I've seen a few comments here and there about this, but the recent usage (including by Markos in his reference to Clarence Thomas' Hamden dissent) seems to warrant a diary.
Now, I was not quite of age yet when we invaded Afghanistan and I never supported the war in Iraq, but my general views on violence, whether or not there is ever a just use of force, and the millitary culture are all ambivalent enough that I couldn't conceive of joining the army. Simply put, I couldn't personally kill another human being, I'm a confused semi-pacifist who admires both Howard Zinn and Christopher Hitchens (he makes the most persuasive case I've ever heard for the Iraq war, and I think his logic is sound, even though I still don't agree with him and he has moments of rabidness, in response I believe to the fact that his former allies are now his enemies), and I don't do well in strict hierarchical structures, unless I'm at the top...
But for someone to tell me that my view on war isn't as valid as a veteran's is offensive, silly, and dangerous.
As one commenter made note, following this to the logical extension negates civilian control of the millitary, which is a true cornerstone of democracy.
Even to a lesser degree, the idea that someone who has seen war has better judgement about it than someone who hasn't is troubling, especially for pacifists! Does anyone on this website really want to poll every veteran and abide by their collective judgement on Iraq? Should we REALLY just ask the members of the Israeli millitary what their response to Hezbolah should be? Please. I don't mean to stereotype, but it seems like the millitary is a self-selecting group that probably tends to be more millitaristic on a whole than average americans and of course that's a good thing to have in your millitary and it's exactly why I shouldn't be in it (except perhaps as a musician, I'd totally play in a millitary band.)
Turning back to Israel for a moment: aren't the Israeli civilians just as much a part of this war as the millitary? When rockets are being fired indiscriminately into cities, suddenly your civilians are seeing war just as much as your soldiers. NOW do those civilians have an equal say? What about New Yorkers and the war on Afghanistan? But wait, does a person from New York have more say on that than a person from Boston? Does someone who could possibly be drafted have more say than someone who couldn't?
Based on their service or lack thereof alone, John Kerry does not inherantly have more inherant moral standing on the Iraq war than George Bush and Jack Murtha doesn't automatically get more of my respect than Dick Cheney. I know that's a controversial statement because everyone (certainly including myself) DOES have more respect for the former and despises the latter, but you're letting that blind you into using an emotionally and politically appealing ploy that is disingenuous.
F.D.R. was not a veteran. Clinton dodged the draft. Lincoln died the first time he was shot at. Teddy Roosevelt charged San Juan Hill . Bob Dole's wound sometimes talks in the third person. I'd trust the first three to make the political and moral decisions about going to war and then maybe they could get advice on the tactics from the last two...