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Are soldiers dumb animals?

Chisti

Active Member
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?
 

FearGod

Freedom Of Mind
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?

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

in case of protecting homeland,then the soldier is a hero and not a dumb soldier.

But to fight because he ordered to do so and killing innocent people for fuzzy purposes,
then IMO the dumb animal is better than him for some reasons.

if the soldier is a believer,then he commit a big sin without a justified reason by attacking
people without known reason,and if he died in the war,he will be an offender losing
lower life and afterlife.

if he is an atheist and died,then he will lose his own life for nothing,as for war managers will celebrate the spoils of war while having massage in 5 stars hotel.

Similar thing,please don't attack me for my opinion,because i hate war or killing any innocent soul.

AND FIGHT in God's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression – for, verily, God does not love aggressors. (2:190)
 

Pegg

Jehovah our God is One
some soldiers defect and regret joining the army...any who do that are living by their own conscience and that would most definitely take them out of the category of a dumb animal.
 

Chisti

Active Member
Thanks, Pegg, but I am sure Mr. Kissinger meant it in a general way. Yes, there are always exceptions, but that's all they are, exceptions.
 

Chisti

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

in case of protecting homeland,then the soldier is a hero and not a dumb soldier.

But to fight because he ordered to do so and killing innocent people for fuzzy purposes,
then IMO the dumb animal is better than him for some reasons.

if the soldier is a believer,then he commit a big sin without a justified reason by attacking
people without known reason,and if he died in the war,he will be an offender losing
lower life and afterlife.

if he is an atheist and died,then he will lose his own life for nothing,as for war managers will celebrate the spoils of war while having massage in 5 stars hotel.

Similar thing,please don't attack me for my opinion,because i hate war or killing any innocent soul.

AND FIGHT in God's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression – for, verily, God does not love aggressors. (2:190)

This is interesting. Thanks.
 

adambaum

Member
The Military is a religious institution that teaches many skills including how to kill. The indoctrination process is similar to any church. They provide a belief system (patriotism), rites (rules of engagement), tools (various weapons) and spiritual guides (superior officers). So are soldiers dumb animals? I say no, just converts to a mentally degrading religion.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
I checked around the internet briefly, & couldn't find anything about Kissinger's intent.
- Was it sarcasm about the waste of life?
- Was it an insult about the men who fight?
- Was it something else?

Now for something completely different......
[youtube]Wej0nlDjkpo[/youtube]
Monty Python Henry Kissinger 21 - YouTube
 

Chisti

Active Member
The Military is a religious institution that teaches many skills including how to kill. The indoctrination process is similar to any church. They provide a belief system (patriotism), rites (rules of engagement), tools (various weapons) and spiritual guides (superior officers). So are soldiers dumb animals? I say no, just converts to a mentally degrading religion.

Excellent point. Everything is essentially a religion, a belief system. For capitalists, money is God, and so on.
 

kai

ragamuffin
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?

Do you have a link to this comment to gain some context?
 

averageJOE

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

in case of protecting homeland,then the soldier is a hero and not a dumb soldier.

But to fight because he ordered to do so and killing innocent people for fuzzy purposes,
then IMO the dumb animal is better than him for some reasons.

if the soldier is a believer,then he commit a big sin without a justified reason by attacking
people without known reason,and if he died in the war,he will be an offender losing
lower life and afterlife.

if he is an atheist and died,then he will lose his own life for nothing,as for war managers will celebrate the spoils of war while having massage in 5 stars hotel.

Similar thing,please don't attack me for my opinion,because i hate war or killing any innocent soul.

AND FIGHT in God's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression – for, verily, God does not love aggressors. (2:190)
Explain "fighting without faith".
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Do you have a link to this comment to gain some context?
Apparently, the exact quote is "Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy." Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein attributed it to Kissinger in their 1976 book "The Final Days". I can't find anything online with a larger context or saying who it was who is supposed to have actually heard Kissinger say this.

If the quote's accurate, I'm not sure it would necessarily be talking about soldiers generally - it could be that he was talking about the generals who he would have been interacting with while he was in office.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
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.

Okay... so it does make Kissinger sound like quite the *********, but it does sound like he was just trying to rile up Haig, not express a sincere opinion.
 

FearGod

Freedom Of Mind
Explain "fighting without faith".

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.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
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.
As a "faithless" person, I find this terminology rather insulting... though I'm open to the idea that you use it because you've had your ideas of virtue taught to you through the lens of religion.
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
But to fight because he ordered to do so and killing innocent people for fuzzy purposes,
then IMO the dumb animal is better than him for some reasons.

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.
 
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