Asperger Syndrome and Careers ??

Hope said:

I think the armed forces are also offensive - the Iraq war, for example. And it is questionable how far they really do keep the peace in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That's a political problem, not a military one. The military go where our politicians send them, and do what those politicians tell them to do. That is their job. I am sure that if the military could choose it would have pulled out of both Iraq and Afghanistan a long time ago (and probably never have gone in to Iraq in the first place (Afghanistan is a different matter, because the Afghans themselves asked to go in and help them fight the Taliban)).

Of course, not all army personnel are psychopaths, but there is a cultou ure of bullying and thuggery in the forces, which is well documented.

There are well documented examples of bullying and thuggery in the Forces, that is not the same as there being a culture of it.

You get bullying and thuggery in all walks of life. Sadly it is the nature of some humans to act that way.

The very fact that we know about the tragic cases such as Deepcut shows that it is not an accepted part of the military culture.

Yes, we need a police force, but we don't need an armed forces of the scale that we currently have. I think that demilitarization should be the path that all countries should ideally take, and there is nothing stopping the EU from leading the way.

I wish that were true. I really do. I want nothing more than to live in world without the need for the scale of armed forces that we have, but I am also realistic about such situations.

We, in the uk, have become accustomed to living, for last 70 odd years, in a place where we are at little to no threat of invasion by hostile forces.

However, part of what makes that a reality is the very fact that we maintain an armed forces.

If the EU were to drastically reduce the numbers of it's armed forces do you realy think that countries like Iran, Russia, and China would just not invade?

Sadly, it is the very fact that we can defend ourselves that keeps us safe from attack.

I do agree that the armed forces engage in legalized murder;

That is not in question!

and our armed forces are no more worthy of respect than the  Iraqi or Afghan forces. Humans are humans.

And no less worthy either!

Hope said:

I think the armed forces are also offensive - the Iraq war, for example. And it is questionable how far they really do keep the peace in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That's a political problem, not a military one. The military go where our politicians send them, and do what those politicians tell them to do. That is their job. I am sure that if the military could choose it would have pulled out of both Iraq and Afghanistan a long time ago (and probably never have gone in to Iraq in the first place (Afghanistan is a different matter, because the Afghans themselves asked to go in and help them fight the Taliban)).

Of course, not all army personnel are psychopaths, but there is a cultou ure of bullying and thuggery in the forces, which is well documented.

There are well documented examples of bullying and thuggery in the Forces, that is not the same as there being a culture of it.

You get bullying and thuggery in all walks of life. Sadly it is the nature of some humans to act that way.

The very fact that we know about the tragic cases such as Deepcut shows that it is not an accepted part of the military culture.

Yes, we need a police force, but we don't need an armed forces of the scale that we currently have. I think that demilitarization should be the path that all countries should ideally take, and there is nothing stopping the EU from leading the way.

I wish that were true. I really do. I want nothing more than to live in world without the need for the scale of armed forces that we have, but I am also realistic about such situations.

We, in the uk, have become accustomed to living, for last 70 odd years, in a place where we are at little to no threat of invasion by hostile forces.

However, part of what makes that a reality is the very fact that we maintain an armed forces.

If the EU were to drastically reduce the numbers of it's armed forces do you realy think that countries like Iran, Russia, and China would just not invade?

Sadly, it is the very fact that we can defend ourselves that keeps us safe from attack.

I do agree that the armed forces engage in legalized murder;

That is not in question!

and our armed forces are no more worthy of respect than the  Iraqi or Afghan forces. Humans are humans.

And no less worthy either!