What is it about war that thrills us? Last PM I watched some old CNN footage of the Gulf War start.

[marions ghost]

6. War is always romanticized

Lots of action, constant risk of death, sacrifice, heroism. All the elements of a good story. Psychologically, soldiers are programmed to feel good at the death of another. Plays into a primitive instinct--"you must die so that I may live." One thing if you're talking about deer. Another if you're talking about humans. Suburbanites don't grow up as killers. They have to be trained to kill. We have lots of war entertainment resources to help young men (& women now) feel fine with it, especially at a distance.

If soldiers don't believe they are fighting for a just cause, why do it? Hence the towering lies behind the Gulf "Wars" and Afghanistan. Immoral, indefensible wars. But if you are supporting a huge military industrial complex and a multifaceted armed forces, well, ya gotta have wars. Gonna happen. After the fact war stories have always been entertainment. For some.
There won't be many fond memories for this generation of soldiers. Like Vietnam, they may realize just how much they've been punked, in suffering for a war perpetrated by political exploiters and white collar criminals.