when soldiers say they defend american's freedoms, do they mean like to open up a walmart supercenter?

that is a very good point. karl marx said that capitalism would inevitably have to invade and exploint other countries for their resources and labour because they need to expand. very perceptive. most people answering this question don't really have a clue and the most outspokenly patriotic that gripe have never donne anything for their country and never will.

jason,

If you could see the inherent hypocracy in your statements, you might be able to see the absurdities of what you suggest...

If it weren't for your constitutionally protected freedom of speech, (I AM assuming that you are a typical, misinformed U.S. liberal who's been gladly eating spoonfed lies from the liberal-biased media) you wouldn't be able to voice your opinions w/o having a version of Nazi German gestapo ramming your door down,

If it weren't for the U.S.'s free market economy, you would be bitching more about the price of consumer goods, which would be a lot higher without viable competition...and I'm quite sure that Wal-Mart has gotten some business from you.

I'm damned sure that Mickey D's get your business from time to time as well. Mickey D's employ locals wherever they are established...they pump money into the economy. What have YOU done for the Iraqi people?

The U.S. is not the only nation that outsources jobs to others. The companies in these 'exploited' nations gladly accept these contracts...they are able to meet a need on a global scale, and are able to employ folks in their area...again, pumpin money into an economy that needs it. They make better money than they otherwise would make if it weren't for outsourced jobs.

What have YOU done to make things better for your fellow man in the Near East? Could you even locate India or Pakistan on a globe? Would you know even where to begin to look for Thailand or Phillippines?

FEMA camps and NDAA are the real thing. (just like an Orwellian Utopia) You'll be gettin' the eff out of dodge to avoid some kind of urban uprising because of a disaster or emergency and about 30 or 40 miles out of town traffic will stop. military stormtroopers will walk through stopped traffic and warn people to stay in their cars. when you get to the roadblock ahead you will be told to get out of your car (leave all of your belongings and your keys in the car) and wait in a holding area. You will then board a bus and go to one of their internment facilities where you will be in-processed. Hopefully you will not get to play any of their games (waterboarding, solitary confinement, etc) As for the NDAA (just signed into law by Barack Hussein Obama) that will be used to authorize the whole thing, did you read the book or see the movie "1984"? that's what it is. It allows any federal agency to declare an emergency and use the military forces to impose martial law. What they are doing in the mid east (door to door searches without warrants or any due process whatsoever) is only a rehearsal of what they have in store for us here. This is an article I wrote for another section. Do the police need a warrant to search me or my property? Under aspects of the US Constitution, all persons are protected from unwarranted searches and any other form of arbitrary harassment. Unfortunately modern courts have misinterpreted the intentions of the founding fathers who authored the US Constitution and Bill of Rights to give the police the power at their discretion to use "probable cause." Police should not be allowed to lawfully act on suspicions or whims, and any action against any person should be deemed unconstitutional. This also includes any electronic surveillance such as wiretaps, directional mics, etc. Of course under aspects of the "Patriot Act" they will claim that it is to protect us from terrorists. They also claim that states need to implement a REAL ID program so that sheeple can be digitally mapped for easy identification to once again... protect us from terrorists. Meanwhile, the southern border is wide open to basically let in whoever wants to come for whatever reason. The fact is this; the enforcement of drug and firearm prohibition has allowed the government to turn this country into a pig powered police state and everyday it is becoming more and more like the USSR. You might like all of this "protection" but personally I prefer to protect myself. If you are the kind of person that wants to give up your liberty for security then please go somewhere else like China or N Korea

Absolutely! Walmart supercenters, dollar stores, all of America's business.

Don't forget the Burger King and KFC! They will WAGE WAR with McDonalds over Iraq.

NOTE: But soldiers are not at all at fault here. The politicians are.

Yes. And is there anything wrong with that? Iraq will be able to make laws to protect itself. If they do not want our influence, they can reject it.

When you look around the world and see all of this Western influence it's not because we bullied our way in. It's because it was a rational and profitable action on the part of our corporations and their governent/people.

As a liberal and the wife of a U.S. Army soldier I find your insinuations ignorant, off-kilter, and fundamentally wrong. Our soldiers do what they are told (when told to deploy--they deploy), and then many of them have funded or initiated funding of private monies to Iraq to help the education system there, and families in financial or medical need. Though I appreciate what you are getting at--do not blame those that really believe in what they, as individuals, are doing--but the institution, as a whole, that are responsible for them being there. Educate yourself before you try to educate others.

**pray tell John Doe, what is your great contribution to our country?

I guess they mean the right to live peaceful lives without the government spying on them, reading their mail, restricting their travel, telling them how to think, rigging elections. It means when someone is arrested they can know the charges, get a lawyer and have a speedy fair trial by jury.

Nope they are defending your right to act like a popmpus asshole online. Maybe you shoudl think about that before you open your mouth.

No. If that is what you think it means then you're an idiot, and don't even deserve to get an answer that actually explains it to you. Go do some research.

What a moronic question. i think it's time for mommy to take away your computer for a while...