Posted on 01/18/2014 2:52:52 PM PST by upchuck
Movie critics have called “Lone Survivor” the best war-time movie since “Saving Private Ryan.”
The film — based on the true story of Navy SEALs on a mission in Afghanistan — caused CNN’s Jake Tapper to question the operation that took the lives of 19 men. The Navy SEALs were tasked to capture or kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah when an unexpected event forced them into a deadly situation.
During a tense interview with former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and Mark Wahlberg, who plays Luttrell in the movie, Tapper questioned if the lives of the 19 men were lost “senselessly.” Luttrell responded with an answer you’ll want to watch beginning at 1:15 in the clip.
Read the transcript below:
Jake Tapper: One of the emotions I felt while watching was, first of all, the hopelessness of the situation, how horrific it was. And I was torn about the message of the film in the same way that I think I am about the war in Afghanistan itself. I don’t want any more senseless American death.
Marcus Luttrell: I don’t know what part of the film you were watching, but hopelessness never really came into it. Where did you see that? We never felt like we were hopelessly lost or anything like that. We never gave up. We never felt like we were losing until we were actually dead.
Tapper: It seemed senseless. I don’t mean to disrespect in any way, but it seemed senseless — all of these wonderful people who were killed for an op that went wrong.
Luttrell: We spend our whole lives training to defending this country, and then we were sent over there by this country. So you’re telling me because we were over there doing what we were told by our country, that it was senseless? And my guys, what? They died for nothing?
Tapper: No.
Luttrell: That’s what you said. So, let me just say, it went bad for us over there, but that was our job. That’s what we did. We didn’t complain about it.
It is the same point as the Vets made in Korea, Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The military wins the battles and the ball-less politicians can't stand up to civilian pressure, and cave in.
I'm so sick of hearing "the American people are tired of war".
That means all the people that have never served, have no immediate family that served and only knew that the son of their lawn man is in Iraq or Iran {they get so confused}, are sick and tired of hearing about "our boys" being killed and really don't want to look at pictures of the wounded warriors.
The last warrior President was Harry S. Truman, when he nuked the Japs and saved hundreds of thousands of American lives and probably a million or more Japs.
Even Reagan caved to the Saudi mooslimbs when they killed the Marines in Beirut.
GWB started out OK but should have just given the Afgannys a 30 day warning to turn over osama bin laden or we nuke'en. Screw boots on the ground, and if civilians get toasted, check the Twin Towers for justification.
Exactly. It should be total war or absolutely nothing. Annihilate them or don’t spill an ounce of American blood on the savages.
Yep, I was watching the movie and there is a scene where those guys spot the taliban leader walking around in a village. At that point they should have just called in an air strike and inspected the burnt out ruins afterwards.
Wage war - not a half-assed “police action”.
I saw the film today, too, and thought the same thing. How can they accomplish what they are so well trained to do when they have to worry about some dangerously impractical rule that the enemy doesn't have to follow.
You are completely right! You have more sense than those who gave the Seals their mission.
I saw it today as well. Wondered why we have thin numbers of Apache’s when large numbers of less expensive Cobra’s would be nice. Also, something doesn’t add up. How can you be trained all the way to the level of being a SEAL and then have my wife turn to me and ask “why didn’t they tie them to a tree for a bit of a head start?”. She’s a great gal, don’t get me wrong but Hannibul she ain’t.
WTF? Do you live in a dictatorship? (well, close now)
It is the job of the free to tell our leaders how to govern & fight. ROE has killed THOUSANDS and you say "shut up, march on and DIE"?
No. I WILL NOT shut up, for my brothers, for my boy's brothers, for all that died after the insane decision to repeat the Russian mistake. They no longer listen to 'us'.
So much for 'taking it up with Congress', as there are so many A$$HATS in this country they keep getting reelected. Now we have King A$$HAT & his minions, all being strung along by others with more power.
My mantra since 2004 has been 'vote non-incumbent'; I repeat that.
AND I WILL NOT SHUT UP!
Apologize, or STFU yourself.
Posting and drinking is not advisable.
If you read my comment you will see that the meaning is clear.
The Jake Tappers need to quit criticizing the military members for their involvement in missions Tapper doesn’t agree with. He needs to take it up with congress.
I simply couldn’t believe their debate after the goat herders stumbled upon them: “We have 3 options: 1) let them go and run for it; 2) tie them up and have the wolves eat them or let them freeze to death; or 3) kill them and wind up on CNN and get 20 year sentences to Leavenworth like the poor schlub who took a war trophy pistol.” In every action and spy movie made in the last 30 years, the goat herders would have been dispatched on the spot with slit throats. What sort of nation allows such ridiculous “debate” in a blown field operation?
It’s not just ‘rats’. I was never signed on to the idea of Eisenhower’s warning (the ‘Military Industrial Complex’) until I got older. GW proved it without a doubt imho.
Afghanistan should have remained a SOF action. The MIC smelled $$, lobbied the Pentagon brass/Congress and they went all-in, without regard for after-action (what it means to ‘win’). It really is the only explanation for what was a successful campaign up to then.
Then came ERROE. (escalating-restrictive ROE)
Lone Survivor was an incredibly emotional experience for me and I wasn’t in the sandbox. I got very, very angry that they didn’t call in an airstrike, let the goat herders go and didn’t have a better SHTF/Extraction plan, because I KNEW that it was due to the political landscape, not ‘military doctrine’.
The really horrible irony is what’s happened to opium production via Afghanistan since ‘01. Sickening. Let alone what’s happened to the price of heroin & cocaine in the last decade. Are we really out to win ‘anything’?
Maybe I should just ‘shut up’.
See my other comment in this thread...
No, you were not clear.
You wrote ‘people’, not a$$hat journalists. I will squawk and I recommend others do as well. No one publishes a list of military deaths under Bama and run stories on it every week (correct me if I’m wrong, but you get my point).
But I’ll accept your self-admonition (posting & drinking), and I agree with your latter. ;-)
But he/they won’t & don’t have the cojones...
Oh, ok, you’re under the impression that the American people do not resent and blame the military for the engagements they are involved in.
Well, we’re done here, then.
You might tell the people you’re trying to wrangle into your argument, your explanation of why the American people allowed congress and the senate, last week, to breach our contract with career military and their families, taking money away from them, ignoring a contract, the American people allowing this without a peep. So much less than they would screech when congress so much as threatens to take money from anyone else, any other group, except the Tea Party.
No, the comment was directed at you for the only explanation for your disgusting offensive tone, and for your incoherence in reading my post.
Get away from me.
“whatever this clip says about their having died in vain, people need to shut up or take it up with congress, who makes these decisions, and thank the military who follow the orders of the American people via congress.
Period.”
This is my entire comment.
What is it about “people need to shut up...and thank the military...” that is anti military?
Incoherent? It is not I.
I will thank a soldier; I will NOT thank the military.
Again, be clear. I retract my acceptance; you're writing like you're still on the sauce.
Before you go off half-cocked again, completely dismissing you not writing clearly (twice), we're on the same side here.
You have been offensive and abusive in your posts.
And illogical and argumentive.
WE don’t use acronyms that suggest profanity here. But if this is the new trend, and it is allowed, though profanity is prohibited, it’s not my website.
I’ll just stay off of it.
But we are certainly finished here.
There is no 'taking it up with Congress'.
I have zero faith that anything will change at this point. The entire establishment is working to destroy all those that oppose the status quo. Thus, what candidates actually decide to show up this fall to challenge will be far to little to make a difference.
It's less about the 50% of the country that will continue to vote the way they do (the left/biased); it's about the % of the other half that are idolatrous, self-serving hypocrites, refusing to compromise their selfish interests for the needed changes and/or won't show up to vote.
Anyone that makes a living in part or whole on government contracts fall into that piggery, among others, imho. That goes double for those that still believe a house is a profit-instrument and think fake equity is 'free money'.
With the aged now falling into the 'biased' category, well...we're screwed to the end.
His disagreement with Luttrell is political. His thesis that Marcus’ team members died in vain is based solely on his view of the validity of the war in Afghanistan from a political viewpoint. But Luttrell does not agree with him. He thinks the war in Afghanistan was righteous though the tactics and ROE are wanting and the liberals in the MSM cause unnecessary American kia and wia by pressuring weak Generals to prosecute warriors for conducting war.
The Seal team mission was to kill or capture a jihadi causing or likely to cause marine deaths in that AO. Luttrell and his teammates believed that was a righteous mission. Luttrell was the sole survivior. DO you think his team members think that they died in vain to assure Luttrell’s survival? I don’t.
You guys did exceptional work in the Mideast and I regret that I was too damn old to get back in uniform and help out but life goes on. What you did was necessary and proper and the value of your service is not diminished by the weaklings leading you with insane ROE and preoccupation with stupidity like Abu Graib.
The Middle East jihadist boil needed lancing before it exploded and you and your brothers in arms did just that. God bless you and thank you all.
I am done with your offensiveness and this illogical argument
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