Proud of what here, exactly, Chris Chapman?

Mike, Jubail, Saudi Arabia,

As someone who lives in rural Georgia I feel as if I've just been patted on the back and punched in the face all at the same time. The only cliche the journalist missed was using the words barefoot, inbred, hillbilly, and banjo playing.

thera, East Ellijay, USA

I didn't and still do not support our government's decision to enter war with Iraq.

However, I do support and and commend our soldiers actions who are just 'doing thier duty/what they are told'.

However, I would suggest to the top command in the U.K Armed Forces that it would mean more to our soldiers that they received good housing and proper medical care on their return - this surely shows implicitly (rather than crass flag waving) that as a nation we support their sacrifice and efforts and those of their families too. Of course this would mean the government providing the funding and therein lies the crunch.

'Staged managed' home parades are not authentic - continued funding - decent living conditions - excellent medical care and providing for bereaved families are.

Its a shame our Armed Forces and Government feel the need to point the finger at the public - hypocrits!

twig, London, UK

past wars were tangible in the threat that the enemies posed
this one, like vietnam is deeply immoral,false, badly mismanaged and most of all unpopular with no end in sight while we are continually whipped up into a constant state of fear and paranoia by our governments.Yes of course we should salute our brave troops
(many of whom also don't know why they're fighting or what for)
but you cant blame a confused nation for not lavishing accolades on these soldiers when it is struggling to come to terms with themorality of the war in the first place

Danny Tweedie, verona, italy

good, insightful and generally-accurate article, for the most part. my only quibble is the condesdening crack about Brits being "by and large better educated." your rural lads, who leave school at 16, are certainly no brighter than our counterparts. additionally, a very large proportion of our military is college-educated. and what might be mawkish to some is heartfelt and genuinely patriotic to us, but you did admit to being a bit moved yourself. all and all, a very nice piece, and thanks for it. oh, and btw, i am totally against the Iraq war, but the blame for that falls on Dubya and his cronies, not on the American public. and i'm a Republican.

Jeffrey Kerr, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

I find it only fitting that a nation which has sent their young men and women off to war, render respect and honor to those who have put thier lives on the line in their nations behest.

As Ms Sarler stated the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are unpopular in both the U.K., and the United States. we must seperate our political beliefs from our concern for those Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen who are daily demonstrating their devotion to their nation, and their belief that eradicating terrorism is a just cause. Are the sacrifices of those serving any less than those who served during WWII or in the battles of Ypres, the Meuse-Argonne, or even Balaclava?

I think not.

Vietnam and Iraq Veteran

Michael P. McEleney, Jacksonville, FL, USA

The parking lot in front of my office, in Arlington, VA, is kept clean by a chain gang from the County Jail, dressed in orange jumpsuits with the word "JAIL" stenciled across the back, under guard by a Sheriff's Deputy armed with live rounds, and orders to use them (I can supply a picture I took of this the other day, while I was getting my morning coffee and bagel). This is a location in Metropolitan Washington, D.C., an urban area with 6 million inhabitants - I can see the United States Capitol from my window, three miles from the Pentagon - the County Jail is next to the County Courthouse, across the square from me. Manhattan is a 35 minute flight away.

To compare anything in the United States with anything in Britain, in any way, is folly, and signifies a complete lack of understanding of the cultural differences, or should I say, cultural chasm.

Menno Aartsen, Washington, DC, USA

I have to completely agree with your article, speaking as a former UK resident now living in Florida, the military are held in very high esteem here and rightly, how many of the dissenters in UK would actually have the bottle to do it themselves? If not at least give the people who do have the bottle some credit, unfortunately UK is turning into a nation of whiners, with no pride in their country and only interested in self preservation. I think it is fantastic they way the Americans are proud of their country, I remember the first time I visited here watching them sing their national anthem, every man woman and child all stood up with pride and sang their hearts out, made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, sadly this is seen as phoney etc by people in the UK, trust me it is not. I also might add that the British troops are very well respected and recieved here particularly at Sea World were they ask them to stand up and they are warmly applauded and they get in for free.

Thomas Williams, Kissimmee, US/Florida

We can all acknowledge the bravery of these men...

But we can also becry the mindset that allows a soldier to say "I forsake all my personal ethics and voluntarily join an organisation which can and will send me, without question, to kill impoverished brown-skinned people for the flimsiest of reasons".

If you don't believe tha War in Iraq is actually doing any good, then you must hold the men perpetrating the conflict responsible. This includes both our political leaders AND the men who signed up and said "I will kill anyone I am told to kill".

Alex McGregor, Plymouth, UK

I agree with Chris Chapman. Falklands brought out the passion and patriotism in all of us. It was a war of honour and values. This is a war where our soldiers are dying daily and thousands of innocent civilians are losing their lives. This is a war of lies and deciet and media hype where the ordinary person does not feel involved. Having said that, we should still honour our armed forces and be proud of ourselves.

Hamad lone, Thornton Heath, England

So the German public was right ethically, not just emotionally, to applaud the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS as they invaded and occupied Europe in Hitler's wars of conquest?

Noel Falconer, COUIZA, France

I'm a US serviceman stationed in the UK, and I was just describing to a British officer how if I wear my uniform into a restaurant, there's a good chance someone will buy my meal for me. It makes me very humble, and intensely proud to be American, regardless of Iraq or the war on terror or anything else. The British officer? He just shook his head and wished the British public cared about their own military.

Ken, Blandford,

The insinuation that our military is "semi-literate" is factually untrue. Percentage wise our military personnel are better educated than our general population, which would suggest that the reason many small town sons and daughters enlist is more along the lines of a desire to see something of the world and patriotism.
God Bless all coalition forces.

Marianne, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Andreas, A high school diploma in America used to mean something. Now with the whole Bush legacy of "No Child Left Behind," it often means that same young man or woman might graduate, still being illiterate. I too, am glad to read an article such as this, as I am like most Americans: disappointed beyond words with the current administration, but very proud of the young men and women, (and their families,) who serve our country.

Michele Roys, Vienna, An American in Vienna

I think you've written an excellent article, however i'm sick of members of the United States Armed Forces being portrayed as a bunch of uneducated, mouth-breathing hay-seeds from Podunk Mississippi. Have you actually checked your facts or are you simply going from preconceived stereotypes. Ninety-eight percent of our armed forces have a high-school education. This is a MUCH higher percentage than the population at large, and in all likelyhood a greater percentage than the armed forces of the UK.

Andreas Miller, Arlington, Virginia

I am an American. I have lived here for 42 years and came here before Nixon became president. In the same year as the Christmas trip around the moon, I went home for 2 weeks. I saw people I knew who were serving in Viet Nam. Intelligent people were against the war and anyone in a soldier's uniform was given a conversational hard time. I interrupted and said that that was not fair - he was not personally responsible.
Later on I witnessed the Falklands War and I had an opinion on it. I kept it to myself. Had I opened my mouth in some company, as "Johnny foreigner" I would have had my head bitten off!
The Americans have learned the lesson of Viet Nam, painfully. We still feel guilty. But they equip their soldiers to the utmost of their ability: their equipment is the newest it can be, their brief is to build bridges in an unhappy situation. They have stopped shooting the messager: their anger is focused on the idiot who has put them there.
Brown does well to steer clear.

Carlyle Braden, Croydon, UK

It is courageous to fight for a cause in which you truly believe, but it is cowardly to kill and maim without questioning why, simply absolving yourself of responsibility for your own actions on the basis you are a paid gun "only following orders" from those above.

Americans who venerate the act of fighting and aggression without considering the reason for the fighting or its consequences are those who keep America a warmongering nation, fighting for the sake of exercising power. I for one am thankful that the British are not quite so morally blind.

Hannah, London,

Spot on Carol.
The defeatist apathy which engulfs Britain, born out of anti-Americanism, prejudice against military personnel, and cheap political point scoring, insults all those who have given their lives in British uniform.

Even in the US, there are signs of this infection creeping, with a full page ad in the NYT last week alledging that one of the most decorated Generals in the US was a Traitor. The reaction though was telling: the Senate overwhelmingly backed their military against such mudslinging.

Matt N, Oxford , UK

Ms Sarter, we have a phrase for people like you. It is said they have ' drunk the koolaid'. See Jim Jones. I do not believe you know what you are talking about regarding the Military. Such appalling ignorance is usually only found at the Elite Universities. I am ex RAF, my son is in the USAF and he certainly was not ' press ganged '. With a perfect SAT he could have gone anywhere. It is very difficult to get into the US Forces . The lumpen proletariat will be more found on the Council estates of England than here. 70% of the US is NOT against the war against Islamo Fascists. With Congress at 11% approval one could say that 90% of the US is against Congress. President Bush's #'s are 30%. Three times higher than Congress. It is a pity the UK has never celebrated her military, but that is cultural. Look up ' Tommy 'Atkins' by R .Kipling. England should honour her soldiers, it is not an easy job. They deserve her thanks, at least

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Tx

I never cease to admire the way Americans express their love of country and the respect they hold for those who wear the uniform. And I am always amazed at how their servicemen openly take pride in serving their country.

Sometimes endemic British cynicism seems cheap and morally corrupt by comparison. I have often wondered whether that cynicism is responsible for much of the social breakdown we see day in day out on UK streets.

H, London,

Well spoken.

Jack Galloway, Florence, South Carolina - USA

Sure you are, John Dalton.

Fernandez, San Francisco,

If we are reviled for daring to celebrate Christmas in a way that we used to with carols, greeting cards depicting Christianity, government institutes banning decorations for fear of insulting whoever, and the schools having a corner set aside to erect a crib and stable, then it is to be expected that the general population will shun the very same Soldiers who were once regaled for their deeds.
We once cheered them off to the Falklands because it was our honor at stake, but now because it is some desert, dust blown province we have never been to, it is their fault.
Break out the Union Jack's, leave aside the petty nanny thinking and once again be proud to be British, I know I am.

Chris Chapman, Norwich, UK

It is Carol Sarler and General Dannatt along with blue-collar, Bud-Lite swilling America which doesn't get it whereas the British public does.

To go away, do your paid work, come home and shut up is the honorable way to serve. Unfortunately there is little honor to be had or nobility remaining in this current quagmire. If one wants a ticker tape parade one should engage in an enterprise worthy of such. Anyway, in all honesty, what could a parade under these circumstances possibly be called? Perhaps "the ignominious bog-down but thanks anyway for following orders parade" is suitable.

And for what it's worth, I'm a veteran myself.

John Dalton, Cincinnati, USA

Your warriors are proud...your leaders have the intelligence, like you to pray on their pride, but not the intellect to place themselves in front of the proud line...

Roland godin, Beresford, Canada