Our Troops do NOT Protect Our Freedom and We Should Stop Thanking Them for Doing So

The Secretary-General is not just "one man" but instead is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations.. He must be approved by the UN Security Council and then elected by the General Assemby. Kofi Annan was previously approved by the United States for the position of Secretary-General.

Many of the members of the United Nations have been at odds with the United States for decades because as a permanent member of the Security Council we have refused to abide by the limitation of the UN Charter. Is I recall three of the permanent members of the UN Security Council opposed the US invasion of Iraq. If ANY of those members objected then the invasion was a violation of the UN Charter as the UN Security Council holds the exclusive power to grant or deny the use of military force by one nation against another. The UN Charter expressly prohibits any offensive military actions by any member nation without the express consent of the UN Security Council.

 

The US constitution prohibits the President from making war without their approval, but that hasn't stopped them (for decades). So what's your point?

 

The point being that the United States has been involved in numerous wars since WW II that were not supported by a formal declaration of war by Congress (as required by the US Constitution even if authorized by the United Nations) and not a single one of those wars involved a nation that presented a threat against the United States.

While I disagree with the opinion that this is the fault of the soldiers because it is really the fault of Congress the opinion that the US military is engaged in wars that are not about national defense is absolutely accurate. Not a single nation has actually shown any intent of attacking the United States and that includes the USSR during the cold war.

The cold war itself was about the USA and USSR both being afraid about the other attacking but neither country actually wanted to attack the other. There wasn't a threat but there was a fear being promoted by both sides. If we look at the wars the US has been involved in none of them related to a threat of an attack on the United States. Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Granada, the Gulf War, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq all lacked any threat of those countries ever attacking the United States. All of these wars were purely political unrelated to the national defense of the United States.

 

Here's a timely Op-Ed piece on this very subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/opinion/sunday/americas-sentimental-regard-for-the-military.html