Can you accept that many (most?) of the soldiers who have served in those wars may disagree with your assessment of their status (just/unjust), and accept that IN THEIR VIEW they served their country honorably?
Yes I accept that, I just do not always agree with them.
While I don't want to stir the pot overmuch here, what I'm kind of asking is whether you feel compelled to disrespect the individual soldiers who fought in those wars because you feel those wars were unjust, or do you respect them for their service in wars they may have believed were justified even if you disagree?
What I'm talking about here is respect for the individual GI you encounter in everyday life, even if he is an Iraq or Vietnam vet.
If the solider feels he is doing the right thing for man and country I do not disrespect them in their choice even if I disagree. I just feel that perhaps they may be misguided or know something I do not. If however they feel that the cause is unjust or is uncertain but chose to follow orders anyway because they are just doing their job or they are afraid of personal consequences for not doing so then I have no respect for them. If you are willing to take a life I feel you better have a damn good justifiable reason other then following orders or doing your job, to me that is just a cop out. It all comes down to the person who does the killing and not those who ordered it.
My father was drafted for Vietnam but dodged it by getting married and impregnating his wife knowing that their was a good chance they would reconsider under those circumstances which they did. Now I am sure many people would consider that a cowardly act but you have to understand his reason. He felt that the US was under no threat from the Vietnamese and that it was largely a political battle which I personally agree with. He was not about to risk his life for the whims of bureaucrats. Now if the Vietnamese had invaded the US and posed a real threat to us I believe he would have served wholeheartedly. I share the same views and would refuse to participate in any conflict that I felt was for anything other then national defense and I am talking about a real legitimate threat such as those we faced in WWII and not preemptive strikes on a long shot of a half ass threat.