Buddhism and war

A post at the forum on Buddhism and war, asked by someone I that I believe is not a Buddhist....

From Buddhist point of view, the Buddha's teachings can be summarized into 4 Noble Truths. Simply, his teaching is about (1) dukkha (stressful, unsatisfactory, etc), (2) the cause of dukkha (cravings, ignorance, etc), (3) the end of dukkha (nibbana), and (4) the path to the end of dukkha (eightfold path).

If a person considers oneself a Buddhist and practice Buddhism, or merely act as a "protector of Dhamma", the teachings of the Buddha, then one would live according to what the Buddha taught (the 4th Noble Truth, the eightfold path). Very briefly, at the minimum is to live a wholesome life, and not engage in unwholesome activities. Since one of the most unwholesome activities one can do is killing human beings, a person who acts to protect Dhamma (or to spread Dhamma) would abstain from taking other people's lives.

So if someone kills other human beings in the name of Buddhism, he/she does not act according to the very basic teachings of the Buddha. So how can he/she be called a Buddhist?

For all I know, the Burmese junta may one day say that they have been killing innocent Buddhist monks over the past few months in order to protect their version of Dhamma/Buddhism. But the act of killing itself is at the opposite end of what the Buddha taught.

Layman's 5 precepts include abstain from taking lives, not only of people's lives, but also of animals' lives. Real Buddhists wouldn't kill to protect Buddhism or Dhamma, because the act of killing itself goes against Buddhism.

To engage in war for Buddhism is not Buddhism.