Well, I don't believe in fairytales either - that's for sure. I agree that this really is a question of principles: Are civilians legitimate targets in a war? The Geneva convention which the US is party of says no. Do you also agree that terrorism towards civilian targets is legitimate? Most do not. So yes, there are in fact rules of war - and if you've been a solider (I get that impression) it's your damn duty to know those rules. Oh, but the civilian deaths are 'accidents', they're not the intended targets. Really? When you drop the bomb, you pretty much know what you're going to hit - at least that's the way it is nowadays. So where would we have been without the London blitz, the Dresden bombings, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs... These were all targetted against civilians, of course. I think the days of international conventions after WW2 are past, as they're not respected anymore but states such as the USA. And, you've got militants/terrorists who doesn't respect it of course as well. I agree that when enemies operate amongst civilians, you cannot escape that there will be civilian deaths as you still need to fight them down. However, your finaly point is not always right - sometimes the local population is held hostage and will be killed if they try to leave - look at some of the reports out of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers. And please, if civilian deaths are acceptable, don't cry about terrorism next time around. Was 9/11 a legitimate attack from Al-Qaida?
True... buy why do we need one NOW in the US? Unless one is an Obamabot, it's easy to see the potential sinister implications... More "hobnail boot" than altruistic service. I believe "service to one's country for all" is a good idea, but if it were to be done in the right way... should have been implemented while we still had a military draft. Not that everyone would to into the military, of course, but things like VISTA or service on a local scale.
It's also a violation of international law to use civilian shields or to deliberately locate military assets among civilians. They have learned only too well how t o exploit an international media that is quick to condemn Israel or the US for civilian deaths but takes those caused by terrorists in stride. Or even seeks to justify them as you apparently do with some bizarre moral equivalence argument.
I think you're making way too much out of this. Youth service has been promoted by many administrations, Republican and Democratic alike. If they have to wear militant uniforms, recite loyalty pledges, and are armed, I'll then be in agreement with you. A bunch of kids from the inner city or suburbs, planting trees and cleaning parks, shouldn't worry anyone as much as it's stressing you. This isn't exactly a jack-booted thug program.
Yes, you're absolutely right that civilian shields etc is a violation of international law - I tried to make that point as well. I'm also not trying to defend or justify terrorism - just for the record.
I think you're making way too much out of this. Youth service has been promoted by many administrations, Republican and Democratic alike. If they have to wear militant uniforms, recite loyalty pledges, and are armed, I'll then be in agreement with you. A bunch of kids from the inner city or suburbs, planting trees and cleaning parks, shouldn't worry anyone as much as it's stressing you. This isn't exactly a jack-booted thug program. It's not about trees and shrubs, it's about indoctrination with political religion, in this case multiculturalism. The exact same way that public schools do it. reminds me of the young pioneers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Pioneer_organization_of_the_Soviet_Union Let's not teach kids critical thinking, let's make them into obedient govenment automatons.
But Mav88, the Constitution is a political document - so you can't teach (or indoctrinate) that? Are you also skeptical to the idea of a school system?
Public schools do not teach critical thinking, they train obedient little worker bees. Someone will teach their new PC version of their interpretation of the constitution. Example, I bet they would teach that health care is a right.