I think it makes a good statement about US overseas policies in recent times, even if it’s based on conspiracy. I was just researching the battle of Iwo Jima and fell upon this.
Modern War has become so much more than land and power struggles…
Its been part of our foreign policy since industralization and that’s not recent.
You have got to be shitting me. You are all fucking stupid. As soon as one of you grows the balls to go over there and see what is really happening you can talk shit. You’re all stupid pricks
you fucken niggers this aint funny
Not amusing in the least. I think most if not all who fought and died on both sides on this island would most likely feel the same.
Well it’s not meant to be amusing. It’s a representation of what motivates US foreign policy. So if you don’t like it take it up with the folks in Washington DC
I apologize for feeling the necessity to disagree with the majority of you, but I would have to agree with Ross on this one. Despite the fact that you may not like the image (or whether or not you served in a recent or ongoing war) this is a fairly accurate depiction of the motivation behind our nations actions. Like he said, take it up in Washington (or call your rep).
I agree this is not funny. I don’t think it was meant to be. It also is not in any way a negative statement regarding our troops. I believe it is meant to make us think about what the Gulf Wars are really about.
Jon don’t understand your comments
i agree with semper fi
u retard 976 men fought on iwo jima and u make f-in fun of it u stupid sico
It’s not meant to be funny. It is an accurate representation of how the US government uses the military to advance the interests of its empire in the Iraq and Afghanistan today.
This isn’t disrespectful, it’s actually as honest than the photo op of the “real” Iwo Jima flag raising. One only has to see both of the Iwo Jima movies by Clint Eastwood to see that although there are always two sides to any struggle, each side feels fully justified and righteous in their actions. Each side is driven by the same national pride.Unfortunately the horrific outcomes are rarely as euphoric as a soccer game.
And please, lets remember that just a few months later after the bloodbath of Iwo Jima, the US dropped two, not one but two nuclear bombs on hundreds of thousands of civilians of a beaten Japan that was already willing to surrender. There is more shame than glory in war, it’s a business by other means, it’s a chess game by the generals and we are the disposable pawns.
The invasion of Iraq after the punitive strike on Afghanistan really was all about “getting our oil out from under their sand”. That was pretty much admitted as being the real prize later, in spite of all the religious obfuscations. It had absolutely nothing to do with 9.11, since all the plans were already in place, and just like Pearl Harbour, the Pentagon needed a convenient “let it happen” event to shock the world so it could move in for the kill with “full public support”. Don’t say we weren’t manipulated!
Saddam had to go, sure, but that could have been accomplished by a black ops team. The US military machine under glory-seeking Bush then disgraced itself by destroying essential civilian infrastructure,allowing the looting of museums of antiquity, showed complete lack of control over prison guards and private contractors who committed atrocities we still don’t know. The US has lost the moral high ground, and the empire is collapsing under debt as we speak.
That’s the way wars in this world are run, for all the wrong reasons, and that’s why this picture has validity.
This is disgusting, we’re not fighting for the price of oil we’re fighting for the price of freedom. And If the person that posted that can actually say to me that the reason my best friend’s brother had to die in Iraq, the reason my neighbors are coming home shellshocked, and the reason that my cousin had to do the horrible things he was ordered to do all so that you can pay less at the pump! if you can say that to me that says something very sad about this country and what it has become.
Another thing that pisses me off is how all you liberals think you have a right to run this pathetic and disgusting smear campaign against the war even though you all ran to vote for it. I have no problem with disagreeing with and challenging policies and the government thats only first amendment but saying that our boys are dying for nothing is just taking it too far, so next time instead of doing this stupid and offensive shit just write a letter to your congressman.
I’m sorry i’ve posted twice but this just really pisses me off, and the way you distorted the image of one America’s crowning moments that way is also flat out wrong. I have heard stories from marines who went there and even if you think that we didn’t have any reason to go there in the first place you can’t deny that something was going wrong there and it’s good that we’re there now.
BTW dingo Japan wasn’t going to surrender, after we dropped the first one we waited days and days giving them ample time to respond but they still didn’t surrender, all the people who voice there dissaproval of the war in this way are all pathetic little fucks. Semper Fi was right, and as soon as I’m out of school i’m joining up because I love my country and i figure that once i get there there will be a lot less selfish pricks like you.
I’m sorry to post again, but my grand dad served in WWII and my great uncle even fought on IWO and when he came back he was so deeply disturbed that he couldn’t hold a job and my family never saw him again, no one but him knows what he did but it was in the name of this great country and it shouldn’t be mocked.
It is incredible that people have the nerve to not only disrepect those who died in previous wars, but those who died in OUR current war.
This war is not about oil, does the media tell us that we HAVE NOT BOUGHT A SINGLE DROP OF OIL FROM OUR ENEMY? The media makes it look like we’re only there for oil when the truth is that we don’t buy from them at all. We gain no oil from being at war with them.
I believe that it’s the US government that is disrespectful to the troops by using them to advance the interests of the American Empire. The trope that criticism of US foreign policy is de facto criticism of the troops diverts attention from what is really happening. What about the troops who are against the war? You can find a long list of grievances regarding the current wars here: http://www.ivaw.org/
Are you retarded E Wayne or just another liberal with his head so far up his ass you has never seen the real world? Almost 21,000 let me say that again 21,000 AMERICANS, Marines and Sailors were killed on Iwo Jima. Today the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima enstills honor and patriotic vigor of those true red blooded Americans who have served or love their country. I find it sad that people like you spend too much time critisizing and will never feel that. US Marines serve today and that picture unites us, remind us of our honored dead and you post it to spread you lies and propaganda. And as for the comment about the US Govt’ is disrespectfull to troops YOUR A MORON…what do you think we are here for why do you think we are called an Armed force? That is our job, that is our sacred duty that we are PROUD of, I don’t care about the 1% or small minority of those reservists and cowards who are against the war. You know what you are doing and your a COWARD! No mater why you believe we are in Afghan or Iraq we are killing those that want to kill Americans period and that is a good thing. When the military isn’t in harms way, the American people are! You should do something constructive towards this awesome country or consider another residence!!
Mattmuscari@gmail.com, your logic is not very convincing—” we are killing those that want to kill Americans period and that is a good thing.”
Appeals to irrationalities like patriotism, along with name calling, serve as brick walls to any consideration of the realities of US foreign policy and the reasons for the deployment of the military.
I recommend you check out three books by Korean War vet and former CIA-man Chalmers Johnson: Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic.
Johnson is no left-winger, he’s about actually examining how the US government uses the military, NOT for domestic defence but for the expansion of Empire. Johnson illustrates that the result of this militarism is more terrorism against the US and its allies, the decline of democracy and democratic values in the US, and a disaster for the American economy.
Wow thanks for proving the point that you are a coward! Although you just breached your own websites contract by saying that the Mail (will not be published) which I don’t really give a shit less about, but you didn’t acknowledge ANYTHING I just discussed! Still the fact that you will never feel the COMRADERY I felt after I celebrated my Corps 234th birthday ball tonight still saddens me! You will never be a part of anything bigger then yourself and no matter what or how you argue or what you believe you have the men and women with more HEART more HONOR more GLORY then you will ever feel in your nasty body to thank for the fact that you can speak freely and anonymously on the internet! I don’t give a fuck what you say or what books you say I should read…you are a COWARD! You should feel ashamed and maybe one day realize that this is the GREATEST COUNTRY bar non because of those men on Mount Suribachi…Argue all you want but this is not logical, or rational IT is a feeling of brotherhood and loyalty and HONOR! But too bad your a COWARD and will NEVER know this feeling! SEMPER FI, Carry On!!
Why is it that those who crtitcise everything and anything that America stands up for and are so quick to say “we don’t blame the troops” repeatedly spit square in the face of those far braver than they who have sacrificed so much for the very freedom that we all hold dear?It’s become a little cliche, but the statement still rings true, FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.
Never has been, and anyone who thinks we can all sit down at the altar of reason and warm fuzzies and “talk it out” has failed to learn what history has taught us. As long as human nature is involved this will not work. What starts out as a great idea is doomed to fail. There will, unfortunately, always be someone ready to take advantage of others and exploit their trust and goodwill to their own corrupt desires. (Hitler, Stalin, Hussein, Kim Jong Il…) Thank God there are still those who are willing to stand against this and take action when needed! No, America is not perfect (we all deal with human nature too after all), but we still have the greatest country with the best system in place to provide and protect the freedom of the individual in this world!
Semper Fi to past and present heroes of this great land! I have,and always will be, proud to stand in your number! J. Schneider Cpl USMC ’85-’89
Please may you tell me who is the photographer for this photo?
When I left military service after Desert Shield, I held a strong conviction that what we did was the both prudent and necessary. I hold that belief still. With my GI grant I was able to go back to school and receive a BA in history, I then attended graduate school, received a MA in Foreign Policy and am currently working toward a PhD in the same. I hope you feel me qualified to respond to this. If the photo is legitimate, un-doctored, it is sad that our troops are raising oil rigs instead of flags. To me this photo represents the wrongs that were delivered to us by the previous administration. On Iwo Jima we raised the Stars and Stripes in victory during O.I.F. (original acronym O.I.L., Operation Iraqi Liberation)we are propping up oil rigs in victory. If anyone thinks that we went to Iraq for Freedom you are naive, I’ve been studying our policies in the Middle East for 6 years now and have not found one valid argument for our presence in Iraq. Now with the escalation of troops to Afghanistan I still see no clear objective. It’s time to draw down and fight terrorism as a crime and use our intelligence agencies as they were meant.
P.S. I was wounded twice in Desert Shield the first was minor the second was more significant. The war was over before I was fully healed and ready for combat or I would have gone back again. So go ahead call me names I can take it.
wow. everyone is way overreacting to this photo. its not meant to be offensive in any way to anyone, but for some reason everyone is taking this like its a picture of a celebrity eating a baby. Unlike alot of you, i actually found this funny, and i have all the respect in the world for our soldiers now or in 1945.
LOL I think its pretty funny. Like it or not big OIL is this countries forgin policy now days.If you dont think so then just remember when we were bombing the hell out of Iraq the Oil Ministry buildings were left untouched and guarded from looters. Just ask your self, why was that?
I’d love to see a WWII vet in their prime just kick the shit outta clueless punks like yourself.
You are just too dumb to realize you’re clueless.
I get the message in this picture. It’s not funny because it’s not supposed to be. It’s a statement/ message about our country and it’s disturbing, but true. I’m still in school and I get that.
This is really disrespectful to those men who raised that flag, most of whom died in combat after it was raised. I understand a statement needed to be made, but there are better, less disrespectful and classier ways to go about it.
Now hey idiots. Before you sit there and say 970 people fought on Iwo Jima or 20000 americans died. Let’s go ahead and look at wikipedia. I don’t give a shit about the rest. But clearly most people here don’t actually know shit about the Gulf War OR Iwo Jima.
Also picture does not insult troops, the troops don’t decide where they are sent or what they do. It’s a comment on the people sending them there.
thats fukin disrespectful shit, thousands of marines died just puttin that fukin flag up on surabachi and thousands more died taking the island. u mite not care but i do my great grandfather died trying to take the base of the mountain.
u can all suck my cock and i will give u anal
This is a disgraceful, misuse of the Suribachi flag raising picture which symbolized America’s struggle in World War II. It completely disrespects the nearly 50,000 men who died on that island on both sides. Over 6,000 Marines died to put up that flag protecting YOUR freedom, and now you want to disrespect them like that is disgusting. That goes for any of you liberal idiots who think that this is funny.
That was not the reason we went into Iraq. We went in there because the Sadam Hussein,the dictator tyrant of Iraq was killing thousnads of his own people and noone else was doing a damn thing about it. If you would watch anything other than CNN and MSNBC you would know that we are’t over there for oil. We have more than enough under our own soil that we’re not even using.
And to “dingo” you are a dingo. Of course the Japanese had their side too, but that’s not the point. We didn’t fight WWII for national pride. We fought it to end the tyranny and oppresion of all those who suffered under Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito, and to stop them from acheiving there main goal, complete global domination. (Oh yeah, just a tip, not everything you see in movies is real. Hollywood does’nt know everything.)
Hahahahaaa classic. Stupid America.
I don’t believe this photo was meant to be disrespectful to WW2 veterans or veterans of Iraq or active duty servicemen at all. I have great respect for anyone who has put on a uniform for this great country. I’m not against the anyone in the service. I just disagree with American servicemen being killed and maimed for oil. I could care less about Iraq. They are NOT a threat to the US at all. Unless there is a threat to the national security of the United States we need to keep our nose out of the rest of the worlds business.
Dingo- you obviously don’t know much about WW2. We dropped the nukes because Japan was NOT willing to surrender. At the time it was estimated that it would’ve cost over a million allied and American lives to invade the Japanese home islands. The Japanese were going to fight to the last man. They were training their civilians to fight with spears and other primitive weapons just to make the invasion as costly to the allies as possible. They also recalled troops from fighting in China in preparation for the invasion. It could even be argued that dropping the nukes SAVED Japanese lives. Do a little research next time.
Titanseven- the same goes for you moron
hey daniel go fuck your self and go to hell! america is not stupid!you fucking prick!
This is wrong and should be pulled down. Although I know you wont pull it down. Did we go to Irag for oil? I personally dont know. Just like you. You’re assuming that we did but do you have hard evidence to back it up? How about this: If we did go over there for oil then why are we still having to borrow more and more money from other countries?
Also the picture does portray the message you desired to get across, but at what cost? Defacing a historical image, and more likely than not, dishonoring all of those who fought in the Pacific theater during World War II. The image of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima is a great way to honor those who did die to keep us safe.
If you remember correctly Japan attacked us so we retaliated. With Afghanistan we were attacked by terrorist that happened to control that country. So what did we do? We retaliated.
“What of Iraq?” you might say. Well we didn’t really have a good reason for going in there, but they did find mass graves. Maybe not weapons of mass destruction, but I’m sure we all remember what happened all over Europe during WWII, mass murder. Its wrong and should be stopped, and those who commissioned it punished. Well that has happened.
Now tell me that our war isn’t worth it. Everyday our men fight they save lives. Both ours and those who reside within those countries.
Also. You should print this image off and walk up to a WWII veteran and ask him what it means to him. I promise you it wont make him laugh. Or nod his head in agreement with you. In fact I would hope he hits you. I know I would love too right now.
Truthfully you’re kinda pathetic trying to use this to portray your message.
By the way. Im 20. Live in Utah, and have relatives who fought in WWII and friends who are currently serving over seas.
Now go on and have fun degrading my comments. It’s all you have left.
Guy’s oil is old news. The world will run out of it in our lifetime. The U.S. doesn’t care about oil. we care about being prepared to lead the next generation of technology, solar energy and electric energy. When oil runs out, the Middle Eastern countries won’t have a product to live off of and the roles will be reversed, they will be asking for our technology and help. Plus terrorists won’t have any more funds! Because oil is pretty much it. Don’t you get it? This is it. This is the last and final push of extremism. They are fading fast, the world is becoming smaller and technology is leading the way. The world is evolving and there is no room for these ridiculous radical beliefs of submission to some moon god of war. They know this, and they are freaking out. Panicking and this is the result. Oil is old news. The U.S. has the technology to run cars on water if they wanted to, but that would put to much of a negative rift in the U.S. economy and the world if we just abandoned it, so we are waiting for oil to run out, and that’s when things will really get interesting.
What a disgrace to those who died so you could retain your freedom of speach. May God have mercy on your thankless soul…because the dead soldiers that saved your freedom will definately have none.
I get so tired of reading the liberal point of view. Im not going to wastes my time responding to it as eloquently as some of my fellow conservatives who understand why we have our freedoms today,except to say Shut the fuck up you stupid morons.
This is a very accurate depiction of what the US military’s honorable heroic men are distilled down to and it is a horrible twisted but insightful view of the character of the men and women who send them there. Politicians are are the root of evil in this republic.
My God we have fallen. As I read down these passionate posts of the very well meaning I am moved. I am troubled to my core by how thoroughly, yet unsuspectingly, theses conservative, patriotic minds have been co-opted by the business interests of a world system that gleefully sent their fathers, uncles and grandfathers to die for the sake of a buck and who have been conditioned to think this sacrifice was for American freedom by the very murderers who took their family members away and laughed, on the way to the bank.
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this is not funny
It’s not meant to be funny.
I think it makes a good statement about US overseas policies in recent times, even if it’s based on conspiracy. I was just researching the battle of Iwo Jima and fell upon this.
Modern War has become so much more than land and power struggles…
Its been part of our foreign policy since industralization and that’s not recent.
You have got to be shitting me. You are all fucking stupid. As soon as one of you grows the balls to go over there and see what is really happening you can talk shit. You’re all stupid pricks
you fucken niggers this aint funny
Not amusing in the least. I think most if not all who fought and died on both sides on this island would most likely feel the same.
Well it’s not meant to be amusing. It’s a representation of what motivates US foreign policy. So if you don’t like it take it up with the folks in Washington DC
I apologize for feeling the necessity to disagree with the majority of you, but I would have to agree with Ross on this one. Despite the fact that you may not like the image (or whether or not you served in a recent or ongoing war) this is a fairly accurate depiction of the motivation behind our nations actions. Like he said, take it up in Washington (or call your rep).
I agree this is not funny. I don’t think it was meant to be. It also is not in any way a negative statement regarding our troops. I believe it is meant to make us think about what the Gulf Wars are really about.
Jon don’t understand your comments
i agree with semper fi
u retard 976 men fought on iwo jima and u make f-in fun of it u stupid sico
It’s not meant to be funny. It is an accurate representation of how the US government uses the military to advance the interests of its empire in the Iraq and Afghanistan today.
This isn’t disrespectful, it’s actually as honest than the photo op of the “real” Iwo Jima flag raising. One only has to see both of the Iwo Jima movies by Clint Eastwood to see that although there are always two sides to any struggle, each side feels fully justified and righteous in their actions. Each side is driven by the same national pride.Unfortunately the horrific outcomes are rarely as euphoric as a soccer game.
And please, lets remember that just a few months later after the bloodbath of Iwo Jima, the US dropped two, not one but two nuclear bombs on hundreds of thousands of civilians of a beaten Japan that was already willing to surrender. There is more shame than glory in war, it’s a business by other means, it’s a chess game by the generals and we are the disposable pawns.
The invasion of Iraq after the punitive strike on Afghanistan really was all about “getting our oil out from under their sand”. That was pretty much admitted as being the real prize later, in spite of all the religious obfuscations. It had absolutely nothing to do with 9.11, since all the plans were already in place, and just like Pearl Harbour, the Pentagon needed a convenient “let it happen” event to shock the world so it could move in for the kill with “full public support”. Don’t say we weren’t manipulated!
Saddam had to go, sure, but that could have been accomplished by a black ops team. The US military machine under glory-seeking Bush then disgraced itself by destroying essential civilian infrastructure,allowing the looting of museums of antiquity, showed complete lack of control over prison guards and private contractors who committed atrocities we still don’t know. The US has lost the moral high ground, and the empire is collapsing under debt as we speak.
That’s the way wars in this world are run, for all the wrong reasons, and that’s why this picture has validity.
This is disgusting, we’re not fighting for the price of oil we’re fighting for the price of freedom. And If the person that posted that can actually say to me that the reason my best friend’s brother had to die in Iraq, the reason my neighbors are coming home shellshocked, and the reason that my cousin had to do the horrible things he was ordered to do all so that you can pay less at the pump! if you can say that to me that says something very sad about this country and what it has become.
Another thing that pisses me off is how all you liberals think you have a right to run this pathetic and disgusting smear campaign against the war even though you all ran to vote for it. I have no problem with disagreeing with and challenging policies and the government thats only first amendment but saying that our boys are dying for nothing is just taking it too far, so next time instead of doing this stupid and offensive shit just write a letter to your congressman.
I’m sorry i’ve posted twice but this just really pisses me off, and the way you distorted the image of one America’s crowning moments that way is also flat out wrong. I have heard stories from marines who went there and even if you think that we didn’t have any reason to go there in the first place you can’t deny that something was going wrong there and it’s good that we’re there now.
BTW dingo Japan wasn’t going to surrender, after we dropped the first one we waited days and days giving them ample time to respond but they still didn’t surrender, all the people who voice there dissaproval of the war in this way are all pathetic little fucks. Semper Fi was right, and as soon as I’m out of school i’m joining up because I love my country and i figure that once i get there there will be a lot less selfish pricks like you.
I’m sorry to post again, but my grand dad served in WWII and my great uncle even fought on IWO and when he came back he was so deeply disturbed that he couldn’t hold a job and my family never saw him again, no one but him knows what he did but it was in the name of this great country and it shouldn’t be mocked.
It is incredible that people have the nerve to not only disrepect those who died in previous wars, but those who died in OUR current war.
This war is not about oil, does the media tell us that we HAVE NOT BOUGHT A SINGLE DROP OF OIL FROM OUR ENEMY? The media makes it look like we’re only there for oil when the truth is that we don’t buy from them at all. We gain no oil from being at war with them.
I believe that it’s the US government that is disrespectful to the troops by using them to advance the interests of the American Empire. The trope that criticism of US foreign policy is de facto criticism of the troops diverts attention from what is really happening. What about the troops who are against the war? You can find a long list of grievances regarding the current wars here: http://www.ivaw.org/
I also recommend reading the work scholar Michael T. Klare, particularly Resource Wars (http://www.amazon.com/Resource-Wars-Landscape-Conflict-Introduction/dp/0805055762) put the current wars into some perspective.
Are you retarded E Wayne or just another liberal with his head so far up his ass you has never seen the real world? Almost 21,000 let me say that again 21,000 AMERICANS, Marines and Sailors were killed on Iwo Jima. Today the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima enstills honor and patriotic vigor of those true red blooded Americans who have served or love their country. I find it sad that people like you spend too much time critisizing and will never feel that. US Marines serve today and that picture unites us, remind us of our honored dead and you post it to spread you lies and propaganda. And as for the comment about the US Govt’ is disrespectfull to troops YOUR A MORON…what do you think we are here for why do you think we are called an Armed force? That is our job, that is our sacred duty that we are PROUD of, I don’t care about the 1% or small minority of those reservists and cowards who are against the war. You know what you are doing and your a COWARD! No mater why you believe we are in Afghan or Iraq we are killing those that want to kill Americans period and that is a good thing. When the military isn’t in harms way, the American people are! You should do something constructive towards this awesome country or consider another residence!!
Mattmuscari@gmail.com, your logic is not very convincing—” we are killing those that want to kill Americans period and that is a good thing.”
Appeals to irrationalities like patriotism, along with name calling, serve as brick walls to any consideration of the realities of US foreign policy and the reasons for the deployment of the military.
I recommend you check out three books by Korean War vet and former CIA-man Chalmers Johnson: Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic.
Johnson is no left-winger, he’s about actually examining how the US government uses the military, NOT for domestic defence but for the expansion of Empire. Johnson illustrates that the result of this militarism is more terrorism against the US and its allies, the decline of democracy and democratic values in the US, and a disaster for the American economy.
Wow thanks for proving the point that you are a coward! Although you just breached your own websites contract by saying that the Mail (will not be published) which I don’t really give a shit less about, but you didn’t acknowledge ANYTHING I just discussed! Still the fact that you will never feel the COMRADERY I felt after I celebrated my Corps 234th birthday ball tonight still saddens me! You will never be a part of anything bigger then yourself and no matter what or how you argue or what you believe you have the men and women with more HEART more HONOR more GLORY then you will ever feel in your nasty body to thank for the fact that you can speak freely and anonymously on the internet! I don’t give a fuck what you say or what books you say I should read…you are a COWARD! You should feel ashamed and maybe one day realize that this is the GREATEST COUNTRY bar non because of those men on Mount Suribachi…Argue all you want but this is not logical, or rational IT is a feeling of brotherhood and loyalty and HONOR! But too bad your a COWARD and will NEVER know this feeling! SEMPER FI, Carry On!!
“At last a perfect soldier!”
Why is it that those who crtitcise everything and anything that America stands up for and are so quick to say “we don’t blame the troops” repeatedly spit square in the face of those far braver than they who have sacrificed so much for the very freedom that we all hold dear?It’s become a little cliche, but the statement still rings true, FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.
Never has been, and anyone who thinks we can all sit down at the altar of reason and warm fuzzies and “talk it out” has failed to learn what history has taught us. As long as human nature is involved this will not work. What starts out as a great idea is doomed to fail. There will, unfortunately, always be someone ready to take advantage of others and exploit their trust and goodwill to their own corrupt desires. (Hitler, Stalin, Hussein, Kim Jong Il…) Thank God there are still those who are willing to stand against this and take action when needed! No, America is not perfect (we all deal with human nature too after all), but we still have the greatest country with the best system in place to provide and protect the freedom of the individual in this world!
Semper Fi to past and present heroes of this great land! I have,and always will be, proud to stand in your number! J. Schneider Cpl USMC ’85-’89
Please may you tell me who is the photographer for this photo?
When I left military service after Desert Shield, I held a strong conviction that what we did was the both prudent and necessary. I hold that belief still. With my GI grant I was able to go back to school and receive a BA in history, I then attended graduate school, received a MA in Foreign Policy and am currently working toward a PhD in the same. I hope you feel me qualified to respond to this. If the photo is legitimate, un-doctored, it is sad that our troops are raising oil rigs instead of flags. To me this photo represents the wrongs that were delivered to us by the previous administration. On Iwo Jima we raised the Stars and Stripes in victory during O.I.F. (original acronym O.I.L., Operation Iraqi Liberation)we are propping up oil rigs in victory. If anyone thinks that we went to Iraq for Freedom you are naive, I’ve been studying our policies in the Middle East for 6 years now and have not found one valid argument for our presence in Iraq. Now with the escalation of troops to Afghanistan I still see no clear objective. It’s time to draw down and fight terrorism as a crime and use our intelligence agencies as they were meant.
P.S. I was wounded twice in Desert Shield the first was minor the second was more significant. The war was over before I was fully healed and ready for combat or I would have gone back again. So go ahead call me names I can take it.
wow. everyone is way overreacting to this photo. its not meant to be offensive in any way to anyone, but for some reason everyone is taking this like its a picture of a celebrity eating a baby. Unlike alot of you, i actually found this funny, and i have all the respect in the world for our soldiers now or in 1945.
LOL I think its pretty funny. Like it or not big OIL is this countries forgin policy now days.If you dont think so then just remember when we were bombing the hell out of Iraq the Oil Ministry buildings were left untouched and guarded from looters. Just ask your self, why was that?
I’d love to see a WWII vet in their prime just kick the shit outta clueless punks like yourself.
You are just too dumb to realize you’re clueless.
I get the message in this picture. It’s not funny because it’s not supposed to be. It’s a statement/ message about our country and it’s disturbing, but true. I’m still in school and I get that.
This is really disrespectful to those men who raised that flag, most of whom died in combat after it was raised. I understand a statement needed to be made, but there are better, less disrespectful and classier ways to go about it.
Yeah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima
Now hey idiots. Before you sit there and say 970 people fought on Iwo Jima or 20000 americans died. Let’s go ahead and look at wikipedia. I don’t give a shit about the rest. But clearly most people here don’t actually know shit about the Gulf War OR Iwo Jima.
Also picture does not insult troops, the troops don’t decide where they are sent or what they do. It’s a comment on the people sending them there.
thats fukin disrespectful shit, thousands of marines died just puttin that fukin flag up on surabachi and thousands more died taking the island. u mite not care but i do my great grandfather died trying to take the base of the mountain.
u can all suck my cock and i will give u anal
This is a disgraceful, misuse of the Suribachi flag raising picture which symbolized America’s struggle in World War II. It completely disrespects the nearly 50,000 men who died on that island on both sides. Over 6,000 Marines died to put up that flag protecting YOUR freedom, and now you want to disrespect them like that is disgusting. That goes for any of you liberal idiots who think that this is funny.
That was not the reason we went into Iraq. We went in there because the Sadam Hussein,the dictator tyrant of Iraq was killing thousnads of his own people and noone else was doing a damn thing about it. If you would watch anything other than CNN and MSNBC you would know that we are’t over there for oil. We have more than enough under our own soil that we’re not even using.
And to “dingo” you are a dingo. Of course the Japanese had their side too, but that’s not the point. We didn’t fight WWII for national pride. We fought it to end the tyranny and oppresion of all those who suffered under Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito, and to stop them from acheiving there main goal, complete global domination. (Oh yeah, just a tip, not everything you see in movies is real. Hollywood does’nt know everything.)
Hahahahaaa classic. Stupid America.
I don’t believe this photo was meant to be disrespectful to WW2 veterans or veterans of Iraq or active duty servicemen at all. I have great respect for anyone who has put on a uniform for this great country. I’m not against the anyone in the service. I just disagree with American servicemen being killed and maimed for oil. I could care less about Iraq. They are NOT a threat to the US at all. Unless there is a threat to the national security of the United States we need to keep our nose out of the rest of the worlds business.
Dingo- you obviously don’t know much about WW2. We dropped the nukes because Japan was NOT willing to surrender. At the time it was estimated that it would’ve cost over a million allied and American lives to invade the Japanese home islands. The Japanese were going to fight to the last man. They were training their civilians to fight with spears and other primitive weapons just to make the invasion as costly to the allies as possible. They also recalled troops from fighting in China in preparation for the invasion. It could even be argued that dropping the nukes SAVED Japanese lives. Do a little research next time.
Titanseven- the same goes for you moron
hey daniel go fuck your self and go to hell! america is not stupid!you fucking prick!
This is wrong and should be pulled down. Although I know you wont pull it down. Did we go to Irag for oil? I personally dont know. Just like you. You’re assuming that we did but do you have hard evidence to back it up? How about this: If we did go over there for oil then why are we still having to borrow more and more money from other countries?
Also the picture does portray the message you desired to get across, but at what cost? Defacing a historical image, and more likely than not, dishonoring all of those who fought in the Pacific theater during World War II. The image of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima is a great way to honor those who did die to keep us safe.
If you remember correctly Japan attacked us so we retaliated. With Afghanistan we were attacked by terrorist that happened to control that country. So what did we do? We retaliated.
“What of Iraq?” you might say. Well we didn’t really have a good reason for going in there, but they did find mass graves. Maybe not weapons of mass destruction, but I’m sure we all remember what happened all over Europe during WWII, mass murder. Its wrong and should be stopped, and those who commissioned it punished. Well that has happened.
Now tell me that our war isn’t worth it. Everyday our men fight they save lives. Both ours and those who reside within those countries.
Also. You should print this image off and walk up to a WWII veteran and ask him what it means to him. I promise you it wont make him laugh. Or nod his head in agreement with you. In fact I would hope he hits you. I know I would love too right now.
Truthfully you’re kinda pathetic trying to use this to portray your message.
By the way. Im 20. Live in Utah, and have relatives who fought in WWII and friends who are currently serving over seas.
Now go on and have fun degrading my comments. It’s all you have left.
Guy’s oil is old news. The world will run out of it in our lifetime. The U.S. doesn’t care about oil. we care about being prepared to lead the next generation of technology, solar energy and electric energy. When oil runs out, the Middle Eastern countries won’t have a product to live off of and the roles will be reversed, they will be asking for our technology and help. Plus terrorists won’t have any more funds! Because oil is pretty much it. Don’t you get it? This is it. This is the last and final push of extremism. They are fading fast, the world is becoming smaller and technology is leading the way. The world is evolving and there is no room for these ridiculous radical beliefs of submission to some moon god of war. They know this, and they are freaking out. Panicking and this is the result. Oil is old news. The U.S. has the technology to run cars on water if they wanted to, but that would put to much of a negative rift in the U.S. economy and the world if we just abandoned it, so we are waiting for oil to run out, and that’s when things will really get interesting.
What a disgrace to those who died so you could retain your freedom of speach. May God have mercy on your thankless soul…because the dead soldiers that saved your freedom will definately have none.
I get so tired of reading the liberal point of view. Im not going to wastes my time responding to it as eloquently as some of my fellow conservatives who understand why we have our freedoms today,except to say Shut the fuck up you stupid morons.
This is a very accurate depiction of what the US military’s honorable heroic men are distilled down to and it is a horrible twisted but insightful view of the character of the men and women who send them there. Politicians are are the root of evil in this republic.
My God we have fallen. As I read down these passionate posts of the very well meaning I am moved. I am troubled to my core by how thoroughly, yet unsuspectingly, theses conservative, patriotic minds have been co-opted by the business interests of a world system that gleefully sent their fathers, uncles and grandfathers to die for the sake of a buck and who have been conditioned to think this sacrifice was for American freedom by the very murderers who took their family members away and laughed, on the way to the bank.
I hate u for that
I wish u would die you fucking fagot