Admittedly, the Northern Ireland campaign didn't include the threat of fascist invasion and the sweeping away of all our liberties. That was exactly what our forebears faced in 1940, and it was not just understandable but imperative that men and women were ready to lay down their lives to defend the country. If ever there was a war fought for moral reasons, it was the second world war. The argument that all war could be avoided if only politicians behaved themselves, and soldiers refused to fight, ignores reality. If an armed psychopath attacked all your neighbours, you would know that at some stage you would be called on to defend yourself.
Conscientious objection has nothing to do with it.
I was, and still would be, ready to die for a country I love and believe in. Dear Neil, I have no problem with your readiness to die for your country - it's your readiness to kill other people that bothers me. Killing is a very grave act, justifiable only when the victim has done or threatens something very grave. Your position relies on unrealistic assumptions about soldiers. First, you assume it is morally acceptable to kill them.