How do you feel about the mission in Saving Private Ryan?

In Saving Private Ryan, the title character's three brothers are killed on the beaches of Normandy. Out of empathy for his grieving mother, a general orders eight men to go looking for private Ryan to bring him home.

Do you think the general ordering this mission was a good call? I remember being irritated when I watched the movie for the first time, because the scene with the general has pensive music playing, and seems to be trying to sell the viewer on the idea that this mission is morally righteous. But later, we see that the characters on the mission seem to be aware that the math doesn't quite add up. The general's intention was to save a life and prevent a mother from suffering more pain, but in doing so, he has put eight more lives in danger, and put their mothers at risk of grief. As we see in the movie, most of these men end up dying as a result.

And what about the effect this has on Ryan himself? When we finally meet him, he seems ok with the idea of laying down his life, and doesn't even want to go back. As we see, Ryan survives, but he has now had a horrible burden thrust on him for the rest of his life - he carries the weight of the seven men who died to save him - something he never asked for - and is told to "earn this." How can a man ever make up for something like that? As we see at the end of the movie he is overcome with grief, and I wonder if he ever felt like his life was worth anything as a result.

And the mother too - if Ryans mother had been told that a mission could be sent to bring back her son, she would likely want that. But what if she could see the events of the mission playing out in front of her, as the team is brutally killed one by one on the way to save her son? Would she even want the mission to happen then, even if it meant keeping her only surviving son in harm's way?

I personally think the general made a bad decision, based on emotion and lofty ideals, rather than the reality of war and the situations of those who fought in it, and as usual, the soldiers paid the price for his mistake. But that's what I love about this movie - it shows the horrific conundrums of war without providing clear answers, and leaves it up to the viewer to decide what's right. What do you think?