I'm not allowed to drink

When I'm 18 years old

But I can still kill a man

Across the sea I'm told

I can lose a leg in Karbala

Or an arm in Baghdad too

But an amputee in a bar

Can't drink till he's 19 plus 2

I can barely vote for president

But I can sign up to murder or maim

Except for the rules of war

The killing's all the same

So if I can't drink I'm no adult

I say as a proper informant

I can't drink in my nation's bars

But I'm old enough die for it