Why does Britain not have a tradition of “Veterans Against War” type protest groups?
In the UK, for good or bad, National Service is a thing of the past (although the BNP propose to reinstate it, should they gain power). This means that everybody in our military services has chosen the military as a profession. You don’t choose the military as a profession if you are completely against war. Yes, you may be against illegal or unnecessary wars, but that’s not the same thing. In Britain, whilst we tend to question and attack proposals for wars and invasions, and have had many anti-war protests, those questions, attacks and protests have, in the vast majority been anti-war, not anti-military. We support our soldiers, we want them to have the equipment they need, and we want them to come home safely. We understand that they are doing their jobs – and doing them incredibly well, at that. However much we may be against the architects of war, however much we are politically against it, we do not turn that animosity towards our soldiers. This means that there is no contradictio
