Watching Band of Brothers

[TexasDem69]

And got me thinking about the last just war the US participated in. WW II and Afghanistan clearly.

[Drum]

1. Band of Brothers was reflective of my Dad's service...

[ProfessorGAC]

37. My Dad's Cousin Was One Of The BoB

Frank Perconte was a 2nd cousin on my dad's mother's side.
Frank's nephew, also from the city where I grew up, played MLB for 7 or years.
Quite the family history.

[WarGamer]

2. Afghanistan?

[TexasDem69]

7. Yep

[tenderfoot]

14. It turned out well huh

So worth it

[MarineCombatEngineer]

15. No, it didn't turn out well,

but, IMHO, it was justified because Afghanistan was where the 9/11 attacks originated from by Osama bin Laden.

[tenderfoot]

16. Now do Iraq

eom

[MarineCombatEngineer]

19. Do what with Iraq?

Iraq was unjustified.

[WarGamer]

20. TBH, IMHO, Afghanistan was also a mistake.

We could have made due with air assaults on terrorist camps and leaders, etc...

But a physical invasion and ground combat was simply a neocon dream.

And it's not like everyone KNEW that no one wins in Afghanistan.

[intrepidity]

3. What a great series. nt

[ITAL]

4. I'd say Korea was just

North invaded the South. United Nations led, etc.

[brewens]

5. Pretty good. I saw them bunch up too much though. Artistic license to show them all at

times. The Pacific is really good too. There is some amazing attention to detail in that. The rifles the Marines had on Guadalcanal to begin with. Most of them just had the bolt action Springfield 30-06. I have one of those. Manufactured in 1913. My dads hunting rifle. I haven't fired it for 50 years.

[Irish_Dem]

24. I think The Pacific is one of Spielberg's best productions.

That is amazing about the rifles.

[Tetrachloride]

6. 1. Foyle's War. ( british mystery series)

2. my father likely had strong opinions on the Korean War as a combat veteran.

3. some aspects of the series were whitewashed . Due to time, it could be argued that whitewashing was inevitable. I disagree .

4. the overall structure provided in depth and multiple views.

In general, i appreciate Band of Brothers. But, the whitewashing was fundamental in at least 1 episode

[TexasDem69]

8. No doubt

[Scrivener7]

25. Which one? What was whitewashed? (Not snark. I'm genuinely curious.)

[TexasDem69]

9. We should have done more in Bosnia

And the inaction re Rwanda is shameful.

[RockRaven]

10. After WWII, Korea was probably just. I question whether Afghanistan was.

For the sake of setting up some parameters, let's use the Wikipedia article on the starter by of a just war, jus ad bellum.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_ad_bellum
Of the four criteria, the US clearly failed at least two in regards to Afghanistan (3rd and 4th), up to four (add in 1st and 2nd) depending on how pedantic and cynical one is.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

11. What about Korea?

After all, the Norks did illegally invade the South and the UN retaliated and came to S. Korea's defense.

[Tetrachloride]

12. I learned of the SS Meredith Victory, rescue of 14,000 refugees in 1 trip.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50805106

The story says 200,000 refugees total but Im unsure on details such as location and over what period of time.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

13. Thank you for this link!!!!

Fascinating story, one I never knew about.
Always learning something new on DU.

[Tetrachloride]

17. if you find the documentary narrated by Loretta Swit,

you’ll …. get a bonus connotation

[MarineCombatEngineer]

18. Loretta Swit.

Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan.

[WarGamer]

21. Did the US suffer the brunt of the casualties in that war?

If yes... why?

The US is NOT and should have never been the military shield/spear for the UN.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

22. If not the US, then who should be the tip of the spear?

What other country in the free world can match the capability of the US Military?
Don't get me wrong, Iraq was a huge mistake and I can see your reasoning on Afghanistan, one which I can agree with, but if not for the US, despite all of our flaws, who else can hold the torch for freedom against those like Russia, N. Korea, China, etc.

I'm as anti war as they get, but sometimes military action is needed, but any action should be carefully considered, unlike Iraq was.

[WarGamer]

30. But that's the whole point.

And thank the neocons for that.

Other countries don't fund an effective military "cuz the US is there" and then the US gets to flex geopolitical muscle being the "protector"

[MarineCombatEngineer]

31. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in

and, like it or not, and I'm not a big fan of us being the world's police, the US is the bulwark against foreign tyranny and there is no other country in the free world that can match our military might, our combat experience, etc.

I think that Russia's disastrous, illegal invasion of Ukraine has motivated our NATO partners to finally recognize the true dangers coming from Russia, China, N. Korea, Iran, etc. and are finally confronting these tyrannical countries for what they are.

Peace out brother.
Dan.

[WarGamer]

33. Yeah, you're right.

I also think that in a multi-polar world, where the US has equal adversaries, eventually we will become more peaceful and just.

I can make a hell of a strong argument that the Iraq Invasion was equal to/worse than Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

But the UN, for the most part supported the US, clapping their flippers and barking like trained seals.

Because... the US is the protector of the West and bankrolls the world

It sounds crazy now, but I believe that the sooner the $USD isn't the "world's reserve currency" the better. When China reaches an economic and military parity with the US, the world will be better off and not worse.

It's incredibly US-Centric and odd to think that the US should serve as some sort of Defender of Earth and pseudo Global Dictator.

Look back just a decade or two... the Neocons were proud to talk about "Democracy on the March" and how every Tomahawk Cruise Missile was delivering "freedom and Democracy"...

It's disgusting.

The concept of a Global version of a perfect social and cultural system crafted by Dick Cheney, Bill Kristol and David Brooks is simply atrocious.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

32. Oh, BTW,

the US Marines are the baddest fighting force on the planet.

Of course, I may be just a tad biased, but I stand by my statement.

[WarGamer]

34. yes sir.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

36. As my first Gunny used to say,

"Don't call me sir, I work for a living".

[WarGamer]

35. The stories he has told...

Literally was part of a team that went door to door looking for "persons of interest", sometimes the home would be booby-trapped, sometimes there'd be an AK47 on the other side of the door, sometimes the whole family would be dead at the dinner table, having committed suicide.

Oh and snipers... everywhere.

He came out of it pretty well... but many didn't.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

38. +100. nt

To those who lived to tell their stories and to those who will be forever in our hearts, gone, but never forgotten

It has been a real pleasure talking to you, and while I may occasionally disagree with your stances, I do respect your opinions and do enjoy reading your posts.

Keep up the good work.

[WarGamer]

43. thanks, much appreciated.

[Skittles]

23. how was Afghanistan just

when most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia

[Chainfire]

26. Well, Hell, somebody had to pay...

[ProfessorGAC]

39. On That Very Day...

...when at the airport waiting for a flight to Atlanta, I saw tv coverage of the 2nd tower getting hit.
Knew immediately we were going nowhere, so I headed out.
While in the car driving back, I hear about the Pentagon attack.
And I admit my first thought was "Well, somebody's ass is kicked."
Little did I know we would attack the wrong countries.

[EX500rider]

29. But they weren't welcome in SA and were at war with the House of Saud

The Taliban did welcome them, allow them to set up camps and refused to hand them over after 9/11.

[Chainfire]

40. You have to assume that Saudi money financed it.

We couldn't go after the Saudis, it would cost too many Americans too much money so we just picked another country of brown men to beat up on.

[EX500rider]

41. The Saudi government certainly wasn't trying to finance a group sworn to their overthrow

[Chainfire]

42. I said Saudi money, not Saudi "government" money.

Those flying lessons were not paid for by the poppy sales.

[BlackSkimmer]

27. Afghanistan?

Um, no.

[pecosbob]

28. Band Brothers...great book, great series.

Ambrose was well-respected in his field until in recent decades claims have came forward that he embellished and even fabricated material.

I won't even step into the "just war" philosophical minefield.