Pics from Iraq

[lost-and-found]

Hey gals/guys.

My buddy is serving in Iraq right now and sends me pics from time to time. With his permission I compiled the pics into a gallery at my site. More will be added when I get any pics.

BTW, please, I do NOT want this thread to turn into a pro/anti Bush/Iraq/War fight. The purpose of these pictures is to show a world many of us will not experience.
Here are the pictures

[Anderson]

It will be an experience he will never forget in their lifetime. Nice pic.

[zoedragon]

Wasn't expecting to see a waterfall in Iraq. Very nice! All you see on TV are deserts and dusty tanks.

[Puffguts]

Great pictures! It is very refreshing to look at Iraq in a non-violent perspective (everytime Iraq is shown on TV, it is always about people dying and places get bombed)

[Admin]

Thanks for sharing the photos with us. Great to see a peaceful side of Iraq.

[Puffguts]

It is very nice to see the number of women in active duty nowadays. Some highschool female friends of mine joined the Army after graduation. According to them, having women serving in non-support roles really changed some ways their comrades think about women in a positive way (as of today, women are still not part of the active combat units - i.e. the ones sent out for assualt duties, but now they are not limited to traditional support roles, such as nurse / radio communication officer in HQ / cook / officer assistant.)

I oppose gender segregation in the military, for it forster the notion that the "true bond" can only exist in a "mano de macho" fashion. A study indicated that if a male has worked under a female superior, it would be much less likely for that male to commit domestic violence against his female spouse.

Opponents of that view suggests that mixing women and men in the military would be harmful to the women and expose them to sexual crimes committed by the soldiers serving with them. They also argue that it would not be the men's fault since it is a "highly aggressive, competitve, and inherently testosterone-driven" society they live in, and hence they suggest the women would be drawing the men to commit crimes otherwise would be prevented - "they[the male soldiers] would be hot-blooded men acting on their instincts [in a military environment]".

I am disgusted by such suggestions, which are frequently made by female opponents of a mix-gendered military. I am sure there are many men, myself for one, who would treat their female comrades as sisters and not degrade themselves by behaving "instinctly" in any disrespectful ways. As for the argument that women "drawing" the male soldiers to commit crimes - those soldiers are criminals and should be locked away or removed from the force, no matter how bravely they've fought and served - they are just criminals with medals. If they are sexual predators preying on their fellow soldiers, they are worse than the terrorists killing innocent civilians. A crime is a crime, and we cannot appease them by not integrating the military, fearing that they [criminals] might strike.

Sure, we can "protect women from harrassment" by keeping them out of the military, out of the university, out of the schools, out of the automobiles, out of the professional fields, and out of public and keep them in a veil like some certain countries do, but what would that accomplish? Gender segregation would only lead to a dominant class of gender and a subserviant class of another gender. We all know how it turns out.

Our country made it this far by integrating people and ideas, not segregating them. We embrace the difference and strive to give everyone opportunity, not denying them. This fundemental principle extends to the gender equality in opportunity as well.

[zoedragon]

I swear I heard the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background as I read this... well said Puffguts! And I agree with it. Those who claim women will "draw" the men to commit sexual crimes in the military are the exact same assholes who claim "she was asking for it". The men will merely be reacting to aggressive instincts?? Excuse me but what separates us from animals? We have the will and the ability to control our actions, to distinguish right from wrong. Only animals have no such ability, and people who act like harmful animals should be treated as such -- locked away or neutered!

[Keng]

When men get it on, we don't think.

[lost-and-found]

OMG, you guys hear about that Tuesday attack in mosul that killed 24 U.S. soldiers? My buddy is stationed in Mosul. I hope to God he wasn't caught in the mess. Haven't had a chance to contact the family for any info.

[Steven]

Originally Posted by zoedragon

I swear I heard the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background as I read this... well said Puffguts! And I agree with it. Those who claim women will "draw" the men to commit sexual crimes in the military are the exact same assholes who claim "she was asking for it". The men will merely be reacting to aggressive instincts?? Excuse me but what separates us from animals? We have the will and the ability to control our actions, to distinguish right from wrong. Only animals have no such ability, and people who act like harmful animals should be treated as such -- locked away or neutered!

Why do you think that nonhuman animals have no such ability? How would chimpanzees form complex social networks without having the ability to not steal and not kill each other at a whim? If simply did any random thing, the social structure of their group would probably break down and they would have to attempt to survive on their own.

[zoedragon]

Well let's think about lower life forms then, those that are more instinctual. Chimps are ovbiously more evolved than, say, rabbits. So if some people behave worse than apes, shouldn't they be ashamed?

[JPWRana]

wow! many of those pictures are nice. MUCH different to seeing blown up cars and streets that look like palestine. I would've never thought Iraq can have nice places.

That pix of the lake!!! NO WAVES!!! Someone seriously needs to put a jetski there!

lol

btw, i don't care about that women joining the services crap!! lost-and-found said not 2 crap on his/her thread.

[zoedragon]

Who's crapping on this thread? Lost-and-found said not to turn this thread into a debate about the war or Bush. There is no debate here. Only the observation that it was nice to see women playing as important a role as men are over there. You're the only one who seems to be taking offense at it.

[JPWRana]

we'll this thread is supposed 2 b about her pix... not about "OH GO GIRL POWER! WOMEN EQUAL TREATMENT!! WOMEN HAVE DICKS TOO!!" i dont like none of tha bullshît

[zoedragon]

Wow why don't you tell us how you really feel?

[JPWRana]

because I wouldn't wanna hi-jack lost-and-found's thread... that's why. I try not to post-hor.

[krk230]

anyone notice the two black BMWs parked infront of the black Jeep Grand Cherokee?...hehe...

nice pics...

[JPWRana]

car bombers :lol

[lost-and-found]

HEH, hope not .