////Josepp, I appreciate that you may feel there's too much heat being placed on the individual soldier in this thread. But I think if you consider views in the wider world, that it's not the norm by a very long straw. I was watching a talk given by an Iraq vet turned resister yesterday, he was saying that resisters need support, because it's never going to be politicians who are going to stop sending people to war, it's only going to happen if GI's themselves stop agreeing to go. I tend to think he is right there.////

This was the stupidest shit you've said yet and that took some effort, I'm sure. So GIs just refuse to go, eh? In that case, the military has ceased to exist and even the biggest bleeding heart on Mudcat has admitted that militaries are necessary--like it or not. If soldiers can refuse to go to war, there's no reason to have a military because that is its raison d'etre. If you don't want to go to war--DON'T JOIN! You can't join without agreeing to go to war if called on to do so. You sign a contract. Any soldier who refuses to go has reneged and will face the consequences. And that's fine with me if he feels he can't fight in a certain war--I understand that--BUT he has NO RIGHT to expect others to do so. It was HIS choice.