I haven't read this whole thread, and I don't really want to jump into the discussion. I'm not going to talk about the validity of the war, rather I just wanted to add a bit about the soldier himself. Forgive me if i'm a bit off topic.
As a former soldier, and one who knows many who have participated in the war and currently serve, I can say the following:
1. If you have applied for a combat arms position in the Regular Force in the past 8 years, you are essentially applying for combat in a war zone. No one becomes a rifleman with the illusion of not deploying to Afghanistan.
2. The Infantry is full. The CF is not accepting any new recruits to the infantry because the regiments are full and there is no budget to increase the amount of troops. It is easy to draw the conclusion that many people want to be involved in this war regardless of the moral issues surrouonding it.
3. All reservists in Afghanistan willingly volunteered to serve there. The government can not deploy reservists like they can the regular force regiments.
4. Soldiers want war. That is their purpose. They have been trained and taught how to carry out operations. By entering into combat, they are doing their job, and it is the culmination of their training and something you can not experience anywhere else.
5. I can say with certainty, the Canadian contingent of combat arms deployed to Afghanistan are there because they want to be there. There is a very different situation down in the US, but I don't want to get into that.
On a personal note, I very much dislike the cries to "bring our troops home" on the basis that they are dying. Every soldier over there knows the dangers. They are volunteers and are over there because they want to be. We should not pull soldiers out based on the fact that they are dying. If it is decided the war is wrong or unjust, then pull them out. But do not use them as a pawn to get a point across and do not put words in their mouth.
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