Standing up for values?

In February New Zealand committed troops to a training role in Iraq. In announcing that decision Prime Minister John Key intimated that New Zealand stands up for its values and what is right. Values are the guiding aims we think will make for a good society, a life worth living, and can often be connected to what we regard as moral or ethical conduct. It is unlikely, however, that the claim that we are standing up for our values provides a fulsome explanation of why New Zealand decided to send forces overseas. Most such decisions have multiple factors behind them.