>>These are not people who are hungry for war.

True for anyone who's seen it. Long story, feel free to skip.

A few decades ago, I wandered into a party for the people graduating a Harvard diplomacy seminar (long story short, they were on the top deck of a party boat. I'd been on a different deck of the same boat for a party thrown by my wife's company - which had gotten too loud for me.) I introduced myself. They wanted to know which island was which. As I'd sailed Boston harbor as a kid, I knew them well (their hosts hadn't a clue - most Bostonians don't know their islands from the water). I eventually gathered that these were top people (presidents, army heads) from multiple African countries. One person, whom I'd gathered was president of Ghana, said to another "All you people want is war". I was pretty sure that person was armed forces head in another country. Having been accepted by the group - and having had a drink or two at that party I'd escaped - I blurted "the very last thing any soldier wants is war". Soldier says back to president: "THIS is what I have been trying to tell you all week!".

Long ago, I'd had a couple, but I can remember it to the point of being able to hear their voices. Clearly, it made an impression. Not so much that soldiers indeed don't want war, but that government leaders don't understand that.