It would be wonderful if such a thing as a chickenhawk existed. Most folks have warlike impulses not because they haven't been in wars but because they have been in wars.

I've mentioned on several occasions it would be great if we could develop paralysis weapons and sweep up and imprison folks that seek to wage war on us or our allies. Maybe someday, but until then we will see folks being given an opportunity to work out some of their most violent pasts.

Everyone here has fought and died in battle. Everyone. Not one poster here that I am aware of has escaped that inglorious fate. You have, Robert has, all the folks on your Chicken hawk list have. It's what we carry away from these experiences that count. You are now more antiwar after having repolarized the negative side of the war equation. This is the way you try to balance your past warlike actions.

Others have different ways. Others seek justice for the masses. Take the side they feel is just and express their support of that side. They may not like wars, but they have an inner compulsion to stand up for what they believe is right. We all have been witness to and victims of tyranny, religious fanaticism, etcetera.

We also have often been the instruments of such tyranny and fanaticism.

Balance.

Balance is the key. Folks will follow impulses that by their nature will seek to balance these past experiences.

The conflicts here on the zone are more of the same balancing stuff. Tom may have been your mortal enemy in the time of Rome. Or perhaps you fought in other ways, using oration, embarassment and public humiliation as was done so often during the reign of Athens.

The more experience we have in these things, unless we have been on equilibrium, the more we have to balance and get back on track. In the mideast if you could seen the merry-go-round of religious hatred you would see that the jihadists come and return to live among the violent with alarming frequency, ever more embittered, ever more violent because they have not yet begun to see the need for balance.

I've explained in many posts the danger of HATE. Hate is the acid that eats up goodwill and is the instrument of imbalance in ones life. You can't go around hating perceived 'chickenhawks' with the same hate 'chickenhawks' have for 'globalists' and those who they feel are selling out their nations future.

If you really are curious as to my military/war experiences, I'll give you the short list, capping only the highlights of the last several thousand years:

Unfortunately I have been involved in far too many conflicts. Most folks here have been, even if they are unaware of it. I think it would indeed be more appropriate if such a person who had never participated in war and avoided conflict did lead. But statistically there are very few on the planet who have not been caught up in wars of one kind or another.

Containing the Hyksos in the upper Delta region. That was a tough campaign. Weeks of fighting. Chariot wielding is tricky and requires balance and a fresh horse more than anything. Half the time you would fight to protect your horse from spear thrusts. Wounded with all sorts of knicks and gashes mainly to the arms and legs. In those days you would see folks simply die from blood loss, because they had to keep fighting until the battle was over and the enemy fled or you fled.

Trojan War. Fought with the Greeks. Like going to a grueling summer camp where you fight for a couple of hours every day for a few months. Latter stages of the campaign survived solely on fish. I bought the farm after being hit by archers near the end of the war. Slow and painful way to die. As one dies one wonders what all the fighting is about anyway, because one's higher self usually overrides the more mundane physical consciousness. Of course by this time its too late. That one was, even more than usual, a totally unneccessary war.

Peleponnesian War. Seaman. Fought alongside Alcibiades. Learned how powerful one single flaming arrow can be to an enemy ship made of wood and how tireless shoulders are developed by oaring ships in and out of conflict range. Kicked Spartan tail when most Athenians were ready to throw in the towel. And, yes, Alcibiades did order the defacing of the hermai, of which his crews were only too eager to perform, as they were considered particularly pagan and offensive to 'modern' worldly Athenian mindsets. Today they would probably say Alcibiades was homophobic, when he had merely spent enough time fighting alongside Spartans and was sending an equal message to the effete council leaders of Athens. Survived only to watch Athens go down the tubes anyway. After putting in my share, retired to farm & fish.

Punic War (The Second). Served with Scipio on the side of Rome. He was intense and a fanatic. Valued self-sacrifice for the common good above all things. Inspired fanatic loyalty down to the ranks of the foot soldiers because soldiers sensed he actually believed in what he was fighting for. Scipios foot soldiers were as good as any Spartan troops ever were and had a broader repertoire of fighting techniques. Fought & survived.

So many conflicts.
So many wars.
So much blood.

There were bloody conflicts agaist the Mongols in China where the Mongols would pile up all their massacre victims and set the torch to them as much to send a message their enemy in the pile of bones that remained, as to prevent disease from taking root in their newly conquered territory. Total ruthlessness slaughtering babies, women and children without hesitation. Fled and fled again to places still under the Emperors control. Hopelessly outnumbered villages and towns against a sea of horsemen. Mongols did not have foot soldiers. If a Mongol lost his horse he was left behind as ruthlessly as if he were an enemy. As cruel and inbred a lot of soldiers as have ever fought on the earth. Folks who call the Israel bombing of rocket launcher a massacre - they have no idea what a massacre really looks like.

Territorial wars in India, tribal conflicts, Battles against Huns, and then the wonderful Middle Ages.

Served with Arthur (Artos) in several campaigns against the tall Normans armies, whose weapon of choice was a battle axe, with which they learned to use effectively when they built their ships. Arthur was very real and believed in his vision of an orderly and peaceful realm governed by laws in much the same way as Rome was. Yes, Arthur was the son of a Roman left behind after an incursion into Britain. He brought the concept of Roman laws to savage Anglo-Saxon masses. As much a teacher as ruler, he gathered around himself those who could understand and value his teachings, which in part had been taught to him by his father. He built Camelot as the original 'centre of justice' for the region. It was located sufficiently central to keep it safe from incessant marauders and conflicts on and near the shores. As a result, it was not connected to any existing town and built from scratch to Arthurs specifications, using Roman building techniques. Not as glorious as fictional history paints it, but Arthur truly lived for an ideal and did as much to bring civilization to Britain as any man did. Unfortunately, Camelot was eventually destroyed after four and a half decades and few in the council of twelve survived. Survived the last battle but wounded and convalescent for the rest of my life - another ten years.

And on it on it goes...

France, during the hundred years war...caught a glimpse of Joan of Arc even though I was with the English. At the time I truly believed she was a sorceress and black magician, as that was what the rumors said. I think this helped the ineffectual French fighters as much as anything, because sorcery was still very valid and real in those days and fear is the most powerful wepon of all. I was an archer and was putting a positive bias on what I had viewed so negatively in the Trojan war. Survived. No injuries.

Let's skip ahead a bit...as this is taking way too long.

Civil War Fought with the North. Survived. Wielded a nasty bayonnet which would incur me violent feedback later.

WWI 1917 Near close of war. Russian. Early twenties. Shot and bayonetted to finish the job because the shot was not very effective and I was still walking. Not sure who was more terrified, me or the face of the kid who was bayonneting me.

WWII Came back fast enough to pilot fighter jets for German Luftwaffe - for the nation that had effectively killed me only 20 years earlier. Shot down over Italy by anti-aircraft fire. Born again in Germany, left homeless after an air bombing and then killed before I was even 2 years old - by an incoming American tank shell.

Took a break. Came in again half-German, half-American (balance) and drew tanks, lots of them with the US as the good guys, until I was about 5. Trying, again to put a positive bias on something that had been the cause of my demise. Chose the date of my birth to coincide with the date of my previous death for the exact same reason.

In this life my service to the US military has only been indirectly, via R&D projects. No conflicts, no recruitment. I've done my soldiering and know all too well the very real hardships of war.

Just reviewing this thumbnail sketch has brought back way too many painful memories. As for the folks here who are blessed by amnesia of their past conflicts, judging as competent to decide military matters merely those who have served in the military in this lifetime is beyond ridiculous.

Everyone here has served in one conflict or another, and it is the subconscious memories of these conflicts that makes Americans so freedom loving. Americans have probably experienced more violence than most and understand tyranny, religious fanaticism and savage mentalities all too well.

Was this the answer you wanted to hear?

Will you believe it?

The answer's the same to both: I seriuosly doubt it.

;-)