""The idea of servicemen misled by politicians may apply to Germany in both World Wars. They were encouraged to believe that they had a right to invade and dominate other nations by virtue of their innate superiority.""

You know very well, given that I specifically named the two wars I was talking about, that I have no issue with the legitimacy of either world war. My original comment was ""All the more reprehensible then that their lives are wasted, in the pursuit of political advantage and adventure, by men who are not fit to clean their boots.

I mean of course the politicians who lie to the public in order to indulge in wars of acquisition (Iraq!), and worse, wars with no genuine purpose other than to keep the populace scared enough to give up their civil liberties, in exchange for a spurious promised security (Afghanistan!).""

I stand by that comment, simply because I passionately believe that our young men are being sold down the river, and I further believe that there is nothing wrong with saying that I honour most sincerely the sacrifices of the past, and I wholeheartedly support the troops who are fighting and dying right now, but we need to insist that our governments use these lives only in the pursuit of honourable goals.

If that's undignified, then I apologise Lizzie, but it's what I believe. Nobody should die in a quest for oil, or votes.

Don T