Man, we have Straw men all over this board.....

Don't we?

Going further with you call to humanitarianism as a call to arms in Iraq and Afghanistan...

"According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they 'die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.'"

That is, they die to lack of food, lack of basic necessities, and die of preventable diseases. If we were to move just 1% of what we spend on our defense budget, just imagine the good works we could do for these children.

Again, humanitarianism is only an issue, or so it seems, when abundant oil is under the soil.

Ben

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
- Galileo Galilei

"Force is a tool of the weak. Gentleness is reserved for the strong."
-Unknown