The threshold of violence will escalate. Ultimately he will find himself using methods so outrageous that not only will they revolt his own conscience but they will also attract the hatred of the very people whom he is protecting and whose support is vital to him. Under these circumstances, the end can never justify the means, however, expedient it may seem at the time. Yet there will be other situations when the moral dilemma is more blurred, as anyone who has been in the intelligence game knows only too well. But it can also be far more acute.
Conscience is a voice within a soldier long before it becomes a force.
It is during this embryonic phase that it can be influenced. Although principles cannot be breached, potential collisions can be averted. And it is here that the classic soldierly qualities have their effect and can hold the pressure at bay. The need for professionalism is clear. It breeds, or should breed, the thinking man.