Should have acted on that impulse. If Sites had any love for his country he wouldn't have aired that tape and let Al Jazeera and other arab press outlets air it over and over again to discredit our troops. This tape is making it harder and more dangerous for our guys over there.
I hate these creeps who put their 'journalism' above their love of country. Sites and NBC has aided and abetted our enemies. He and his ilk make me sick.
Mr. Sites, you are a freaking woman.
snip
"These were the same wounded from yesterday," I say to the lieutenant.
Words mean things. In the former, he is stating that there were REPORTS of the events in the Mosque the day before. And in the latter he makes it sound like he was there the day before and KNOWS they are the same guys. HOW DOES HE KNOW THIS? He makes no mention as to being with the soldiers the day before. Nor does he make any mention that he knows for a FACT that they were the same insurgents.
This just smells to me of being self serving. Thoughts?
ping
Blah Blah Blah I hope you catch one in the back.
What a crock!
...When NBC aired the story 48-hours later, we did so in a way that attempted to highlight every possible...
Of all the combat, the killing and the wounding, the fears,tears and blood captured on video, good ol' NBC HIGHLIGHTS this video. They knew full well that it would feed all the leftist belief that ALL SOLDIERS ARE BABY KILLERS.
The main stream media is the fith column. They could make us lose ANOTHER WAR.
Apparently, you are too wrapped up in being a "reporter" and not in being an American.
There's a saying, "Sometimes things are best left unsaid."
Well, sometimes that's true with pictures too.
I respect that you felt some sort of moral obligation as a reporter. Well, what aobut your moral obligation as an American?
What side are your on? And don't give me so crap about being on the side of the "truth", because as you point out with your own words, the pictures don't capture the truth.
Excuse me while I don't forgive you for deciding that the tape simply wasn't worth it.
And, as far as "deep pits" in your stomach and guilty feelings that you would carry around...well, welcome to the real world. Excuse me while I don't forgive you for making that Marine and ever American your moral tampon.
Why don't you grow a set of nuts, tighten your belt, and carry around a little guilt for the rest of your life, punk. Sincerely,
One American who doesn't give a crap if a terrorist gets capped off before or after they are wounded.
Know your enemy: this man is one of them. He may look, act, speak, and claim to be an American, but he isn't one. You have no affirmative obligation to risk your lives for him. Considering what he and his breed are doing to undermine your mission at home and throughout the world, you must never do so. If he comes under fire, let him shoot his way out with his camera. Let him call in close support on his sat phone. Just sit back, and watch how many of his brave compadres in the fourth estate will come to his rescue. You'll be able to comfort yourself with the knowledge, that--once again, though in a somewhat unorthodox way--you're protecting the country you love.
I don't ever want to see this man on the street of the USA.
He would have painted the euthanization of an enemy insurgent in a positive manner to bring glory upon the Corps.
Alas, he was stupid
Post #66 is great!
And why does it take a professional writer that many words of prose to defend his position? Because it's a flawed position, is why.
There is a God. Justice will be done. It won't be on this Earth, probably.
/john
So he is probably on heightened alert.
"I'm also well aware ..., when dead and wounded insurgents have been booby-trapped, even supposedly including an incident that happened just a block away from the mosque in which one Marine was killed and five others wounded."
Yes, he is definitely on alert, that's a fact!
"No one, especially someone like me who has lived in a war zone with you, would deny that a solider or Marine could legitimately err on the side of caution under those circumstances. War is about killing your enemy before he kills you."
Wise words of advice, actually another fact about war.
"...it bothered me that the Marine didn't seem to consider the other insurgents a threat -- the one very obviously moving under the blanket..."
So, seems to me something really didn't seem right with this guy, right? If this marine is just a uncaring killing machine, why didn't he waste everyone in the whole room? Why would he pick on this one guy at random? Kevin, you said it yourself, he didn't consider the others a threat, but he certainly did on this one (another fact).
"I can't know what was in the mind of that Marine. He is the only one who does."
Yes indeed. And it seems to me you gave yourself plenty of facts to explain the situation, but that didn't seem like enough for you, did it?
So why do you feel the need to show this video to others, knowing how controversial it would be?
Because you knew the attention you would get from it, you were only thinking about Kevin.
It seems that emotion has totally overtaken the events here.
Sorry, Mr. Sites. This is not a time to play it straight down the middle. Don't tell us you didn't know how the enemy was going to play this once you filed your report.
No middle of the roaders in this war. You're with us or against us. Our military has the discipline and the sense to do what's right if a wrong was committed. Don't need your help to make a bad situation worse. You caused public opnion to come against us in the ME, providing more fuel to the terrorists and resistance to the upcoming election.
Your deeds were not noble and your employer's were less. You lack common sense and your timing couldn't have been more terrible. American journalists can't be neutral in this area of combat nor in this type of war. Ask the last neutral journalist that was beheaded.
No friendly ear here. Go home. Better yet, trade your camera for a rifle. You're camera lens will not separate you from the war. You are part of it -- for the better or for the worse.
Lie #2.