French troops to leave Afghanistan

[festive1]

Min's right, reality TV, celebrity news, political scandal all trump actual news.

[Kousbroek]

Min's right, reality TV, celebrity news, political scandal all trump actual news.

Well... what can i say guys ... try the BBC ?

[Minimalist]

I do. Far superior to what passes for "news" over here.

[festive1]

I visit BBC's website at least once a day

[Anomalocaris]

Well how do other countries ensure military service (I'm thinking countries with mandatory military service, like the Swiss or Israel-perhaps Israel is a bad example at the present time)? If the Draft came back, the loopholes for the wealthy would have to be closed. I can't imagine Congress being too excited to send in our troops if a few of their kids would be put in harms' way.
Think of it this way: If there was a mandatory draft, without exemption, would Congress have ever decided to invade Iraq based on the evidence we had at the time? I don't think so.

Not practical. We are not the Swiss. The Swiss keep government issued assualt rifles and machine guns at most family homes and yet still have the gumption not to litter prestine streets with hundred of dead school children. Land of 2nd amendment and home of the brave fall far short of this form of courage.

Also, it is impossible to pass any draft without examptions. This is a country where a moron can come within a hair's width of the nuclear button by running on the platform of putting down the "47%", and accusing investment in public good as being nothing more than unwarranted "gifts" from the deserving to the undeserving. The powers that be would never allow their own children to share in the cannon fodder status they assign to the "takers".

[festive1]

Good points...
Quick question on this topic: Why only religious exemptions from the draft instead of conscientious objections? Why (when the draft was in effect in the US) did one have to be a Quaker or Amish to avoid the draft? I know there were other exemptions, clergy, student, national guard, but why not just plain old, "I don't want to kill people" exemptions, why did that have to be linked to a pacifist religion? Why couldn't one be a pacifist without being religious? You still see this double standard today, religious exemptions for not getting your kids vaccinated, but if someone just doesn't want to do it and isn't religious... Well, it's just not right to deny them the exemption simply because they aren't religious.

[Anomalocaris]

The concern is if one could claim pacifist examption without demonstrating seemingly pursuasive evidence of prior pacificist conviction, then any coward could claim falsely to be pacificist solely to ensure someone else would take a bullet in his stead.

[Minimalist]

The concern is if one could claim pacifist examption without demonstrating seemingly pursuasive evidence of prior pacificist conviction, then any coward could claim falsely to be pacificist solely to ensure someone else would take a bullet in his stead.

These days all one has to do is be a republicunt.

[Anomalocaris]

The concern is if one could claim pacifist examption without demonstrating seemingly pursuasive evidence of prior pacificist conviction, then any coward could claim falsely to be pacificist solely to ensure someone else would take a bullet in his stead.

These days all one has to do is be a republicunt.

What are republicans but a bunch of privileged coward maneuvering to benefit from someone else taking bullets in their stead?

[Something completely different]

Yeah, yeah ... i know .. we just don't like war ... and they used to grow some kick ass hash over there *sigh*

But unlike you, we stayed out of Iraq na na na na naaaaah naaaaaaaaaahh

Because of the best politician our country has had in the past 30 years, and his one very clear and simple statement.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k_QbpFl7RM

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Back to the point, where there any public polls taken whilest the Netherlands where still engaged in the Afghan war which show how unpopular the war was?

I know from polls conducted last year that 51% of the german population want a complete withdrawl of the troops imediatly and that 81% think the war cannot be won.

Are there actualy any European countries left where there is still strong public support for this war?

I guess public support was larger after 9\11 but dropped after the war in Iraq which was based on a lie and was badly managed.