Brutally Honest

Koppel - No politics involved

Ted Koppel will be reading the list of American soldiers killed in Iraq tonight.

In what will be seen as a defiant move against the Bush presidency, one of America's major TV stations is to broadcast a list of the country's servicemen and women so far killed by hostile fire in Iraq. The networks have been banned by the Pentagon from showing pictures of coffins returning home, and press facilities at airbases have been extremely restricted.

ABC's decision to broadcast the list of names, along with pictures of the dead, on its Nightline current affairs programme on Friday night comes after major news organisations published a photograph of an aircraft carrying coffins of war dead. The decision to publish followed a successful challenge by an internet site of a Pentagon ban on the pictures.

The show will be broadcast on the eve of the anniversary of President Bush's formal declaration that hostilities in the country were over after the three-week invasion of the country, which saw the toppling of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

It's also the first night of TV's May sweeps, the quarterly ratings period used to set advertising rates. And it comes on the heels of polls showing support for the war lagging in the wake of over 120 dead in April alone. But all of this is not political according to Ted:

"I have always felt, and I said it when I was in Iraq last year, that the most important thing a journalist can do is remind people of the cost of war," he said.

ABC said inspiration for the show came from a 1969 edition of Life magazine, which printed pictures of all the US personnel killed in a single week of the Vietnam war - a move now seen as a key moment in the anti-Vietnam war campaign.

Koppel has insisted, however, that the show is not seeking to make a political statement.

Well... I'm with ScrappleFace , who's satirical look at this issue speaks volumes:

(2004-04-30) -- ABC-TV journalist Ted Koppel, who caused a firestorm of controversy with his plan to read the names of U.S. troops killed in Iraq, today announced that in the interest of balance and fairness next week he will read another list on his show, Nightline.

"I would never want anyone to accuse me of bias. After all, I'm a journalist, devoted to accurately portraying world events," said Mr. Koppel. "So, next week I will read the list of Iraqis who were raped, tortured and killed by Saddam Hussein's regime after President George H.W. Bush declared victory in the Gulf War on February 28, 1991."

Mr. Koppel said next week's Nightline will be a "special extended episode starting Friday and running non-stop until the day I retire from ABC."

And BlackFive, the paratrooper of love, speaks to what would bring honor to our war dead:

The point is that someone could do one hell of a show about the sacrifices our troops make. They could show where these Americans came from, what they believed in, and why they were making a difference in the world.

I understand that they have limited time to air this, so do it over a week or create another show to produce it.

Instead, we get a freaking list? Nice job, Ted. Really. It must have taken you guys about five minutes to put this one together.

This is most certainly about politics. It's most certainly a ploy designed to bolster the anti-war sentiment. Don't kid yourselves. Doing this on Memorial day and including those killed in Afghanistan would go a long way toward convincing me otherwise. But now, under the circumstances, and with this Koppel quote ringing in my ears:

"We felt the impact would actually be greater on a day when the entire nation is not focused on war dead."

It's clear. ABC has chosen a side.

Punish the perps - with extreme prejudice

The blogosphere is filled with references to the disgusting pictures referenced in this AP story:

President Bush has condemned the apparent mistreatment of some Iraqi prisoners, saying, "Their treatment does not reflect the nature of the American people. That's not the way we do things in America. I didn't like it one bit."

He was asked about photos showing Iraqi prisoners naked except for hoods covering their heads, stacked in a human pyramid, one with a slur written in English on his skin. That and other scenes of humiliation have led to criminal charges against six American soldiers. Arab television stations were leading their newscasts on Friday with the photos.

"I share a deep disgust that those prisoners were treated the way they were treated," Bush said.

The pictures can be seen in part here but be warned, they're not child friendly. Hell, they're just plainly despicable.

Ballon Juice, Baldilocks, and Breaker at Right on the Left Beach have voiced their own disgust and are worth checking out.

These idiots have scored dramatic propaganda points for the Arab world and this will be extremely tough to overcome.

Incredibly idiotic, incredibly stupid, incredibly costly to the cause.

I'm sickened by it.

Talk about having a bad day

DEA Agent Shoots Self During Gun Safety Class:

A federal drug agent shot himself in the leg during a gun safety presentation to children and his bosses are investigating.

The Drug Enforcement Administration agent, whose name was not released, was giving a gun safety presentation to about 50 adults and students organized by the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association, witnesses and police said.

He drew his .40-caliber duty weapon and removed the magazine, according to the police report. Then he pulled back the slide and asked someone in the audience to look inside the gun and confirm it wasn't loaded, the report said.

Witnesses said the gun was pointed at the floor and when he released the slide, one shot fired into the top of his left thigh.

Aren't we glad this happened before the audience member peeked into the gun?

Sheez...

Methinks this DEA agent needs to find another line of work.

Farewell to an Army Daughter, Wife, Mother

HarryTick, serving in Iraq as a helicopter pilot and someone Brutally Honest readers would be familiar with, shares an opinion (or two) on who he believes the real war heroes are (and have been) and turns us on to this related Military.Com article that simply brings the point home.

Read each link.

Please.

FrontPage magazine : A Plea from a Marine in Iraq

FrontPage prints this Plea from a Marine in Iraq:

Hello Everyone, I am taking time to ask you all for your help.

First off, I'd like to say that this is not a political message. I'm not concerned about domestic politics right now. We have much bigger things to deal with, and we need your help.

It seems that despite the tremendous and heroic efforts of the men and women serving here in Iraq to bring much needed peace and stability to this region, we are losing the war of perception with the media and American people. Our enemy has learned that the key to defeating the mighty American military is by swaying public opinion at home and abroad. We are a people that cherish the democratic system of government and therefore hold the will of the people in the highest regard. We love to criticize ourselves almost to an endless degree, because we care what others think. Our enemies see this as a weakness and are trying to exploit it.

When we ask ourselves questions like, "Why do they hate us?" or "What did we do wrong?" we are playing into our enemies' hands. Our natural tendency to question ourselves is being used against us to undermine our effort to do good in the world. How far would we have gotten if after the surprise attacks on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, we would have asked, "Why do the Japanese hate us so much?" or "How can we change ourselves so that they won't do that again?" Here in Iraq the enemy is trying very hard to portray our efforts as failing and fruitless. They kill innocents and desecrate their bodies in hopes that the people back home will lose the will to fight for liberty. They are betting on our perceived weakness as a thoughtful, considerate people. Unfortunately our media only serves to further their cause.

In an industry that feeds on ratings and bad news, a failure in Iraq would be a goldmine. When our so-called "trusted" American media takes a quote from an Iraqi doctor as the gospel truth over that of the men and women that are daily fighting to protect the right to freedom of press, you know something is wrong. That doctor claimed that out of 600 Iraqis, that were casualties of the fighting, the vast majority of them were women, children and the elderly. This is totally absurd. In the history of man, no one has spent more time and effort, often to the detriment of our own mission, to be more discriminate in our targeting of the enemy than the American military. The Marines and Soldiers serving in Iraq have gone through extensive training in order to limit the amount of innocent casualties and collateral damage.

Yet, despite all of this, our media consistently sides with those who openly lie and directly challenge the honor of our brave heroes fighting for liberty and peace. What we have to remember is that peace is not defined as an absence of war. It is the presence of liberty, stability, and prosperity. In the face of the horrendous tyranny of the former Iraqi regime, the only way true peace was able to come to this region was through force. That is what the American Revolution was all about. Have we forgotten? Freedom is not free and "peace" without principle is not peace. The peace that so-called "peace advocates" support can only be brought to Iraq through the military. And we are doing it, if only the world will let us! If the American people believe we are failing, even if we are not, then we will ultimately fail.

That is why I am asking for your support. Become a voice of truth in your community. Wherever you are fight the lies of the enemy. Don't buy into the pessimism and apathy that says, "It's hopeless," "They hate us too much," "That part of the world is just too messed up," "It's our fault anyway," "We're to blame," and so forth. Whether you're in middle school, working at a 9-5 job, retired, or a stay-at-home mom you can make a huge difference! There is nothing more powerful than the truth. So, when you watch the news and see doomsday predictions and spiteful opinions on our efforts over here, you can refute them by knowing that we are doing a tremendous amount of good. Spread the word. No one is poised to make such an amazing contribution to the everyday lives of Iraqis and the rest of the Arab world than the American Armed Forces. By making this a place where liberty can finally grow, we are making the whole world safer. Your efforts at home are directly tied to our success. You are the soldiers at home fighting the war of perception. So I'm asking you as a fellow fighting man: Do your duty. Stop the attempts of the enemy wherever you are. You are a mighty force for good, because truth is on your side. Together we will win this fight and ensure a better world for the future.

God Bless and Semper Fidelis, 1st Lt. Robert L. Nofsinger USMC Ramadi, Iraq

Do me a favor.

Compare Robert's words here to the blooming idiot's words I posted in the previous post.

Which bright mind gives a sense of hope? Which represents what made this country great?

Thank God the answer is obvious.

To some.

Kudos to Andrew Sullivan for the heads up on the blooming idiot. I'm afraid I didn't note where I got the FrontPage story. If I find it again, I'll update you here.

The Daily Collegian - Pat Tillman is not a hero: He got what was coming to him

Excuse me a moment while I try to calm down.

I had hoped to post this early this morning when I first found out about it, but having to work to make ends meet, I became distracted earning an honest day's wage.

As I read it again tonight, I find myself desiring to choke the idiot who wrote it.

This is simply over the top (it's a Google cached version of the original as the Daily Collegian's website has apparently crashed due to high volume traffic). The original link is here, good luck geting to it. But for ease of making the point, I've decided to print the entire thing here:

Pat Tillman is not a hero: He got what was coming to him

by Rene Gonzalez

April 28, 2004

When the death of Pat Tillman occurred, I turned to my friend who was watching the news with me and said, "How much you want to bet they start talking about him as a 'hero' in about two hours?" Of course, my friend did not want to make that bet. He'd lose. In this self-critical incapable nation, nothing but a knee-jerk "He's a hero" response is to be expected.

I've been mystified at the absolute nonsense of being in "awe" of Tillman's "sacrifice" that has been the American response. Mystified, but not surprised. True, it's not everyday that you forgo a $3.6 million contract for joining the military. And, not just the regular army, but the elite Army Rangers. You know he was a real Rambo, who wanted to be in the "real" thick of things. I could tell he was that type of macho guy, from his scowling, beefy face on the CNN pictures. Well, he got his wish. Even Rambo got shot in the third movie, but in real life, you die as a result of being shot. They should call Pat Tillman's army life "Rambo 4: Rambo Attempts to Strike Back at His Former Rambo 3 Taliban Friends, and Gets Killed."

But, does that make him a hero? I guess it's a matter of perspective. For people in the United States, who seem to be unable to admit the stupidity of both the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars, such a trade-off in life standards (if not expectancy) is nothing short of heroic. Obviously, the man must be made of "stronger stuff" to have had decided to "serve" his country rather than take from it. It's the old JFK exhortation to citizen service to the nation, and it seems to strike an emotional chord. So, it's understandable why Americans automatically knee-jerk into hero worship.

However, in my neighborhood in Puerto Rico, Tillman would have been called a "pendejo," an idiot. Tillman, in the absurd belief that he was defending or serving his all-powerful country from a seventh-rate, Third World nation devastated by the previous conflicts it had endured, decided to give up a comfortable life to place himself in a combat situation that cost him his life. This was not "Ramon or Tyrone," who joined the military out of financial necessity, or to have a chance at education. This was a "G.I. Joe" guy who got what was coming to him. That was not heroism, it was prophetic idiocy.

Tillman, probably acting out his nationalist-patriotic fantasies forged in years of exposure to Clint Eastwood and Rambo movies, decided to insert himself into a conflict he didn't need to insert himself into. It wasn't like he was defending the East coast from an invasion of a foreign power. THAT would have been heroic and laudable. What he did was make himself useful to a foreign invading army, and he paid for it. It's hard to say I have any sympathy for his death because I don't feel like his "service" was necessary. He wasn't defending me, nor was he defending the Afghani people. He was acting out his macho, patriotic crap and I guess someone with a bigger gun did him in.

Perhaps it's the old, dreamy American thought process that forces them to put sports greats and "larger than life" sacrificial lambs on the pedestal of heroism, no matter what they've done. After all, the American nation has no other role to play but to be the cheerleaders of the home team; a sad role to have to play during conflicts that suffer from severe legitimacy and credibility problems.

Matters are a little clearer for those living outside the American borders. Tillman got himself killed in a country other than his own without having been forced to go over to that country to kill its people. After all, whether we like them or not, the Taliban is more Afghani than we are. Their resistance is more legitimate than our invasion, regardless of the fact that our social values are probably more enlightened than theirs. For that, he shouldn't be hailed as a hero, he should be used as a poster boy for the dangerous consequences of too much "America is #1," frat boy, propaganda bull. It might just make a regular man irrationally drop $3.6 million to go fight in a conflict that was anything but "self-defense." The same could be said of the unusual belief of 50 percent of the American nation that thinks Saddam Hussein was behind Sept. 11. One must indeed stand in awe of the amazing success of the American propaganda machine. It works wonders.

Al-Qaeda won't be defeated in Afghanistan, even if we did kill all their operatives there. Only through careful and logical changing of the underlying conditions that allow for the ideology to foster will Al-Qaeda be defeated. Ask the Israelis if 50 years of blunt force have eradicated the Palestinian resistance. For that reason, Tillman's service, along with that of thousands of American soldiers, has been wrongly utilized. He did die in vain, because in the years to come, we will realize the irrationality of the War on Terror and the American reaction to Sept. 11. The sad part is that we won't realize it before we send more people like Pat Tillman over to their deaths.

Rene Gonzalez is a UMass graduate student.

No... Rene Gonzalez is a blooming idiot. It's really that simple.

UMass' president seems to agree:

UMass president Jack Wilson issued a statement saying Rene Gonzalez' comments in The Daily Collegian "are a disgusting, arrogant and intellectually immature attack on a human being who died in service to his country."

You've got that right Jack. She joins much of the Hollywood left, the so called anti-war left (many of whom are not anti-war, they're simply on the other side), the folks at MoveOn.Org, the mouth-breathers at Democratic Underground and fellow idiots like Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, et al.

Buffoons. Ignorant buffoons.

Rene's momma ought to slap the heck out of her daughter.

UPDATE: I was all wrong about this folks. Dead wrong and I feel so terrible. I have to make amends.

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Rene is a he, not a she. Momma shouldn't do anything about Rene. Daddy ought to smack the crap out of him.

The Beacon : Marines Find Faith Amid the Fire

I found this moving.

On Monday, Echo Company battled insurgents for two hours. One Marine was killed and 15 were wounded in the latest and bloodiest of numerous skirmishes.

Then four Marines — from the battle-hardened company, part of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment of the 1st Marine Division — asked a Protestant chaplain to arrange a battlefield baptism.

"I've been talking to God a lot during the last two firefights," said Lance Cpl. Chris Hankins, 19, of Kansas City, Mo. "I decided to start my life over and make it better."

To give the occasion even greater significance, the Marines chose to have Wednesday's baptism in the courtyard of a bullet-riddled school that they used in their fight with insurgents.

Be sure to go to the link and check out the pictures.

God, make your presence known to these men.

Amen.

Hat tip to Reverend Sensing.

"Valor, Honor and Respect"

Don't miss this.

Just don't.

You'll be damned sorry.

What he said

Wanna read something that'll make you stand up and say "Hay'll Yeah!"?

Check out Mike's summary of all things current.

In other words, on every point, on every principle, on every fact regarding the Iraq front of the WoT, the plain truth is that the Left and their slightly-less-vitriolic Dem/media poodles are simply full of sh*t. They’ve been inconsistent, self-contradictory, feckless, and have completely failed to live up to their own professed ideals.

And how like the Left to flatly and forever refuse to confront their own failures and their own share of responsibility for each and every insuperable impasse they bring us to. Hell, some of these idiots are still insisting that Cuba is a paradise, that Castro is a great and honorable leader, that Yassir Arafat is the fairly-elected leader of the Palestinians, and that the biggest mistake Russia ever made was to oust its communist bloodletters for a slightly more capitalist and democratic system. I suppose it’s to be expected, given the near-total dementia the Left seems to have lapsed irretrievably into.

Can I get a head nod?

Yes, I know I can.

Read the whole thing. It's simply excellent.

Rumsfeld is Brutally Honest

The good folks at Oh That Liberal Media turned me on to this Rumsfeld press conference held yesterday. Thought this snippet to be priceless:

To get a sense of the stark contrast between the good that coalition forces are doing in Iraq and the tactics that the enemy has used consistently, if one thinks back, they used hospitals, they used mosques, they used schools as weapons locations and fortresses to fight from throughout the time of the invasion. The photo of terrorists using a mosque in Najaf as a base for attacks against our forces is an example of what we're finding. There have been additional attacks taken from mosques in Fallujah, and I believe there have been embedded reporters who have been able to -- as well as combat camera -- able to make some of that available to the American people.

There are two ways, I suppose, one could inform readers of the Geneva Convention stipulation against using places of worship to conduct military attacks. One might be to headline saying that Terrorists Attack Coalition Forces From Mosques. That would be one way to present the information.

Another might be to say: Mosques Targeted in Fallujah. That was the Los Angeles Times headline this morning.

Touche SecDef, touche indeed.