Anti-war

Anti-war advocacy is generally motivated by pacifism or partisanship. In the latter case, confusion can easily arise as the term anti-war would seem to connote the former. Since World War II, the anti-war movement in America has been almost exclusively partisan, saying that the United States was supporting the wrong side or was itself the aggressor.

Thus the term anti-war is often used specifically to indicate political opposition to America's war aims, notably during the Vietnam War and the invasion of Iraq. While reminiscent of pacificism, the "anti-war" movement is not opposed to war per se, but only America's involvement in it.

Often overlooked by anti-war activists is that the American military is volunteer today, and service is not compulsory.

So-called "anti-war activists" are content to let foreign governments invade other countries and slaughter or enslave innocent people, as long as the United States isn't involved.

Confusion over the term

The term anti-war on the surface would seem to be an opposition to war itself (see pacifism), or similarly, the wish that a specific war would simply end immediately (regardless of outcome). "Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground", Civil War ballad by Walter Kittridge, is a song with no reference to victory but only a wish for "the dawn of peace". [1]

Partisans frequently exploit this confusion, using terms such as peace and anti-war to imply that there's nothing worth fighting over with such violence, while downplaying or hiding their desire for one side to win.