by Rory Walkinshaw

Created on: February 25, 2009

The burden that soldiers carry, being torn between personal conscience and duty towards country, is as old as war itself. During World War II, this type of internal conflict led many in the German Army's High Command to attempt an assassination of Adolf Hitler. Although the plot failed, it clearly demonstrates the situation that many servicemen find themselves in during a time of conflict: do I serve my country and betray my conscience or vice versa? During the Vietnam War, many young people felt that they were being given a choice between duty to their nation and betraying their personal beliefs in fighting a war they did not agree with.

The United States is currently engaged in two major wars on two major fronts, the one in Iraq and the one in Afghanistan. For the latter, American soldiers should have no reason to feel guilt about their role as combatants. The situation is clear: Al-Qaeda, supported by their Taliban allies, attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. The only logical and rational response is a massive military retaliation committed to destroyed both Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and preventing them from attacking and killing Americans in the future. The men and women of the United States Army have so performed admirably in the war in Afghanistan and they have shown themselves to be true patriots defending their country. This despite the fact that ground forces in Afghanistan are far below the strength of numbers necessary to permenantly destroy the insurgents and the fact that many of our coalition allies in that region, such as Turkey and France, are not contributing the numbers of major combat units that they could afford to. Turkey, for example, maintains one of the largest militaries in the world, yet it contributes very little manpower to the coalition.

As for Iraq, this is a bit more complicated. Yes, it is true that no nuclear weapons were discovered in the country once Saddam Hussein was toppled from power. Yes, it is true that Saddam Hussein did not attack us in the same way that Osama Bin laden attacked us on 9/11. Yes, the United States attacked first. However, American soldiers have really very little to feel guilty about for their role as combatants during this war. Furthermore, this controversial conflict raises all kinds of questions about the nature of patriotism and serving one's country. The truth of the matter is that when a country goes to war, it must be committed to winning. Also, its soldiers and citizens must be supportive

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