Arguments of the "kill or be killed" variety always seem to miss the point that the problem is not being in combat but being at war. This is a discretionary and absolutely meaningless war.

"War looks cool when it is on the television or in the movies... not when you are there seeing your friends killed by an IED."

If the writer believes this, he only proves the point that the media manipulates people with lies. Americans were manipulated into believing that Iraq was a threat. It's tragic that so many young Americans had no better economic opportunities than to become cannon fodder for corporate interests.

Destroying another country for no reason and killing hundreds of thousands of its citizens is inhuman. When you dehumanize others in order to kill them, you can't help but destroy your own humanity.

Billions of dollars simply disappear into the pockets of military contractors. This war is theft at the rate of more than a billion dollars a week.

If all you can see is the combat, you've seen too many good-guy, bad-guy shoot em ups at the movies.