I have maintained for years now the following propositions:

Governments don't kill, people do.

You can't have a war without soldiers.

The state needs willing servants to do its dirty work.

Only the troops can stop the drive to war.

Killing in an unjust war is murder.

Soldiers should be blamed for the death and destruction they mete out.

Soldiers are responsible for the death and destruction they bring.

The real heroes are those who refuse to fight.

Yet, many Americans go to great lengths to excuse and defend the actions of soldiers. Not all soldiers, of course. Just U.S. soldiers. I am continually told that the bombing, maiming, and killing that U.S. soldiers perpetrate around the world is all the fault of the politicians, the government, the state, the military, defense contractors, the military-industrial complex, Zionists, the commander in chief, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, the generals, the policy makers, the Pentagon, and/or the State Department—anyone and anything and everyone and everything but the soldiers who actually do the fighting. Oh sure, some Americans say, soldiers share some responsibility for the actions of the U.S. military. They are not robots. But they are just following orders.