Your last statement is wrong. Politicians love a war, especially one they think that they can win. Makes them look all macho, and they can call themselves a war leader, or a war President, or whatever.
Many soliders love a war, after all, amongst the combat mob, that's what we train for - I'm talking about the volunteers. Mind, there's many, maybe as much as 90 per cent don't find it to their liking, but, the other 10 per cent of us, we take to it like a duck to water.
There's no better game in town than going up against another man who is armed and seeing who is the one that can walk away - talk about an adrenaline high, it's the top. I miss it. It's not the killing, it's the challenge - and, the challenge isn't so much against the other bloke, on the other side, it's against yourself, will your bottle (courage) hang out, or will it go.
Combat is where you find out about yourself, whether you are a man, or not. Nah! That isn't right, it's more whether you are the man you would like to be, or not .... 'cos I can't fault those who don't have that in them - mind, if they were supposed to be watching my six, and did a runner, I'd be having a serious word with them afterwards.
If you haven't been there, I can't explain it to you, 'cos you'd never understand. I think that it's different for everyone, each has their own highs and lows, and, we're all reluctant to talk about it, mainly, I think, because there is nothing really to talk about - you went, did your job, and got back, it's the poor sods that didn't get back.
You might have mooned a Cuban patrol boat, that you knew wouldn't fire at you, but, would you have done the same, on the ground, against a group that you knew would fire on you?
