I'd guess Merle Haggard sang that song in support of war criminals during the another unprovoked war which resulted in millions of innocent civilian deaths.
If soldiers defend their country and respect international laws, they will get no criticism from me. My problem is with leaders who send soldiers off to acquire wealth for the elite effectively turning soldiers into poorly paid mercenaries.
I won't criticize a soldier who does their duty and respects international laws regarding the treatment of their adversaries and civilians. If they break international laws and commit war crimes then I will push for them to be held accountable for their actions. I expect real soldiers to also demand accountability and if given a chance to expose the lies by people who abuse their power for personal gain. I am against leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents without knowing their contents. I agree that action is criminal. But leaking a document which proves that specific people lied and manipulated the US into committing a war crime would be patriotic and just.
I also have a problem with people who can't figure out that they've been lied to and manipulated by our governments. Starting an unprovoked war is a war crime, even if the leader of the other country was a despot. Not finding any WMDs in Iraq or links to the events of 9/11, prove that the leaders who agitated for war were deliberately lying or deceived. Either way, they aren't qualified to lead. Anyone who supports the Iraq war crime has the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children on their hands.
I agree with Cliffy and gerryh. I choose the side of civilians who just want to live in peace, against the war criminals who start unprovoked wars and slaughter innocent civilians and against all the gullible who still believe the lies.