Who decides if we go to war?

The bureaucrats are busy persuading the government of the day to commit to war and a miliatry campaign is undertaken to distract the nation from matters at home. But are the images of war all hope and glory? Or does the reality of war prove harder to take? Who takes responsibility for the dead and wounded? Whether it's 1599 or 2009, the questions are universal. Shakespeare's masterpiece re-examined military and political consciences as his own audience wrestled with questions of right and might and the inevitable horrors of conflict. Sound familiar?