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Author Topic: Must read. About Iraq.  (Read 1861 times)

wmenorr67

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Must read. About Iraq.
« on: March 01, 2007, 06:18:07 AM »
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1543658-1,00.html

Puts it in words so much better than I can.
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Perd Hapley

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2007, 06:38:31 AM »
The mix of despair and joy in that letter is revealing.  A summary would be, "the situation is SNAFU, but our guys are doing incredible work and keep coming back for more."


Quote
Biggest Outrage  Practically anything said by talking heads on TV about the war in Iraq, not that I get to watch much TV. Their thoughts are consistently both grossly simplistic and politically slanted. Biggest Offender: Bill O'Reilly.

Best Intel Work  Finding Jill Carroll's kidnappers  all of them. I was mighty proud of my guys that day. I figured we'd all get the Christian Science Monitor for free after this, but none have showed up yet. [CLARIFICATION FROM THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: "Regarding the writer's comments about his unit's "Best Intel Work", the Monitor is very grateful for all of the efforts the US government made to secure Jill Carroll's freedom after she was held against her will for 82 days. Monitor Editor Richard Bergenheim expressed his gratitude in a press conference he conducted on the day that the capture of Jill's kidnappers was announced, and Jill directly thanked the men who participated in the operation. Also, the Monitor has offered to send the marine who wrote this letter and his unit 25 gift subscriptions to its weekly international edition."]



I post this because it seemed very typical that the Monitor would get to reply in the very text of the letter (it really should have been a footnote) while O'Reilly gets to make no defense of himself at all.  Now, it could be that O'Reilly hasn't responded to Time's request for comment, but I doubt he was contacted at all. 

I don't listen to O'Reilly that much, but what I have heard him say about the Iraq situation is mostly negative.  "It's just a total mess over there," etc.  Is that what outrages this guy? 
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Manedwolf

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #2 on: March 01, 2007, 06:47:25 AM »
Quote from: fistful on March 01, 2007, 05:38:31 AM
The mix of despair and joy in that letter is revealing.  A summary would be, "the situation is SNAFU, but our guys are doing incredible work and keep coming back for more."


Quote
Biggest Outrage  Practically anything said by talking heads on TV about the war in Iraq, not that I get to watch much TV. Their thoughts are consistently both grossly simplistic and politically slanted. Biggest Offender: Bill O'Reilly.

Best Intel Work  Finding Jill Carroll's kidnappers  all of them. I was mighty proud of my guys that day. I figured we'd all get the Christian Science Monitor for free after this, but none have showed up yet. [CLARIFICATION FROM THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: "Regarding the writer's comments about his unit's "Best Intel Work", the Monitor is very grateful for all of the efforts the US government made to secure Jill Carroll's freedom after she was held against her will for 82 days. Monitor Editor Richard Bergenheim expressed his gratitude in a press conference he conducted on the day that the capture of Jill's kidnappers was announced, and Jill directly thanked the men who participated in the operation. Also, the Monitor has offered to send the marine who wrote this letter and his unit 25 gift subscriptions to its weekly international edition."]



I post this because it seemed very typical that the Monitor would get to reply in the very text of the letter (it really should have been a footnote) while O'Reilly gets to make no defense of himself at all.  Now, it could be that O'Reilly hasn't responded to Time's request for comment, but I doubt he was contacted at all. 

I don't listen to O'Reilly that much, but what I have heard him say about the Iraq situation is mostly negative.  "It's just a total mess over there," etc.  Is that what outrages this guy? 


Does he need the chance to defend himself in Time? O'Reilly can bloviate all he wants on TV every day. The soldier only gets one letter published.
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Perd Hapley

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #3 on: March 01, 2007, 06:58:25 AM »
Much the same could be said for the Moniter.  I'd rather neither party get inserted into the letter.  My point was that the treatment of the two media sources seemed to be unequal.
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wmenorr67

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2007, 07:13:23 AM »
Regardless of what O'Reilly, CSM or anyother news agency may say or do I do give kudos to Time, owned by CNN, for publishing this letter.  How often does any news agency give us the guys doing the work a chance to tell it how it is.  And while the mission I am on is not nearly as "dangerous" as the one the letter writer had, I do know from first hand knowledge plus official reports that this is kind of stuff goes on all across the country.  And like the letter writer so much of the BS is at least sensitive enough I cannot discuss it on an open forum such as this.  And there are some things that I feel need to be shared.
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280plus

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2007, 09:52:48 AM »
There's a couplea really good looking lady cops here in town, Apparently I have to kiss them now.  grin

Thanks wm, good read.

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wmenorr67

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #6 on: March 02, 2007, 05:10:13 AM »
Hey 280 just becareful of the circumstances surrounding the kissing. police
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There are five things, above all else, that make life worth living: a good relationship with God, a good woman, good health, good friends, and a good cigar.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.  One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Bacon is the candy bar of meats!

Only the dead have seen the end of war!

Rooster

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #7 on: March 02, 2007, 06:24:39 AM »
Isn't Time Media the same group who just stirred it up over the Zumbo thing through their Field and Stream and Outdoor Life magazines?

Isn't Time Media also CNN, or was, until very recently?  I think they had to dump CNN  because they had forced so much liberal influence into their reporting that their ratings feel off the face of the earth and they were losing money.

Isn't Time Media the same people who were recently hammered for using some story concocted by some AP writer with unnamed sources who, eventually, turned out to be lying ... made it all up ... the source nor the basis of the fact of the source ever existed.

Isn't it telling that the unnamed Marine in this letter calls Bill Orielly the biggest offender ... when in fact, when I was over there last year and in 2005, most everyone watched the Fox News channel and Bill O'Reilly nightly and habitually.  We hated CNN and we hated the network news scum.

I have serious serious doubts about the authenticity of this letter quite frankly.
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The term "Parabellum" is ancient Roman Latin in origin and from the motto:
"Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum" Translated: 'If You Want Peace, Prepare For War.'

280plus

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #8 on: March 02, 2007, 07:20:26 AM »
I think the dept just bought 50 TASERs so I may have to opt out of the kissing idea. Too bad...  sad

 cheesy
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wmenorr67

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #9 on: March 02, 2007, 07:37:26 AM »
Go ahead it might be an enlightening experience.
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There are five things, above all else, that make life worth living: a good relationship with God, a good woman, good health, good friends, and a good cigar.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.  One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Bacon is the candy bar of meats!

Only the dead have seen the end of war!

280plus

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #10 on: March 02, 2007, 07:56:38 AM »
 It'd certainly be a NEW one! cheesy

I did have one draw her revolver on me a long time ago. She kept it pointed at the ground though. It was dark, we were alone. I put my hands up and said, "You win!"  grin
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wmenorr67

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #11 on: March 02, 2007, 08:01:03 AM »
You sure it wasn't a case of I showed you mine now you show me yours? grin
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There are five things, above all else, that make life worth living: a good relationship with God, a good woman, good health, good friends, and a good cigar.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.  One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Bacon is the candy bar of meats!

Only the dead have seen the end of war!

280plus

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #12 on: March 02, 2007, 08:04:44 AM »
If only,,, There's something about a girl in uniform, the feminine ones anyways. shocked

 cheesy
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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #13 on: March 02, 2007, 08:06:44 AM »
I gotta split, I'm going to be off for about a week unless I stumble across a way to get on the net. Take care!
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wmenorr67

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #14 on: March 02, 2007, 08:13:51 AM »
Just becareful traveling and see ya when ya get back.
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There are five things, above all else, that make life worth living: a good relationship with God, a good woman, good health, good friends, and a good cigar.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.  One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Bacon is the candy bar of meats!

Only the dead have seen the end of war!

wingnutx

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Re: Must read. About Iraq.
« Reply #15 on: March 02, 2007, 08:57:57 AM »
iirc, the author of this sent a copy to Blackfive.net and a few follow-ups.

This was about 4 months ago.
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