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ZOT! The Walking Wounded
The American Conservative ^ | January 31, 2005 | Fred Reed

Posted on 02/03/2005 12:42:22 PM PST by hard_rocker1232

The observant will have noticed that we hear little from the troops in Iraq and see almost nothing of the wounded. Why, one might wonder, does not CNN put an enlisted Marine before a camera and, for 15 minutes without editing, let him say what he thinks? Is he not an adult and a citizen? Is he not engaged in important events on our behalf?

Sound political reasons exist. Soldiers are a risk PR-wise, the wounded a liability. No one can tell what they might say, and conspicuous dismemberment is bad for recruiting. An enlisted man in front of a camera is dangerous. He could wreck the governmental spin apparatus in five minutes. It is better to keep soldiers discreetly out of sight.

So we do not see much of the casualties, ours or theirs. Yet they are there, somewhere, with missing legs, blind, becoming accustomed to groping at things in their new darkness, learning to use the wheelchairs that will be theirs for 50 years. Some face worse fates than others. Quadriplegics will be warehoused in VA hospitals where nurses will turn them at intervals, like hamburgers, to prevent bedsores. Friends and relatives will soon forget them. Suicide will be a frequent thought. The less damaged will get around.

(Excerpt) Read more at amconmag.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; Miscellaneous; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: asspirate; dummy; dutroll; kittyfood; loser; narcolepsy; painfullynaive; paleoconservative; soldiers; veterans; vikingkitty; wia; wounded; zot; zotbait
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To: Neets; Darksheare; scott0347; timpad; KangarooJacqui; The Scourge of Yazid; Conspiracy Guy; ...

I know Darksheare is already here...


::::waves to DS:::::


21 posted on 02/03/2005 12:54:35 PM PST by tiamat (Some days, it's not even worth chewing through the restraints.)
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To: hard_rocker1232

Hard rockhead are you on dope?


22 posted on 02/03/2005 12:54:42 PM PST by demlosers
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To: hard_rocker1232

Actually I'm a Kirkian conservative


as in Capt James Tiberius?


23 posted on 02/03/2005 12:55:12 PM PST by proudmilitarymrs (If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.)
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To: tiamat

LOL!
Yeah, I got the flag early on.
*chuckle*

*waves to Tia*


24 posted on 02/03/2005 12:55:19 PM PST by Darksheare (Trolls beware, the icy hands of the forum wraith are behind you!)
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To: R. Scott

But I think there is a problem when there is all this talk about the troops, but the networks are not willing to broadcast what the troops themselves say.. It seems to me the case for the legitimacy of the war can be made far more easily by a real soldier than some Harvard grad who never wore boots.


25 posted on 02/03/2005 12:56:57 PM PST by hard_rocker1232
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To: hard_rocker1232
ahh.... you sound so depressed!!! Come here. Give us a kiss.....


26 posted on 02/03/2005 12:58:22 PM PST by Hi Heels (Naked Mole Rats have feelings, too. Crunchy feelings. Someone get a hammer.)
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To: hard_rocker1232

Who needs to question or be told the legitimacy of the war except those who will never be satisfied by the answer?
The 3000+ who died on 9/11 know the legitimacy of the war.


27 posted on 02/03/2005 12:58:44 PM PST by Darksheare (Trolls beware, the icy hands of the forum wraith are behind you!)
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To: demlosers

"Hard rockhead are you on dope?"

From the posting guidelines:
"Do lead by example - Nothing improves a forum more than posters who reason sharply, write well, and have some perspective about it all. Be one of them."


28 posted on 02/03/2005 12:58:50 PM PST by hard_rocker1232
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To: proudmilitarymrs
I had to look it up....

Kirkian

29 posted on 02/03/2005 12:59:38 PM PST by OSHA (Do not remove this tag under penalty of law.)
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To: hard_rocker1232

This is a bunch of hooey.


30 posted on 02/03/2005 1:01:13 PM PST by Not A Snowbird (Official RKBA Landscaper and Arborist, Pajama Duchess of Green Leafy Things)
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To: hard_rocker1232

We get inundated by trolls here. I'm just trying to draw you out and see.


31 posted on 02/03/2005 1:01:32 PM PST by demlosers
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To: OSHA

Russel Kirk was one of the foremost post-WWII conservatives. He wrote the "politics of prudence" among other things. He basically defined the conservative movement in the 40's and 50's.


32 posted on 02/03/2005 1:01:35 PM PST by hard_rocker1232
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To: hard_rocker1232

Fred Reed has issues.


33 posted on 02/03/2005 1:01:59 PM PST by cyborg
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To: OSHA

BTW, I think that's a site you're not allowed to post from.


34 posted on 02/03/2005 1:02:18 PM PST by hard_rocker1232
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To: cyborg

But he does have a point. I don't totally agree with him, but I think in most of the debates that go on the human cost, the actual sacrifice and suffering of our soldiers, is taken for granted.


35 posted on 02/03/2005 1:03:50 PM PST by hard_rocker1232
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To: hard_rocker1232

Ahhh the brand of conservatism that gave Republicans 40 years of minority status.....


36 posted on 02/03/2005 1:04:12 PM PST by OSHA (Do not remove this tag under penalty of law.)
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To: hard_rocker1232

BTW, that's linked only, not posted from.


37 posted on 02/03/2005 1:05:33 PM PST by Darksheare (Trolls beware, the icy hands of the forum wraith are behind you!)
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To: hard_rocker1232

It's a link not a post.


38 posted on 02/03/2005 1:05:51 PM PST by OSHA (Do not remove this tag under penalty of law.)
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To: OSHA

Well, I won't say that my style of conservatism has ever been particularly popular, but it is principled, and I think that matters more.


39 posted on 02/03/2005 1:06:47 PM PST by hard_rocker1232
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To: hard_rocker1232
But I think there is a problem when there is all this talk about the troops, but the networks are not willing to broadcast what the troops themselves say.. It seems to me the case for the legitimacy of the war can be made far more easily by a real soldier than some Harvard grad who never wore boots.

I ask again, do you know what a milblogger is?

Apparently not, or you wouldn't be flogging this dead horse.

Anybody who was over there or is over there now can say all they want for the world to hear. And they do say it, and they overwhelmingly support the President.

40 posted on 02/03/2005 1:06:47 PM PST by TomB ("The terrorist wraps himself in the world's grievances to cloak his true motives." - S. Rushdie)
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