There are rules of war and every war the US participates in has rules of engagement. Do some soldiers crack and commit atrocities or their own lives? Yes, but the has nothing to do with ordering them to do it.

Laws of war - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As for Kissinger, I think is he an elitist jerk who is responsible for the deaths of thousands. While he may not have any actual dirt on his hands, he certainly has a lot of blood on them.

You're absolutely right.

[youtube]614Q0sb8Ego[/youtube]
American Soldier Cries, "I Killed Innocent People" - We Want Justice - YouTube

 

[Chisti]

An order to kill "innocent people" is an illegal order and no soldier is required to follow it. There are rules of war and every war the US participates in has rules of engagement. Do some soldiers crack and commit atrocities or their own lives? Yes, but the has nothing to do with ordering them to do it.

Laws of war - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As for Kissinger, I think is he an elitist jerk who is responsible for the deaths of thousands. While he may not have any actual dirt on his hands, he certainly has a lot of blood on them.

Did he personally kill people?

 

[cablescavenger]

Henry Kissinger made this statement, so please don't attack me for the thread title. Anyway, what are your thoughts on Kissinger's statement? Why do you think he made that remark?

If a magician misdirects the audience, does that make the audience stupid? I think not.

 

[Road Warrior]

Did he personally kill people?

Not to my knowledge. Neither did the President of the United States then or in 2003.

 

[Road Warrior]

You're absolutely right.

Thanks. Yes I am. Clearly you understand the difference between ordering innocent people to be killed and innocent people being killed in wartime. It's the same difference between when the Brits or US bombed a German factory in WWII and Timothy McVeigh placing a fertilizer bomb outside a Federal building. Both result in the killing of innocents, but one was a consequence of war and the other was a deliberate act of terrorism.

In your video, the Marine Corporal was fighting against a machine gun nest firing on his men from above. The missile he ordered used to against the building which resulted the death of the family was not a deliberate act of killing innocents. It's a consequence of war. This is why you'll find most professional soldiers will speak against going to war while it is the Chicken Hawks in Washington who wave the flag, pledge respect for "our troops" and then send our young men and women to war without risk to themselves.

 

[FearGod]

Thanks. Yes I am. Clearly you understand the difference between ordering innocent people to be killed and innocent people being killed in wartime. It's the same difference between when the Brits or US bombed a German factory in WWII and Timothy McVeigh placing a fertilizer bomb outside a Federal building. Both result in the killing of innocents, but one was a consequence of war and the other was a deliberate act of terrorism.

In your video, the Marine Corporal was fighting against a machine gun nest firing on his men from above. The missile he ordered used to against the building which resulted the death of the family was not a deliberate act of killing innocents. It's a consequence of war. This is why you'll find most professional soldiers will speak against going to war while it is the Chicken Hawks in Washington who wave the flag, pledge respect for "our troops" and then send our young men and women to war without risk to themselves.

So do you think the war against iraq is justified with many innocents were killed during the aggression.

[youtube]p8jmWFMHjkE[/youtube]
Iraq War: Bush's Criminal Lies Have Perverted, Distorted and Tarnished America's Image Beyond Repair - YouTube

 

[Road Warrior]

So do you think the war against iraq is justified with many innocents were killed during the aggression.

Innocents are always killed in war which is the main reason not to engage in a war except as a last resort. WWII, Korea and Gulf War I are examples.

While Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator and I would have capped the SOB in the back of the head myself if given a chance, sending our nation to war against him was not justified. It cost us over 4000 American lives and a trillion dollars. For what?

 

[averageJOE]

fighting without faith is killing innocent people.
if protecting his homeland,then he is a hero and he is fighting and killing
the aggressors with strong faith that he isn't killing innocents.

Killing without faith,is killing innocents just because he was ordered to do so,
in other words he is the aggressor.

I served a tour in Iraq. I am not religious and do not believe you'd god exists. I have no faith. I have never been ordered to kill innocent people. Am I a dumb animal?

 

[MissAlice]

fighting without faith is killing innocent people.
if protecting his homeland,then he is a hero and he is fighting and killing
the aggressors with strong faith that he isn't killing innocents.

Killing without faith,is killing innocents just because he was ordered to do so,
in other words he is the aggressor.

Faith or no faith, innocents are killed. As a nontheist, I certainly find your logic flawed and highly insulting despite my personal beliefs against the present wars. How do you explain people of faith who are ordered to kill innocent people? How do you explain people of non faith who are against killing innocent people? Doesn't make sense.

 

[FearGod]

I served a tour in Iraq. I am not religious and do not believe you'd god exists. I have no faith. I have never been ordered to kill innocent people. Am I a dumb animal?

IMO any one who killed an innocent without a justified reason isn't a dumb animal,
as the dumb animal is much better than him.

i am talking in general,similar thing to what called muslim extremists who killed
many innocent people,the dumb animal is much better than them.

That is my own point of view.

 

[Chisti]

IMO any one who killed an innocent without a justified reason isn't a dumb animal,
as the dumb animal is much better than him.

i am talking in general,similar thing to what called muslim extremists who killed
many innocent people,the dumb animal is much better than them.

That is my own point of view.

Then why introduce religion into this? Would it not be simpler to say unjustified killing is wrong without brining in god or religion?

 

[FearGod]

Faith or no faith, innocents are killed. As a nontheist, I certainly find your logic flawed and highly insulting despite my personal beliefs against the present wars. How do you explain people of faith who are ordered to kill innocent people? How do you explain people of non faith who are against killing innocent people? Doesn't make sense.

IMO killing of innocents,by soldier or muslim extremist is an awful act,
then again,the muslim extremist who obey an order to kill innocents is IMO
a dumb animal,i am not insulting any soldier or any muslim extremist but
just saying my own opinion about such awful people or human monsters.

 

[FearGod]

Then why introduce religion into this? Would it not be simpler to say unjustified killing is wrong without brining in god or religion?

That is exactly my point,killing innocents is wrong regardless of religion,
we're humans and we should have such feelings of mercy regardless of religion.

 

[Me Myself]

Somehow yes,specially if fighting without faith,but just ordered to do so.

How on Earth do you difference this things?

A lot of people have very dumb faith in the orders given to them.

 

[FearGod]

How on Earth do you difference this things?

A lot of people have very dumb faith in the orders given to them.

Without faith means that the killer don't have any faith why he had to kill
in other words he don't care if he is killing innocents or not.

Just ordered to kill,but i shouldn't ask why.