When a civilian joins the military there are many reasons for doing so. Personal challenge, family heritage, personal beliefs or honor, a desire to help people in troubled lands are just a few.
When a contractor "joins" the military by receiving military contracts, there is only one reason. Profit.
Quite a contrast.
Profit at any cost. Profit on the backs of someone else's labors and sacrifice. Profit, as much as possible.
Organizations currently officially designated as terrorist by various governments
Abu Nidal Organization Abu Sayyaf Aden-Abyan Islamic Army Ajnad Misr Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj al-Aqsa Foundation al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Al-Badr al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya Al Ghurabaa al-Haramain Foundation Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya Al-Mourabitoun Al-Nusra Front al-Qaeda al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Al-Shabaab Takfir wal-Hijra Al-Umar-Mujahideen All Tripura Tiger Force Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia) Ansar al-Islam Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna Ansar Bait al-Maqdis Ansar Dine Ansaru Armed Islamic Group of Algeria Army of Islam Osbat al-Ansar Aum Shinrikyo Babbar Khalsa International Balochistan Liberation Army Boko Haram Caucasus Emirate Comite' de Blenfaisance et de Solidarite' avec la Plestine Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Communist Party of the Philippines/ New People's Army Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei Continuity Irish Republican Army Cumann na mBan Deendar Anjuman Donetsk People's Republic Dukhtaran-e-Millat East Turkestan Information Center East Turkestan Islamic Party East Turkestan Liberation Organization Egyptian Islamic Jihad Ergenekon ETA Fianna Éireann Force 17 Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front Grey Wolves Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades Haqqani network Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami Harkat-al-Jihad al-Islami in Bangladesh Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Harakat-Ul-Mujahideen/Alami Harakat Sham al-Islam Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin Hezbollah Hezbollah (Turkey) Hezbollah (Military Wing) Hezbollah (External Security Organisation) Hezbollah Al-Hejaz Hilafet Devleti Hizb ut-Tahrir Hizbul Mujahideen Hofstad Network Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development Houthis Indian Mujahideen International Sikh Youth Federation Irish National Liberation Army Irish People's Liberation Organisation Islamic Jihad – Jamaat Mujahideen Islamic Jihad Union Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar Jamaat Ul-Furquan Jamaat-ul-Ahrar Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh Jamiat al-Islah al-Idzhtimai Jamiat ul-Ansar Jamiat-e Islami Jemaah Islamiyah Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid Jund al-Aqsa Jund al-Khilafah Jund al-Sham Jundallah Kach and Kahane Chai Kangleipak Communist Party Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup Kata'ib Hezbollah Khalistan Commando Force Khalistan Zindabad Force Khuddam ul-Islam Komalah Kurdistan Democratic Party/North Kurdistan Freedom Falcons Kurdistan Workers' Party Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Libyan Islamic Fighting Group Loyalist Volunteer Force Lugansk People's Republic Manipur People’s Liberation Front Maoist Communist Centre of India Marxist–Leninist Communist Party Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem Muslim Brotherhood National Democratic Front of Bodoland National Liberation Army National Liberation Front of Tripura Orange Volunteers Palestine al-muslima Palestine Liberation Front Palestinian Islamic Jihad Palestinian Relief Development Fund – Interpal Party of Free Life of Kurdistan People's Congress of Ichkeria and Dagestan People's Liberation Army of Manipur People's Mujahedin of Iran People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command Provisional Irish Republican Army Quds Force Real Irish Republican Army Red Hand Commando Red Hand Defenders Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Revolutionary Organization 17 November Revolutionary Party of Kurdistan Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front Revolutionary Struggle Saor Éire The Saved Sect Tevhid-Selam (Al-Quds Army) Shining Path[70] Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage Stichting Al Aqsa Students Islamic Movement of India Supreme Military Majlis ul-Shura of the United Mujahideen Forces of Caucasus Taliban Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan Tamil Nadu Liberation Army Tamil National Retrieval Troops Tanzim Ulster Defence Association Ulster Volunteer Force United Liberation Front of Assam United National Liberation Front United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia Vanguards of Conquest World Tamil Movement World Uygur Youth Congress
"if you are unwilling to stand behind your troops, you are welcome to stand in front of them."
The image and the quote both say the same thing. It is unfortunate that we are willing to slam the fist of our military into the belly of someone else but are unwilling to take responsibility for having done so. By sending our troops out to be in harms way we are obligated to defend them to the best of our ability with modern weapons, strong political will, and most importantly, support from our citizens.
We hope that when we send our troops out that the reason is just, is not politically of financially motivated, or otherwise the wrong decision. The unfortunate truth is that we often send our troops out for the wrong reason. Then and only then should we rebel against the troop deployment as they also are good citizens who joined up to fight for what is right.
"Once pre-eminent among peacekeeping nations with thousands of “blue berets” deployed around the world, Canada now ranks 53 – between Paraguay and Slovakia – on the United Nations contributors’ list with less than a schoolbus-load of Canadian soldiers serving on UN missions overseas.
Since then 1990s, successive Canadian governments, both Conservative and Liberal, have shunned traditional UN-mandated peacekeeping for U.S.-led war-fighting missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya. Those campaigns have eclipsed the UN as Ottawa’s favoured military expeditionary effort. From being the top contributor in the early 1990s, the Canadian commitment dropped precipitously from thousands, to hundreds a decade ago to only a few dozen in recent years."
It is a really sad day in Canada when an article such as the quote from the one above can be published with truth. Canada, a once proud nation of international peace keeping repute has picked up the gun for aggressive rather than protective purposes. This is Prime Minister Harper's Canadian legacy to the world and to the children of Canada.
Some may be able to justify the Canadian military actions in Afghanistan, Libya and other hot spots around the globe, but without peace keeping actions, Canada has become just another aggressor.
The balance between making peace and keeping peace must be maintained otherwise the imbalance simply leads to more conflict and more loss of life, mostly civilian.
Consider the aggressor: Fight for personal gain; Fight for power and reputation; Fight for no good purpose.
Consider the Peace Keeper: Fight to protect; Fight to maintain life: Fight for a future without fighting.
Consider Canada:
International Peace Keeping reputation now shredded by the current self serving Prime Minister contrasted to the strong willed and brave peace keepers such as General and Senator Roméo Dallaire
Now consider this:
ISIS and other terror groups running amok as the international community is to self serving and weak to mount a suitable offensive. Hiding behind international laws which no terrorist will ever abide by.
This blog is about guns for brains but it would seem that those who have brains are afraid to use the guns to defeat those who have guns but no brains.
In light of the atrocities being committed world wide it is easy to see why the Canadian prime Minister would unleash the Canadian Military in aggressor actions. It is unconscionable that the balance between fight and defend is so out of balance. Until such time as the worlds nations decide that oil is not the only reason to go to war, the western forces will be seen as aggressors, not Peace Keepers or peace makers.
