Do people in other countries believe US troops fight for freedom?

This past Monday November 11, 2013 here in America, people celebrated Veterans Day. It was repeated that American troops are fighting for our freedom. I always wanted to know do people in other countries view U.S. troops in such a positive light or are they viewed as bad guys?

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/02/08/will-american-troops-be-fighting-for-our-freedom-in-iran/

http://original.antiwar.com/tom-mullen/2010/05/13/fighting-for-our-freedom/

http://www.examiner.com/article/no-troops-really-aren-t-fighting-for-your-freedom

Neither heroes nor villains really. Just them cowboy Americans coming in to blow stuff up again  

Of course not. US solders are fighting for US interest and if those interest mach at point of time with national interest of those countries those two can easily be misinterpreted.

Lack of democracy in a given country hss a lot more to do with the mentality of this society than with the US. The reason why theere is no democracy in SA, Kuwait etc. is that nobody wants it there, not even the locals. They want sharia with all it's draconian rules.

There are cases when US friendly government brought MORE freedom - I guess nobody disputes the fact that West Germany was more democratic and cared for human rights more than the Third Reich did. Same with Japan.

Many pro-US dictatorships ahd no problem with their transition to democracy - Taiwan and South Korea were both pro-US dictatorships yet their switched their type of government swiftly without any violence or social convulsions (common in Muslim countries)

No.
Can't blame most of the soldiers though.
They do as they're told.
Not many care about what they are actually fighting for, all they do is follow orders (just the way the US Government wants)...

US troops fight for oil

flamming_python wrote:US troops fight for oil

Now you should prove your claim using measurable data (amount of oil imported to the US from various countries, price that US paid for a fixed quantity). Such data are available in the web and can be found quickly so you shouldn't have any problems.

Anecdotal evidence is not evidence at all.

When it comes to Iraq, they fight for nothing at all.

Stupid war is stupid. Didn't even get oil out of it.

Generally though for US interests, like any nation. And just like any nation, those interests are misguided half the time.

I was wondering Garry B what is the image of American troops in other lands. Are they seen as bad guys like Americans see Russian troops? I do not believe American troops fight for freedom.

andalusia wrote:I was wondering Garry B what is the image of American troops in other lands. Are they seen as bad guys like Americans see Russian troops? I do not believe American troops fight for freedom.

Propaganda is a wonderful concept as there are a lot of uneducated and plainly stupid people in the world, and as so, they were successful in demonizing Russians to the point that you will still hear the same stupid comments about how soviets won second world war by raping, pillaging and winter weather. Or how completely incompetent they are, or even to the point where countries think they eat children and oppress poor muslims.

This was by large due to American propaganda, and thus I don't belive they fight for freedom as freedom would not need propaganda to demonize the enemy becuse they wouldnt need to convince people unless they know they are wrong.

Oath is an oath. No one cares why they fight for. Most of US soldiers I know are cynics.
USA fights wars because of ideology, agenda and influence even if there are zero profit. Tax payers will cover it anyway. Dangerous mix if You ask me.

Regular wrote:Oath is an oath. No one cares why they fight for. Most of US soldiers I know are cynics.
USA fights wars because of ideology, agenda and influence even if there are zero profit. Tax payers will cover it anyway. Dangerous mix if You ask me.

People are to blame as they are the sole reason that the politicians that do what they do are in power. No one says a thing. You may hear some protest, but in the grand scheme of things, it is simply a wisper in the whole crowed. People are complacient. If they truely cared for what is so called "right" or "wrong" (completely depends on context and perspectives), then they wouldnt serve in the army, wouldn't raise their gun, and wouldnt be forced to travel. Although, I understand that it is a job and everyone needs something to put food on the table and their gullet. But they ultimately are reaponsible for real change in their society. Simply put, men and woman are risking their lives so that their leaders whom they voted in can cause the conflicts that they do, just so that they have a job to survive.

It takes two to tango. People are reaponsible for whom they put into power, unless the US is a dictatorship, which would throw the whole concept of them fighting for freedom a joke.

sepheronx wrote:

Regular wrote:Oath is an oath. No one cares why they fight for. Most of US soldiers I know are cynics.
USA fights wars because of ideology, agenda and influence even if there are zero profit. Tax payers will cover it anyway. Dangerous mix if You ask me.

People are to blame as they are the sole reason that the politicians that do what they do are in power. No one says a thing. You may hear some protest, but in the grand scheme of things, it is simply a wisper in the whole crowed.  People are complacient. If they truely cared for what is so called "right" or "wrong" (completely depends on context and perspectives), then they wouldnt serve in the army, wouldn't raise their gun, and wouldnt be forced to travel. Although, I understand that it is a job and everyone needs something to put food on the table and their gullet. But they ultimately are reaponsible for real change in their society. Simply put, men and woman are risking their lives so that their leaders whom they voted in can cause the conflicts that they do, just so that they have a job to survive.

It takes two to tango. People are reaponsible for whom they put into power, unless the US is a dictatorship, which would throw the whole concept of them fighting for freedom a joke.

How can You blame single American if they have zero power in affecting all those agencies and "almighty" senate? And I'm not talking about NWO - You don't have to be lunatic to imagine that someone has the grip on the power in USA. Not Obama, not the people. Remembering the date, JFK was too strong and it didn't end good for him.

Same with me. It makes me wonder who will get my vote in elections. Right-wingers tend to do better job while they are in office, but their elitist stance sickens me. Not to mention retarded foreign policy. When it comes to left... incompetence, corruption, turncoats, populists show up. Liberals are too extreme to me even if some of their ideas sound amazing.

Regular wrote:

sepheronx wrote:

Regular wrote:Oath is an oath. No one cares why they fight for. Most of US soldiers I know are cynics.
USA fights wars because of ideology, agenda and influence even if there are zero profit. Tax payers will cover it anyway. Dangerous mix if You ask me.

People are to blame as they are the sole reason that the politicians that do what they do are in power. No one says a thing. You may hear some protest, but in the grand scheme of things, it is simply a wisper in the whole crowed.  People are complacient. If they truely cared for what is so called "right" or "wrong" (completely depends on context and perspectives), then they wouldnt serve in the army, wouldn't raise their gun, and wouldnt be forced to travel. Although, I understand that it is a job and everyone needs something to put food on the table and their gullet. But they ultimately are reaponsible for real change in their society. Simply put, men and woman are risking their lives so that their leaders whom they voted in can cause the conflicts that they do, just so that they have a job to survive.

It takes two to tango. People are reaponsible for whom they put into power, unless the US is a dictatorship, which would throw the whole concept of them fighting for freedom a joke.

How can You blame single American if they have zero power in affecting all those agencies and "almighty" senate? And I'm not talking about NWO - You don't have to be lunatic to imagine that someone has the grip on the power in USA. Not Obama, not the people. Remembering the date, JFK was too strong and it didn't end good for him.

You can blame the citizens as the government in power is the reflection of the people. This goes for Russia too. I don't doubt for a moment that there are indeed other powers behind the scenes who pull some strings, but ultimately, it is the fault of the citizens for not wanting to know more, not asking more questions and not saying "No" to what the government does. MP.Net is a good example of gun totting patriots who honestly believe they fight the good fight for freedom and all that, who will not even question their own government as to why they are sending them to a country to die.

sepheronx wrote:MP.Net is a good example of gun totting patriots who honestly believe they fight the good fight for freedom and all that, who will not even question their own government as to why they are sending them to a country to die.

Heh, I don't think they're that dumb. I think they are just cynical enough not to care. Right-wingers and gun-nuts tend to be distrusting and cynical towards people and government alike

andalusia wrote:I was wondering Garry B what is the image of American troops in other lands. Are they seen as bad guys like Americans see Russian troops? I do not believe American troops fight for freedom.

the motivations and image of the U.S troops is not exactly easily explained. ive met several branches and units of american forces in Afghanistan of a wide variety.

they do seem to have a habit of coming up with the reason of "fighting terrorism", "serve my country" or some fundamental misjudged and misinformed comment like that. we where actually shocked by the level of ignorant patriotism these guys have and are clueless to the obvious going on.
the only american forces that know whats going on are the more elite units. like Delta's and green berets, these guys have spend like 2 years fighting in Iraq and then when they think they go home they are told they get two more years in Afghanistan. these guys seriously don't care why they are there and just want to do their job and go home alive. and as far as i could tell their airforce is relaxed and friendly to others as well. at least the radio contact i had with their aircraft was very friendly.

that said, we had "disagreements" with the american military on regular occasion. besides their general stupidity and lack of self-initiative and logic thinking the american millitary is famous for its cowboy-like approach in operations. they always treat other country millitary's as if they are children, are so over-confident over their superiority over "a bunch of terrorist peasants" that it often results in them sending troops in engagements with heavy casualties as a result or...propably my "favourite". their complete lack of restraint to use "appropriate violence". what can be done with some thinking and strategy and leave the village standing the yanks love to just create some mushroomclouds and nothing but smoking craters with airstrikes. ...while the assholes film with a smile how buildings including residents get wiped out.

no,... im not really a fan of american troops in general. and neither are a lot of my former collegue's.

Really great inside .... tnx

you are welcome .

there is a huge difference between the E.U millitary and the U.S Millitary. again, not all of them are bad. some are truly good soldiers and real professionals. but i think just 10% of the good nowadays makes up of the total u.s millitary. the better troops in the U.S army already left a long time ago with the poor respect their troops receive of their own government. the rest they got now to fill the ranks could be labeled as the stereotypical view most of us have. i admit i expected more of them at the time i was deployed.

i visited the U.S too and experienced how they handle "veterans". its indeed true they will give you a hand and "thank you for your service" under the assumption i "defended freedom" witch i personally found very offensive. how can a civilian just simply assume to know what i went trough?. or have the ignorance to assume just because im a NATO soldier i share their views?. or what i did there in Afghanistan for that matter. there are soldiers that spend their whole deployment in the safety of their base counting socks in a magazine or whatever. while others go out daily and encounter IED's and ambushes. and when confronting with such questions why they actually behave like they do its like they hit a brick wall. suddenly, it does not conform to their safe, isolated misconception about how they interpreted things going on in the world from CNN, FOX or other bullshit media.

Just thought it was a good idea to reboot this thread.  I find it interesting about the perceptions of American military abroad. People here think the US military is fighting for freedom.  

Is it true that the Soviet Union wanted to take over the world with Communism? I have always been told this here but wanted the opinions of people on this forum especially Russians. What is the Soviet point of view of the Vietnam and Korean Wars and how did they view the American involvement in it? We here see it as a bad thing that these countries were being threatened by Communism how did you guys view it?

Here is a good article about US troops being worshiped at pro events:

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/11/stop_thanking_the_troops_for_me_no_they_dont_protect_our_freedoms/