Cowardice or Conscientious?

I just read an interesting article in the NYTimes. It's about the soldiers who are deserting for various reasons during this war. As a Naval Reserve officer on inactive status this article hits home. Even though I'm on inactive status, if the President calls my number I could be going to Iraq.

Maybe I'm tending to look at life in simply black and white. These soldiers signed up to serve our country. Now that a war has ensued they want to back out for what ever reason. What about their oath? What about duty? Not to mention honor? I wonder if it's death that they really fear. The reason why I say that is because the article mention soldiers that served in Iraq who are now conscientious objectors. They know first hand the face of death, and like Marlow in The Heart of Darkness, they have witness true darkness. It's probably a very frightening thing to come so close to mortality and a sense of your finitude face to face.

I wonder would it have been appropriate to ask, "Are you afraid to die?" And what would be their response. That would have been interesting, very interesting to find out.