Do you really believe British servicemen and women fight and die for other people's freedoms ? Are you really that naive ?
I'll let you in on a secret, though it's not really a secret....
When I was in the army back in the 80's and 90's, I and my mates didn't really give a toss about Kuwait or Saudi when Op Granby started. We had been given a job to do, and we cracked on, not really caring about the larger political implications of leaving Saddam and the Baath Party in power after kicking the crap out of the Iraqi Army.... It wasn't much of a war, but it was fun.
The UN Mission in Bosnia during their Civil War was different. Lots of blokes who did time there wanted to get stuck in and give the Serbs a pasting. Again, not because of freedom and democracy, but because we hated seeing the Serbs murdering women, kids and old men and women. Doing that breaks the most basic code of the warrior. Add in the UN weapons embargo against the entire country and the Serbs ended up with the lions share of the military hardware and the ability to do as they pleased....
From speaking to a lifelong friend of mine, who is a Staff Sgt in one of the local TA infantry battalions. Who has done operational tours in both Iraq and Afghan, it seems similar sentiments are running through the army. Most agree that Iraq was a disaster, but Afghan is worth cracking on with.... From my own experience in Bosnia, I'm pretty sure the blokes in Afghan empathize with the plight of the average Afghan civi. But all the politicians talk in the UK about building democracy, putting girls in schools, etc etc etc is pretty much meaningless.... They are there to find and kill the enemy, others can do the building....
One last point before I finish....
We all recognize that when the troops get sent into harms way, and blood becomes the issue. We'll kill for you, but if we die, it's for our mates and the people we love. Not for Queen and Country, because that comcept is too big to rationalize....
I'll not be taking any further part in this discussion, as I've said more than I intended, and prolly caused some confusion as well....