The diary isn't about the causes, why peope join the army, but about the narrative of military service. You don't say anthing about if you agree with painting soldiers as doing an honourable service to the country or not. Just that they may be desparate. Are the prostitutes, which are brought to Germany by eastern European sex traffickers, doing an honourable service to my country? Is being a prostitute a good cause to elect a person president? Is it, that whenever you want to critisise a former prostitute, that you have first to mention her great sacrifice, and how much you appreciate it? Well, unless you were either the guy pimping her or the guy using her service, I don't think so.

I do believe, that this narrative serves as distraction from the justification of wars, that it is potentially dangerous for the liberty of America, and that it helps to keep an overly large military in place, which not only sucks up resources, which could be better used elsewhere and which animates other countries to join at least partially into an arms race, but makes it as well more attractive and normal to actually use it.

Hey, the arms race maybe nice, European industry makes a lot of money with selling arms, but I would prefer, they would sell something useful.

Maybe it is typical German, but I do not 'support the German troops' in Afghanistan. And the minister of defense is pissed about that. They can be there, if they want, but if they die, I care as much as I would care for a victim of a traffic accident; and if they were tortured (not happened so far, seems only 'friends' do that) I would care as much as I care for people who suffer from cancer, or another painful illness. They are (and in case of Germany they really are) voluntarily there, while 80% of the German population doesn't want them there. Since 5 years troops are in Afghanistan, and since then never a convincing explaination was given why.

Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den Menschen
Volker Pispers