Do modern soldiers contribute to society?

I saw this debate on another forum, and thought i would bring it to here.

Now, soldiers are not just about killing. You only have to look at natural disasters to know this isn't the case. The army is always involved in rescue operations etc.

However, what else do modern soldiers contribute to society? Do they make people feel safe? Yes, for many people i would assume they do. However, if these soldiers were not deployed throughout the world, killing civillians and invading other countries, would there be a great need to defend ourselves from attacks?

Now, i know this debate will end up leading to America in some way shape or form. So i ask you all to be mature, and not just hate on America for no valid reason, or i'll asked for this thread to be removed.

Now, discuss

 

Of course, you never know when we could be attacked again. Regardless if they are out there "defending" our country they'll always be contributing.

 

When you say "we", who are you referring to? US? UK?

And would you say most soldiers today are out "defending" your country? Because i fail to see how soldiers being in Iraq and Afghanistan counts as defending your own country? If anything, it's just breeding hate within the residents of that country, and increasing the chances of attack.

 

Sorry, I was referring to the United States and i'd rather not get into that debate because there is no right or wrong.

 

Ok well if you're from the US, the question you should ask yourself is why did they attack you in the first place? If of course you're referring to the attacks of 9/11.

The US government funded afghanistan in the 80's to fight against the soviets. From this, Osama bin Laden rose to the power he was. Also, what about the gulf wars, were innocent Iraqi's were killed by US led UN forces.

And i'm not asking for a debate on the Iraq/Afghanistan war, but it definitely deserves to be mentioned. Also, you didn't answer my question on whether your soldiers being their counts as them "defending" your country.

 

i think they contribute little to society at the moment.
during any wars they certainly save many civilians lives from the draft.

some policy makers do not deploy troops responsibly, placing them arbitrarily. this, like another stated, breeds discontent among the natives of where we place them.

as for soldiers on our own soil, they serve as a backup for any serious local disasters.

i guess i can conclude saying, they do not actively do much on home soil, however they are useful in any disaster situation.

 

I don't think they "contribute" to our nation, the only reason we still need them is that we are constantly in war and we need to feel safe.

 

In a way, they are defending us, but in another way they're trying to help themselves. The argument works both ways, but yes they do contribute to the United States since they are risking their lives to keep is safe.

People think of NBA or NFL players as role-models and heroes, but the real heroes are out there risking their lives so we can live ours in peace.

 

They do contribute to society, but in a way that they shouldn't.

The purpose of a military is defense, not offense. The Middle East is so beaten to shreds it's not even funny, yet our government still finds a way to justify the war and to get millions upon millions of American citizens to justify it as well.

Of course, however, we (America) will always have to have war. Our main goal in this war, regardless of what anybody says, is to make money. If there wasn't some hope of making money, we wouldn't be in the Middle East. War brings jobs with industry, military jobs, etc.

 

Do they really save lives though? How many innocents have been killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? According to this website (http://www.iraqbodycount.org/), the death toll in Iraq is over 100,000 since 2003.

Also, America isn't at a state of war with Iraq. Not by any means. They are there to "keep peace". I fail to see how the death of a 100,000 civilians is keeping peace.

You aren't at war. You haven't been at WAR since WW2. Also, how do the soldiers deployed in foreign countries keep you safe? You think by being there they are stopping terrorists from attacking you? By being there, you are creating terrorists within your own country.

See my post above ^^

Agreed. The US government often has a way of glorifying wars. For example, the nuclear bombings on Japan. Kill 3000 people at pearl harbour, we kill 100,000 people in seconds and whipe out 2 whole cities. How that can ever be justified, i'll never know.

 

They contribute by bringing the nation a sense of security and stability. If you ask me if I lived in a country that was without any form of military I would be pretty intimidated and probably a little bit scared. These soldiers bring a sense of dominance and nationalism too. You want to feel superior to the other countries by feeling more secure and more dominant. If you are more confident in your country then you will be more likely to show support and help out other members of you society. Basically soldiers make general morale higher for a society, at least this is my view.

 

That's a fair comment to make. However, i would feel safer if my country felt no need for an army. Them being there implies they will be needed to defend you. If you have no army out of choice, that would show great dominance to me.

 

They don't just go in and kill people, the reason we are in Afghanistan of Iraq for 5+ years is because we the US want to build stable countries there, so we have the army doing humanitarian aid missions. for example,
http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/10/1...afghanistan-humanitarian-aid-economic-growth/

 

Of course they do.

Put forth an argument against, and I'll obliterate it.
I don't know of anything that would suggest that modern soldiers do not contribute to society.

 

I can see their propaganda has been effective.

If we were intending on building "stable countries," it wouldn't be called the *WAR* on terrorism.

Also, they wouldn't need these "humanitarian aid missions" if the U.S. hadn't completely ravaged their country and its government. (not that its previous government was necessarily effective or ethical.)

 

They're* fighting the war against a group as opposed to a whole country.

In the process of this war they have destroyed infrastructure which they intend to rebuild as well as to provide support for the creation of a proper and fair system of governance.

*I suppose 'we' by association.

 

In my opinion, in the modern political world, you cannot be a country like the US or the UK, without fronting a strong military. The threats from terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda are constantly trying to breach our countries defence, and it is only a strong defence that will counteract this. As to wars centralising around oil, I guess the government has made the decision that the benefits of securing these reserves outweigh the negative externalities produced through war. So yeah, I'd say that generally speaking, modern soldiers fight for an improvement in the welfare of society.

 

How would you feel safer if your country didn't have any means of protecting its people and territories? That would only work in a utopian society which is impossible in this world. Countries that do not have armies are not countries for very long.

That's like saying a town doesn't need a police force because its stronger and safer without one. The only thing that does come from something like that is crime and anarchy. The world is the same way

How can you be dominant with nothing to back you up? That's like a skinny little freshman trying to boss around the high-school football starting line.

Being in the military myself I can speak from personal experience that the majority of people are grateful for the military. I for one, would not like to live in a country where it was lead by idiots who thought we didn't need a military.

 

Agreed. But at the foundations of that strong military force or presence would have to be a substantial economic base from which to build on. I don't know much at all about economics but surely the cracks are beginning to show. America has 14 trillion dollars worth of debt I think and continues to print more and more money. By shuffling around things within their budget (accounts and payments etc) they've been able to hold off the day when they reach the maximum amount of debt legislatively allowed - albeit until August. If they are not able to pass the legislation required to raise that limit then America will officially default on their debts. I can see how and why they've needed [and in reality every country] such a strong military force - but I just don't see how this policy of strong military aggression and might is sustainable in the long term if you are to consider the absolute welfare of America's domestic citizens.

 

If our country felt no need for a military, then it shows we aren't being attacked. Of course there is no way this would happen in a modern society, i'm just saying IF we felt the need to have no military presence, it would imply a sense of well being within the country.

My points are us being in foreign countries breeds terrorism, and modern soldiers seem to be doing more harm than good in the countries they are in, destorying infrastructure, letting the terrorists gain more support etc. Al-qaeda would of never rose to the power it is at now if the US didn't fund the Mujahideen to fight against the soviets. And they gain more support daily due to civillians being caught up in air attacks/ fire fights etc.