You all have raised interesting points about war. Although I think I am a pacifist at heart I do think that sometimes wars are inevitable. Nedlless to say that its effects are devastating. I would like to point out that I think young children should be kept out of wars. Not only might they see the horror of people suffering and death but also because of the psychological effects it might have upon them. However, sometimes it's imposible to avoid those situtations, and if this happens I do think that you can always gain something out of a terrible situation, something you might never expect.

At what age does the British draft start?" -- There is no draft age in Britain at this point in history. Britain does not draft. However, Britain has no constitution, so today's laws are not necessarily tomorrow's laws.

"Are you claiming that it wasn't a crime to put the Hitler Youth on the front lines in the final days of WW2?" -- I assume it wasn't illegal within that jurisdiction, in which case, by definition it wasn't a crime. Whether or not it was MORAL depends on your morality.

I believe that it is wrong, in general, for Country A to invade Country B, solely because Country A does not like Country B's morals. The age at which one can be a soldier is a moral issue, therefore it is not, of itself, a valid excuse for invasion. Hitler was obviously in the wrong for many, many reasons, which I'm sure I need not list here, and there is no doubt in my mind as to the rightness of stopping him. But I say again, any country which attacks another country solely because they don't like that country's morals, is itself just another Hitler.

"Doesn't the line need to be drawn somewhere?" -- In your own jurisdiction, you can draw lines wherever you want. In someone else's jurisdiction, it is up to THEM to draw their own lines. They might not draw them in the same place as you might, but it's their country, not yours, and they have the right to define their own morality. Without this simple safeguard, the country with the biggest guns would impose ITS morality on everyone, by force. That crosses the line.

"Is prostituting yourself to support your family okay because you do it willingly?" -- (This is off-topic, but I'll answer anyway. If you want to take this further, we should probably start a new thread). Yes, of course it is. I see no moral difference between being a farmer, an accountant, a computer salesperson, a prostitute, or any other career choice. In all of these cases, it's just a job. If you do your job; you get paid. End of story. I don't have a problem with anyone doing anything willingly, if it harms no-one against their will. I certainly don't see sex as a bad thing, paid or otherwise.

"Is a ten-year-old with an AK-47 really going to be an effective soldier?". I haven't the faintest idea, but if you believe not, then by all means make it illegal in your jurisdiction. But don't invade another country just because they believe differently. Chameleon, the ONLY issue about which we disagree is your statement: "Foreign powers would be right to intervene". If by "intervene" you mean get together and talk and learn all about each others' cultures in a positive, learning way, then great! - but if by "intervene" you mean invade and enforce, then I'm sorry, that's the very behavior I want to see stopped. I don't buy the whole "might is right" argument. If you choose to become an invader then, however justified it may seem to be at the time, the bottom line is, you've become an invader, and that makes you the bad guy.

Countries are just like people. There is good and bad in most of them. They make friends with some countries, and get on less well with others. There are bullies, who think it's okay to tell other countries what to do, and there are the trodden-on, who try to survive as best they can. Sometimes one country may end up being the dominant alpha-male, and will try to coerce all the others into doing what it says. But - just like people - the real trick is to make friends and get along, to accept differences without being afraid of them. If the countries of Earth could only achieve that, war on Earth would be far, far less common.

Rommie

in my opinion when you consider a pacifist it is someone who is actually quite violently opposed to violence and eventually they will lash out.