Secrets Galore -Hackworth Defending America

WND ^ | May 20, 2003 | David H. Hackworth

[MindBender26]

In order to draw people to his site, Hack needs a headline every day. Truth ceased to matter to him long ago.

Active duty people see him as sort of a military version of the National Enquirer or Weekly World News. 5% true, 95% BS, 50% entertaining, 100% profit oriented.

[Copernicus]

I say leave her be. Aint none of our business the gory details, unless she decides to make it public knowledge.She will not, if history is any indication. No official "secret" cover-up is going on, as Hackworth suggests to the uneducated civilian public.

This really is not about Private Lynch. Nearly 10% of the combat fatalities in this "war" came from this one incident.

Initially it was the Pentagon who made a poster child of Private Lynch as a combination of Audie Murphy and Sgt. York.

Even the most casual review of the facts would suggest otherwise.

The M-16 and it's variants continue to have a reputation as a tempermental weapon under harsh conditions-extreme heat, extreme cold, extreme dust or moisture.

With some outstanding exceptions, supply and support troops rarely have outstanding combat capabilities at least partly because their duties do not allow for the necessary training.

There is a mystery here and someone (maybe not Hackworth) should pursue it.

Best regards,

[redrock]

I may not always agree with Col. Hackworth.....but I will ALWAYS listen to what he has to say.

He HAS earned the right...and I truly believe that he has the interests of the soldier's at heart.

...and I will give him the highest praise that this old, slightly beaten up, Vietnam survivor can give him.

I would return to do battle with him as my C.O.....anytime.

redrock

[ndafill]

Ditto.

[roses of sharon]

On Larry King Live, after the ambush and the POW's were shown on TV, he said that THE MILITARY IS COVERING UP OVER 200 DEAD IN THAT AMBUSH!

What a nut!

With all the thousands of "minions" and hundreds of "flacks", he speaks of, why is he the only one who knows the "truth".

Rumsfeld, who has over 40 years of successful public and private service, is going to ruin his reputation over a silly rescue?

Where in their pasts, have Rumsfeld, Clarke, Franks, Powell, Bush, Cheney, Rice, committed any crimes to suddenly make them all nefarious and wicked?

[TomHarkinIsNotFromIowa]

I have always read his stuff. Very good. But sometimes it looks like Ariana Huffington is ghostwriting it.

[sarasmom]

So, you think she can be a good poster child for the failings of the M-16?
Did you ask her to become your poster child against the issue you want her to be the poster child for?
You must have missed my main point, that PFC Lynch was a soldier in combat,doing her job.
It is not her fault, nor is it the fault of the Pentagon, that the media, and everyone with a special interest axe to grind,ignores her successfull rescue by true hero's, and fixates on the particular aspect of her military service that best spins for their own special interests.
Pardon me(intense sarcasm),if I am enraged on behalf of all the men and women who have put themselves in harms way, on behalf of me and my family,and get rewarded by trash talking jerks who claim they are "my fellow citizens".
How much more clarity do you need to understand when combat boots hit the ground in a war,trash talk stops?
Get your mouth and your mind off PFC Lynch.
She, and every single man and woman who participated in this war,are under no obligation to answer any questions posed by anyone not in their chain of command.
Leave them be.
You want to charge her for a war crime?Is she a suspected of a crime?
Good God, why do you think you have any right to even mention her name,in the furtherence of your "cause" without her explicit,expressed permission?
Leave them be.

[sarasmom]

Nah, it is good and healthy to shoot people in a war.
That is what war is all about.
Death and destruction, because talk/diplomacy has failed.
You might want to get a firm understanding about the difference between "not at war" and "at war", before you spout the pristine and non-bloody theory of whatever you think is life in the real world.
War is the last resort for any nation, but it is an option.
Never the first choice,obviously, but when chosen as the best option,always bloody and ugly and final.
Utopia is a strictly spiritual concept.

[Copernicus]

Pardon me(intense sarcasm),if I am enraged on behalf of all the men and women who have put themselves in harms way, on behalf of me and my family,and get rewarded by trash talking jerks who claim they are "my fellow citizens

Madam, I am one of the men and women who put themselves in harm's way at a time when it was not popular to do so.

I would be grateful if you would refrain from becoming enraged on my behalf.

The debate over Private Lynch and her unit is both necessary and productive.

If you wish to understand the importance of such a debate many good people on Free Republic are available to help you.

I hope you will find time to consult with them.

Best regards,

[eno_]

It is not her fault, nor is it the fault of the Pentagon, that the media, and everyone with a special interest axe to grind,ignores her successfull rescue by true hero's, and fixates on the particular aspect of her military service that best spins for their own special interests.

The Pentagon would have been better off not having clamped down on the story. It would be out, and over, by now.

Instead, the coverup becomes the story and adds to what should have been, at worst, an ordinary story about what happens when ordinary soldiers get caught in a bad situation. The Pentagon can blame themselves for that.

[xkaydet65]

Hack isn't criticizing the Abrams, he's criticizing the move to replace many of them with a revved up version of the Marine LAV-25, only with a Browning 50 instead of the 25. His point is that Kornets and RPGs knocked out some Abrams and more than a few Bradleys, these would have decimated a division armed only with Stryker variants. And as the move toward lighter and faster comes from Rummy, Hack's criticism is directed at Rummy. I don't think Hack always writes in the clearest English, but that's what I believe he's criticizing.