Wow, this will be a good thread, right up until it gets out of hand
KK - I couldn't agree more with most of what you said. In most cases I'm very much of the opinion that if people get all worked up over someones opinion then it is them, not the person with opinion, who is wrong. I think the problem we have here is the global nature of the boards precludes everyone from understanding completely what others are saying unless it is spelled out pretty clearly. Not having seen your original sig I dont know if there was room for misinterpretation or not, in most cases though I guess we should err on the side of caution, but no so much so that we react in a knee jerk fashion to every perceived slight.
Moejoe - I'm not even going to... oh heck, sure I will...
"paid killers" !? "giggling psychopaths"?!! really!??!! You have got to be kidding me.
You're against killing, a lot of people are and that is a wonderful personal choice to make. Most people that I know, that have the same convictions, at least recognize the need for the various militarys of the world. Sure it would be nice to be able to settle everything over a beer and a handshake but the realities of the world are that there are people out there who simply do not want to even sit down at the table to have a discussion. You can't ignore them, they aren't going to go away, they can't be segregated (god forbid we curtail their rights while they are trying to do the same to others), so it comes to someone with a bigger stick showing up to whack them with it. Do people die? Sure they do. Do the victors celebrate? Of course.
Do the videos make it seem a bit cold and impersonal (ardeegee, this is for you as well), sure, and you know what, that is the intent of the technology. The entire point of the advances in arms is to be able to do the most damage to the enemy while exposing yourself to as little as possible in return. If that makes it look like video game to you then I suggest you join the military and do what they do, even in training it is anything but easy. I was grunt on the ground and had a dozen things to keep track of - I can only imagine the number of things going on for a pilot. The fact that they can sound casual and joke is an indication of their professionalism and experience. The fact that they are happy when it is all over is an indication that they are pleased that at no point did their helicopter malfunction and crash, no one shot them out of the sky with a rifle, RPG, or missile, none of their fellow service men and women were put in danger, and a potential threat was removed.
There is every chance that when all was said and done and they found out that a mistake had been made, that they felt very badly about it. The problem is that no one will ever tell that story, it is much better to drag them through the mud and put all sorts of thoughts into their heads. You know what though, you weren't there, you don't know what they were thinking, and unless you join the service or do something comparable you never will. So please stop insulting the best efforts of the men and women who have chosen a particular line of work that very few others can or are willing to take up.