Every movie rewrites history. What American Sniper did is much, much worse.

Vox ^ | 1/22 | Amanda Taub

[TangledUpInBlue]

merican Sniper has a problem. It's a movie about a black-and-white distinction between good and evil, but it is set almost entirely in the Iraq War, which can only be honestly portrayed in shades of gray.

Faced with a choice between altering its narrative to account for that gray versus altering the facts of history, the film chose the latter. It adopted an "honesty shmonesty" approach to the war: in its retelling, Iraq was a fight of Good Americans against Bad Terrorists, led by Chris Kyle, the Good-est American of them all.

[chesley]

Not everything is a shade of gray.

I’ve noticed one difference between liberals and conservatives, that does not call upon morals or intellect for validity.

The world may well be more complex than conservatives imagine’ but it is far less complex than liberals make it.

Conservatives look a problem, and much like an engineer, attempt to breaak it down into smaller, more manageable problems, then reassemble it.

Liberals look a a problem and resist this path, preferring to solve all the components at once, while ignoring those little glitches that spring up along the way.

Which approach is more likely to solve the problem?

[Nervous Tick]

Lookie here!

Amanda Taub, "Senior Sadness Correspondent", likes to do Shetland ponies!

I swear I'm not making this up! ROFL

[OldSmaj]

She should stay with the ponies thing and forget the rest.

Maybe take up Unicorn hunting...

Stupid ass touchy-feely liberal hack, writing of things of which she has absolutely no knowledge or experience with.

[17th Miss Regt]

And then there is this gem:

As Zack Beauchamp points out, this depiction of the war is breathtakingly dishonest. The Iraq War was not a response to 9/11: this was a war America chose, officially based on reports of weapons of mass destruction that were implausible at the time, and that have since been proven false.

With 16 intel agencies all concluding that WMDs were in Iraq, the finding of Sarin-filled artillery rounds during the campaign, the scandal about how American troops affected by chemical weapons were ignored by the VA and the recent finds of more weapons in Iraq, it seems reasonable to conclude it was all some crap that George Bush made up.

[DiogenesLamp]

I believe that this organization calling itself “Vox” is synonymous with liar. It is best to just denounce anything that comes from that direction and move on.

[bray]

She’s just mad it didn’t elevate her Al Queda heroes and the drilling scene made her mad.

Pray America is waking

[17th Miss Regt]

So a movie can be either “black and white” or “shades of gray.”

This in itself is black and white thinking.

Liberals never get this.

Also, she states, "The truth is...", a rather black and white statement. The irony will completely escape her.

[Maceman]

As Zack Beauchamp points out, this depiction of the war is breathtakingly dishonest. The Iraq War was not a response to 9/11: this was a war America chose, officially based on reports of weapons of mass destruction that were implausible at the time, and that have since been proven false.

No WMD in Iraq? Hmmm . . . that's not what President Bill Clinton said when he bombed Iraq:

•On December 16, 1998, on the eve of the scheduled House vote on his impeachment, Bill Clinton launched a surprise bombing attack on Baghdad. As justification for this exploit, he cited the urgent threat that Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction posed to America, and the need for immediate action. Almost immediately, the House Democrats held a caucus and emerged calling for a delay in the impeachment proceedings. House minority leader Dick Gephardt made a statement: "We obviously should pass a resolution by saying that we stand behind the troops. I would hope that we do not take up impeachment until the hostilities have completely ended."

Conveniently, a delay so near the end of the House term would have caused the vote to be taken up in the next session – when the newly elected House membership would be seated with more Democratic representation, thereby improving Clinton’s chances of dodging impeachment.

The Republicans did, in fact, agree to delay the hearings, but only for a day or two. Amazingly, Clinton ended the bombing raid after only 70 hours -- once it became clear that in spite of the brief delay, the vote would still be held in the current session.

Once the bombing stopped, Clinton touted the effectiveness and importance of the mission. As reported by ABC News : “We have inflicted significant damage on Saddam's weapons of mass destruction programs, on the command structures that direct and protect that capability, and on his military and security infrastructure,” he said. Defense secretary William Cohen echoed the point: “We estimate that Saddam's missile program has been set back by at least a year.”

[wbill]

I've not seen American Sniper yet. It's on my to-do list.

I *did*, however, see "Black Hawk Down" in the theater. Twice. Both times, the movie ended and I left the theater very angry because we still have some unfinished business to take care of, IMO.

[bjc]

I saw American Sniper on Tuesday. Ms Taub’s view of the movie, is simply her view. Mine is very different. I saw little jingoism - in fact the opposite. I saw a realistic treatment of civilians in a combat situation. I saw the impact of stress on a very tough and resourceful group of combatants. I saw the devastating human toll of war. I felt the disgust and torment of needing to shoot children. I saw subtlety and nuance in the bravery, turmoil and honesty of an iconic figure. The more I think about it and respond to comments like Ms Taub’s, the more I think Eastwood did a marvelous job. By comparison, Ms Taub’s view is simplistic beyond belief. I sincerely hope we have enough sheep dogs.

[Iron Munro]

From Her Web Page:

Amanda Taub
Senior Sadness Correspondent
Former human rights lawyer, now covering foreign policy, human rights, and shetland ponies.

She's going to look pretty good in her full burka.

[windcliff]

To avoid fainting...keep repeating...it’s only a movie...it’s only a movie...it’s only a movie.

[A_Former_Democrat]

Same ol Same ol Cookie cutter type “journ-o-list” “elite” Eastern “education” bouncing from do-gooder job to another. Unattractive.

Not an original thought, a follower not a leader

And then there’s this:

School of Oriental and African Studies, U. of London
M.Sc., Violence, Conflict & Development Studies
2003 – 2004

LOL

[PapaNew]

I haven’t seen the movie, but I generally like Eastwood’s take on certain things. It looks from the previews like a movie about heroic acts. But the Iraq War is a tough setting for unequivocal “right and wrong”.

The Iraq War was flawed from the beginning and ended with the flawed and soon-forgotten explanation called “The Bush Doctrine” that tries, but fails, to justify an unprovoked invasion of another country “to make them be democratic too.” Invading other countries to make them be like us is not America’s purpose in this world, and most people know that.

IMO, the Iraq War was Bush taking his eye off the ball of getting Usama bin Laden and his crew on the Afghanistan border.

[sauropod]

The reviewer's hubris problem

This is becoming tiresome. The reviewer regurgitates the falsehood that there were no WMD in Iraq.

This in spite of the 500+ tons of yellowcake that were found and transported circa 2007 or 2008 (as discussed in a NYT article).

This in spite of the artillery rounds that were found with a chemical warfare compound (think it was sarin, but I'm not remembering specifically). The leftists bleated that they were "old rounds" while forgetting they were still useable.

This broad obviously hasn't read Kyle's book. I have. The story was told from Kyle's POV. Her inability to see that makes her review questionable as well as getting the facts wrong and regurgitation of leftist hagiography.

And the cherry on the top of the sundae is this little bio from the Vox site:

Amanda Taub

Senior Sadness Correspondent

Former human rights lawyer, now covering foreign policy, human rights, and shetland ponies.

Sunshine, lollipops, rainbows, and unicorns. As well as flying pigs.

I can't take her seriously.

[ansel12]

Does anyone have a rough guess of the cost of Kyle’s scopes?

What do they retail for roughly?

[sauropod]

I really need to read the whole thread before i post.

[Darksheare]

Bah, you said it better.

[MrEdd]

If Vox were a serious news site rather than a propaganda platform, they would have a comments mechanism.

[nikos1121]

I saw the movie too. I’m thinking... no I’m betting real money here, that she did not see the movie and wrote the review accordingly. No way...she can be that stupid.

The movie is astonishingly pro-war and at the same time anti-war. But there’s more to it than that. It’s a piece of art, it’s definitely MOST definitely historical. How does she think our military captured these strongholds the way they did?