I strongly sympathise with what you are saying, ard mhacha, but calling the soldiers scum of the earth does not help your cause at all. I am sure some of them were. I am sure some of them were positively angelic by comparison. I am equaly sure that the vast majority, like the vast majority of people everywhere, lay somewhere in between. Blame the government by all means. Blame the situation. Blame me if you like. But calling the ordinary squaddie the scum of the earth does not help anyone.

Kipling put it far better than me.

It's Tommy this and Tommy that and Tommy go away,
But it's "Thank you Mr Atkins" when the band begins to play..."

BTW (for a second time) - The song I sing of this title is a different one to the onle detailed above.

Cheers

DtG