I don't know- I imagine deserting your brothers in arms (which may include your literal brother or sister) would be akin to deserting your family in a deadly situation. Regardless of how stupid the causes, once you're in the shit and people are at risk that you care about, the reasons you're there probably arent your biggest concern. The people that should be held accountable are the ones who orchestrated and perpetuated the whole thing, not the soldiers (unless they commit war crimes obviously).
I mean, to follow that analogy, yeah people absolutely should abandon their families if the families are out there actively murdering innocents.
The person saying that they're only staying to murder with their families because they care about them is not a redeeming quality, and they should definitely be held accountable and not excused for their crimes.
For the record, I consider any armed person outside their home country should be considered as a terrorist and a militia and treated as such. There is no reason someone from country A should be carrying a weapon in country B and attacking people there. This is 100 times even more valid when country B has not authorized this.
I agree, but the world just isn't this simple. It's not about murdering with you family- it's about protecting your family. Kids I knew that went to Iraq were the protective types, not murderous. People can enlist in the military with the intention of protecting their country only to be ordered overseas caught up in some bullshit war. Historically, drafts were the main reason. And no man is an island, so whatever situation pulls one person in, is bound to ripple through other people's lives and pull others in as well.
> I consider any armed person outside their home country should be considered as a terrorist and a militia
I mean, there are situations like hostage crises where foreign countries send in soldiers that I think are completely justified. But, I agree, in general. Our foreign policy has been fucked since the CIA started after WWII. I'm just grateful I never had to fight a war- chances are I would've being born in the last couple hundred years
