# Cheney Re:4000 dead "They volunteered" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 24, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573 "2008-03-24T19:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![furlibusea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@furlibusea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furlibusea)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/1 "2008-03-24T19:03:10Z")
I don’t usualy engage in RA about this administration but [this](http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/story?id=4513250&page=1) has me shaking I am so mad. Among other lovely tidbits was this choice bit. > [@](#): > > “The president carries the biggest burden, obviously,” Cheney said. “He’s the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans, but we are fortunate to have a group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm’s way for the rest of us.” I am not even sure what to do with him. I think the only thing I can do is hope there really is a hell. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/2 "2008-03-24T19:09:00Z")
RA = recreational anger? ---
**Author:** ![furlibusea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@furlibusea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furlibusea)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/3 "2008-03-24T19:11:59Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] RA = recreational anger? [/QUOTE] Yes I meant to type RO and had a brain fart, but recreational anger is probably closer to the point anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/4 "2008-03-24T19:14:44Z")
I don’t see the big deal. He clearly says it was the President who sent them there. I think the volunteered bit is just pointing out that we don’t have the draft now. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/5 "2008-03-24T19:20:34Z")
**Without addressing the Democratic candidates specifically, the vice president said those who want to pull out of Iraq are "seriously misguided."** And you don’t think that those who wanted to invade Iraq in the first place without any inkling of an exit plan to find non-exsistant WMDs weren’t “serously misguided”? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/6 "2008-03-24T19:25:51Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] **Without addressing the Democratic candidates specifically, the vice president said those who want to pull out of Iraq are “seriously misguided.”** And you don’t think that those who wanted to invade Iraq in the first place without any inkling of an exit plan to find non-exsistant WMDs weren’t “serously misguided”? [/QUOTE] Of course not. They were pragmatic and just knew what had to be done and that it was the right thing to do. :rolleyes: BTW, not to rehash way, way old news, but you don’t really believe they were going in for WMDs, do you? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/7 "2008-03-24T19:32:47Z")
This is simply justification for the decision. I don’t think Bush really looks at “his burden” as particularly cumbersome. He genuinely believes the decision to invade Iraq was the right one to make. He knew there would be casualties, but they were justified and unavoidable casualties. On the other hand, the burden of the families who lost loved ones, didn’t necessarily have a choice in that decision. They are burdened with loss due to the choices of others. They must spend the rest of their lives without the one(s) they lost. That seems much more burdensome than having sent thousands of people to their deaths. Once Bush is out of office and Iraq is no longer on his agenda, he’ll move on with little thought to his “burden.” ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/8 "2008-03-24T19:34:40Z")
[QUOTE=Brown Eyed Girl] Of course not. They were pragmatic and just knew what had to be done and that it was the right thing to do. :rolleyes: BTW, not to rehash way, way old news, but you don’t really believe they were going in for WMDs, do you? [/QUOTE] Considering how many dyed-in-the-wool Republicans I know who _still_ believe that and _still_ think that Iraq had them and hid them somewhere so fiendishly clever that we _still_ can’t find them (as opposed to USING them as they were designed. ya’know to stop invaders in combat). Yes, I think they really believed there would be WMD to be found to justify the invasion, or at least Bush did. I do not think that was the only or even the primary reason they started this war, but I didn’t believe that in 2002/3 either. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/9 "2008-03-24T19:38:26Z")
I don’t really see the outrage. He’s right, as far as I know - all the US soldiers are volunteers. They did volunteer for the army and to put themselves in harm’s way. Are you so outraged because you don’t feel the continued US presence in Iraq is justified? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/10 "2008-03-24T19:41:13Z")
[QUOTE=Death of Rats] Yes, I think they really believed there would be WMD to be found to justify the invasion, or at least Bush did. I do not think that was the only or even the primary reason they started this war, but I didn’t believe that in 2002/3 either. [/QUOTE] Okay, just clarifying. Personally, I don’t think they were extremely confident that WMD was the problem they publicly characterized it to be, but I suppose Bush figured that they’d find something as a result of the invasion. I do agree with you about it not being their primary reason for invading Iraq and I never have believed it either. I just wish we hadn’t let them get away with it by our general complacency and misguided trust. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/11 "2008-03-24T19:45:33Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I don’t really see the outrage. He’s right, as far as I know - all the US soldiers are volunteers. They did volunteer for the army and to put themselves in harm’s way. Are you so outraged because you don’t feel the continued US presence in Iraq is justified? [/QUOTE] That’s extremely hard to swallow given the fact that there is clear evidence of recruiters out and out lying about whether recruits will be deployed (no search; no cite, sorry). But I think the thing that may spark anger in people is the: “Poor Bush. It’s really too bad for all those families, but they kinda asked for it. Bush, on the other hand, has to live with this for the rest of his life. Can you imagine? So sad.” ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/12 "2008-03-24T19:56:20Z")
Why should we give a damn about the burden that George W. Bush has to bear? After all, he volunteered for the job, and he voluntarily made the decision: he was not conscripted into the job of President, and the decision to invade Iraq was not forced on him. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/13 "2008-03-24T20:01:45Z")
The Cheney quote in the OP is actually rather innocuous and hard to argue with. [This](http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Vote2008/story?id=4481249&page=1) usage of the simple word “so,” OTOH, is in context truly outrageous. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/14 "2008-03-24T20:07:14Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] Why should we give a damn about the burden that George W. Bush has to bear? After all, he volunteered for the job, and he voluntarily made the decision: he was not conscripted into the job of President, and the decision to invade Iraq was not forced on him. [/QUOTE] Actually, he was conscripted into the job. God conscripted him. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/15 "2008-03-24T20:19:03Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] Why should we give a damn about the burden that George W. Bush has to bear? After all, he volunteered for the job, and he voluntarily made the decision: he was not conscripted into the job of President, and the decision to invade Iraq was not forced on him. [/QUOTE] Volunteered? Have **you** ever tried to refuse your dynastic destiny? ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/16 "2008-03-24T20:25:08Z")
Cheney sticks up my ass sideways, but I’m missing the indignation here. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/17 "2008-03-24T22:23:42Z")
[QUOTE=spifflog] Cheney sticks up my ass sideways. [/QUOTE] Lynne? Is that you? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/18 "2008-03-24T22:32:31Z")
The volunteering thing doesn’t bother me. If he’s suggesting that Bush faces a larger burden than the family of a dead soldier, however, he’s an asshole. > [@](#): > > “It places a special burden obviously on the families, and we recognize, I think — it’s a reminder of the extent to which we are blessed with families who’ve sacrificed as they have.” > > “The president carries the biggest burden, obviously,” Cheney said. I’m not sure that’s what he means because it’s a different section of the story, and it’s not clear he said the second sentence right after the first. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/19 "2008-03-24T22:35:57Z")
Bush does not seem to carry much guilt at all.I never see him pondering over the plight of the soldiers as they extend them again and again. He doesn’t care about anything but money and power. Cheney is a prick. He is a smart ass . I can’t stand the draft dodging old prick.He only cares about money and power. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573/20 "2008-03-24T22:47:23Z")
They’re both sociopaths. This is news? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-re-4000-dead-they-volunteered/442573.md?page=2)