[« Revoking the 'Bridge to No-Where'...???] [Dopple-Gang Universes over IRAQ... »]
11/19/2005: Murdering Officers (and Congress-persons)
Christopher Dickey (Newsweek) has an excellent column - The Terrorist Temptation. Dickey is on point (as usual) about the phrasing of the Bush argument for Iraq as fighting terrorism with terminology like:"... Bush started four paragraphs with the phrase “like the ideology of communism.” He longs transparently for the challenge of an Evil Empire, like the one his idol Ronald Reagan confronted, whether or not it exists.
...
They subscribe to some higher truth than ascertainable facts, divining the intentions of their evil adversaries and turning them into the stuff of paranoid fantasy...."
This brings to mind my long ago post about the PBS show "Sharpe's Rifles" (an adaptation of the novels by Bernard Cornwell starring Sean Bean.)
There is a part where Sergeant Harper tells Lieutenant Sharpe he'll make a good "Killing officer." When Sharpe doesn't understand, Harper explains (in his Irish brogue) :"Oh…now that’s too bad, Sir…I thought you’d ‘ave known, coming up yerself from the ranks as ye did…there are only two kinds of officers; Killing Officers and Muuurdering Officers.
Killing Officers are poor old buggers that git you killed by accident.
Muuurdering Officers are mad, bad old buggers that git you killed on purpose, for a reason…for a country or a religion….maybe even for a flag. They're mean, murdering old buggers."
Bush is the perfect "Murdering Officer" himself as our Commander in Chief, and is succeeding in promoting more "Murdering Officers" for his Cabinet and finding them among the Non-War Veterans among the Congress.
Easy for those men who have spent their entire lives day-dreaming in the ethereal world of some "Real Politik" notions of re-ordering the Middle-east along some fantabulous Chess-Game Moves to achieve a Fantasy of Democracy/Liberation Dominoes. They can blithely order other men and women to face challenges and horrors they NEVER faced to play out these delusional grandeur aspirations and pay with their life's-blood. Leaving those real soldiers and heroes and their families to face hurts and losses they avoided all their long lives on easy-street.
But for real heroes, Like John Murtha, who spoke up to protest - they launch the war Battalion of the Swift-Boat Lying Liars to the attack. Despicable and shameful personal attacks.
And living as I do at Dennis Hastert Corner, I find Hastert's comments and remarks abominable and shameful to any of the real Veterans who fought for their Country with honor and distinction, and John Murtha in particular.
Karen on 11.19.05 @ 10:19 AM CST
