I support the soldiers to, and to a degree I feel sorry for them, as they are, as you say, the ones experiencing it, but I don't think they know a great deal more about why they are fighting then those of us relying on the media, as in most wars, especially ones fought for questionable and possibly illegal reasons, the soldiers are manipulated and used just like everyone else.
Has anyone ever caluculated how many wars there have been throughout recorded history? To narrow it down a bit, how many wars --world, civil, regional, guerilla, etc. -- have been waged from 1900 to the present? Does anyone out there have a tally? Unfortunately, war will always be with us -- including this godawful fiasco in Iraq. Remember what the famous philosopher Plato said: "Only the dead have seen the end of war." For an insight into war, I highly recommend two books from the Vietnam War: "A Rumor of War" by Philip Caputo and "Fortunate Son: The Healing of a Vietnam Vet" by Lewis B. Puller Jr. Puller, son of the famous WWII American hero Chesty Puller, came home from Vietnam without the use of his legs. He later committed suicide not long after the publication of his 1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning book. And although they have tried to keep it quiet, some of our returning wounded from Iraq have killed themselves out at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Ever wonder what the term "non-hostile gunshot wound" means, as reported in USA Today and elsewhere? It can inidicate either an accidental discharge or a suicide. More than two dozen soldiers and marines have killed themselves in Iraq since the war started. You'll never hear that from Bush or Cheney. See war for what it is...and leave the flag waving and patriotic songs for the Fourth of July. Thanks for reading this rather lengthy post.