Thank you for going and thank you for coming home alive.

Yes, from your original post, mixed with the others before you, I misunderstood your perspective. I appreciate you following up to elaborate on your perspective.

Where I'm coming from is pretty simple. I wasn't raised to hate Muslims, I learned it as an adult. All my adult life, when I see "these people" (and I say "these people" and "those people" in the way John Wayne said it, sneeringly, when he told "Puff" to... "Put it on the camp. WE don't have it anymore, 'those people' do!"... so you need to appreciate that when I say "those people," I'm doing so with the utmost contempt)... burning our flag, carrying posters with "Death to Americans" written on them, burning our presidents in effigy, et cetera. Boy, I sure don't see that here in America where Muslims are concerned... even after 9/11, I didn't see people parading with signs reading "Death to Osama" or anything of the sort. Muslims, it seems, can't wait to make it clear how much they hate us infidels. I don't understand their god. My God is a loving God. If I do things right, I get to go to Heaven. Period. I've never found it in the Bible that I need to strap on six or seven pounds of C4 and take out a bunch of Muslims in a restaurant, or whatever, so I can go to Heaven. I don't get their god. I thought Allah and Buddah and all those guys, whatever name you call them, were the same god, my God... but my God doesn't throw a bunch of virgins in my face, that I'll get to get laid a lot if I kill myself while taking out a bunch of Muslims. I just don't get it. I think Rodney King is a Swinging Richard in every aspect, but I can't help feeling like "can't we all just get along?" Clearly, however, "no."

So... I'm sure there are good Muslims out there. I'm sure the truest form of the Muslim faith is all peaceful and everything... at least that's what I hear... but I don't see it, anywhere, and frankly "they all look alike to me." After 9/11, that was it -- for me. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more tolerance. No more "Well, 'these people' have had a rough life." No, now, they all look like people who know how to fly planes without knowing how to take off or land. If they carry a gun, be they a woman, a child of any age, or an old geezer, and they point it at me (we're supposed to let them keep their AKs so they can defend their farms, there in Iraq), I'm going to mow them down. It's either Americans or them. I choose Americans. It's all academic now, since I'm home, but that's my take on Muslims. As Army policy, I'm not supposed to hate Muslims; I'm supposed to make the distinction between Muslims and Muslim extremists/terrorists/bad-guys. Well, nuts, I guess I've failed "Muslim Distinction 101."

Sorry for the rant. Bill, sorry to hijack your thread.

Hunting in Somalia. The animals are gone. Well, the game animals are gone, anyway.

Hooah.

Russ

Russel,
Methinks you misunderstood my comments. On valuing human life, I was referring to the fact that many of the "humans" WE are supposed to value, have no thoughts of valuing other humans. Saw that in Viet Nam and several other SouthEast Asian countries we weren't supposed to be in. I received more "iron" than Kerry and you can bet I didn't throw mine away!