That's what it all boiled down to: A pretty blonde that would look good on television.
If Silver Star winner Pfc. Patrick Miller had been a pretty, blonde female, the media would be treating him like a god right now.
Posted on 11/16/2003 9:04:34 PM PST by kattracks
I sometimes wonder whether a nation that sends girls like Jessica Lynch into battle and punishes soldiers like Lt. Col. Allen West is quite in its right mind.
Why is Jessica Lynch's story worthy of a book, a TV movie and a waltz through celebrity central on ABC, NBC, CNN, etc.? Meaning no disrespect to her, and with all sympathy for what she endured, she was nonetheless simply a victim, not a heroine -- something she herself acknowledges.
Her fame and prominence are the result of two inventions. The first, a collaboration between some anonymous Pentagon activist and a willing reporter for The Washington Post, cast Jessica as a great Amazon warrior, who emptied her M-16 into oncoming Iraqi troops and suffered gunshots and stab wounds before she stopped firing. By the time this story was, ahem, shot down, Jessica Lynch was a household name.
That's when the second invention was substituted. Jessica Lynch was now the wholesome girl next door; the sweet, pretty innocent whom any fine American man would like to bring home to mom and dad. Every step in her recuperation was treated as front-page news, and her family home became a small shrine.
We next learned that Larry Flynt has (but does not plan to publish) pictures of Ms. Lynch cavorting topless with other American soldiers. Beneath the layers of spin and fantasy is apparently a perfectly ordinary girl with less than exemplary comportment who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And yet she is probably the most famous American soldier to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sigh.
Does anyone else find "our little gal at the front" less than appropriate for a nation in a global war against terrorists and fanatics?
Lt. Col. Allen West, meanwhile, a real soldier, is facing ruin. Allen commanded an artillery unit in the 4th Infantry Division before being relieved of his command recently. The Army has charged Allen with aggravated assault.
Here is what happened. Like other American units, Allen's was facing ambushes and attacks. On a tip, West detained a local police officer who was said to be cooperating with the enemy. When the police officer failed to provide any information after initial questioning, West took charge of the interrogation himself and employed tougher measures. He fired his pistol over the shoulder of the man to frighten him.
The tactic worked. The policeman then revealed the names of several plotters, and the Army was able to foil a planned ambush of Americans. Immediately after the interrogation, West reported his conduct to his commanding officer.
Army prosecutors have reportedly offered West a choice: resign before he becomes eligible for a pension, or be charged with assault. The charge could carry a sentence of up to eight years.
Question: Does the Army want all of its soldiers to be Jessica Lynches?
Some readers will recall that nine months ago, I wrote a column in which I shrank from the use of torture even against members of Al Qaeda. By torture, I meant the infliction of severe pain. That pistol shot was not torture. It was rough treatment. It scared the villain into revealing life-saving information. As a recent Atlantic Monthly article argues, our overall victory in the war on terror will depend, to some not insignificant extent, upon success at the "dark art of interrogation."
After all, when it comes to outright warfare, there is no power on earth that can touch us. Those who predicted that the war against Iraq would be relatively easy were exactly right. It required only three weeks to effect regime change. If Turkey had permitted us to use her territory to launch a northern thrust, it would have taken even less time.
But now we are in the more difficult part of the conflict, the battle against hit and run subterranean terrorists and Baath loyalists (a distinction without a difference). And in this battle, reliable intelligence is more valuable than a fantastic infantry and a supersonic air force. And while our soldiers are in part goodwill ambassadors -- and they do an excellent job of stilling suspicion and winning converts (probably better than all of the State Department's diplomats ever could) -- there are some less-than-comfortable tactics that remain necessary. West employed one of them. He undoubtedly saved the lives of Americans.
If he is prosecuted or threatened in any way, it will be a terrible affront to justice and common sense. Secretary Rumsfeld, are you listening?
©2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
The heavy lifters will get their due in time.
The heavy lifters will get their due in time.
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Col. West punished his own men for mistreating a prisoner under the rules of the UCMJ. When he did the same, he was reported on by his own men, BEFORE he knew he was in deep do-do and turned himself in, then wrapped himself in the flag, and garnered the sympathy of a nation which had not heard the entire story.
I wish more Freepers understood that the military is not a Democracy, and not at all subject to the same blurring of it's laws and codes. There are no exceptions to the UCMJ, nor to the Geneva Convention. One man's pension is not worth the damage done to the Military should Col. West be allowed to skate the code.
Put your sentiments away, and look at the bigger picture. When we make exceptions for law breaking in the Military, you might as well adopt every Civilian ruination of the services in total. When the Liberals try to change the Military to refect civil society we say it is wrong. Well, it is just as wrong when we do it too. Anyone who wants to disagree, please show me the sections in the UCMJ that lists exceptions where an Officer is allowed to break the code. Dont call me names or get mad, just show me where. Every serviceman swears to uphold that code. We either mean it, or we dont. Sorry Col. West, you broke the code. End of story.
That's what it all boiled down to: A pretty blonde that would look good on television.
If Silver Star winner Pfc. Patrick Miller had been a pretty, blonde female, the media would be treating him like a god right now.
Had not heard this part of the story.
I too agree. When I first heard these stories I too was highly skeptical of the reports. In the Nam when we killed x-number of enemy combatants in a fire fight it was reported back home that y-number were killed. The number had somehow grown by a tripling or quadrupling or more factor.
"dark art of interrogation."
These PC pantywaists of today would have massive coronaries as they peed all over themselves had they been along with my unit in the Nam and saw how we extracted intel from our captured war criminals (that would be P.O.W. to you PC pukes). If they failed to cooperate with our own intel guys who were governed and bound by the rules of the Geneva Convention they would be turned over to a handful of ROK intel types attached to our unit and always stationed just outside our main camp in a secluded area and who were not at all impressed with the Geneva Convention rules of conduct of P.O.W.'s. It only took me watching just one session to see more than I had bargained for. This is coming from a former combat vet who saw the extreme ravages of a guerilla war up close and very personal.
The ROK intel types almost always elicited the info we sought. Their methods were crude (and yes, quite savage when necessary) to say the least but boy howdy they were very effective and they saved lives, American G.I. lives The subjects of these off-site intel gathering sessions would have been all too happy to have only had a pistol fired near their heads.
I also suspect that like in the war I fought in this war too is becoming just a bit to political. Yes, all wars are political but when PC politics are allowed to take precedent over the objective then it is time to get out and go home. I suspect that this will only get worse before it is over.
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