Protests and Soldiers

This is some what related to my earlier post. Some thing I have never understood: Why do peaceniks, protesters and liberals protest against soldiers/members of the armed forces? Are they that ignorant that they don't realize that soldiers follow orders? If a soldier disobeys orders to go to war, he/she is normally court martialled. I think there is a legitimate right to protest but protest against the politicians, Congress and the Executive. They are the ones who authorize war and order armed forces to go to war. The soldier is not at fault for going to war; he/she is just following orders. He/She probably joined the armed forces to pay for tuition and make some money. The US armed forces are anyway disproportionately comprised of people from lesser economic backgrounds. The soldier is doing his duty and following orders. We should be proud of him/her for willing to make a sacrifice which most of us are not willing to make. Every soldier is not guilty of war crimes. The war criminals are the exceptions and should be punished along with their superiors who gave such orders. The average soldier is an honorable man who is just doing his duty. There are numerous examples of the bravery and nation building that American soldiers have undertaken in Iraq.