As the weeks go by and the war in Iraq, and against terrorism, drags on, I find myself getting angrier and angrier at liberal bias in the mainstream media; and at the overall attitude toward the military by liberals. They claim to support the troops, yet they do whatever they can to undermine them and their mission.
Steven Bochco, creator of one of my favorite shows, "Hill Street Blues," has created a new show called "Over There". It is purportedly (I haven't watched it) set in Iraq and has a "Hill Street" feel to it: ensemble cast, gritty drama. Except these are soldiers, not cops. From what I hear, the show seems to be a great example of the mainstream media perpetuating the standard stereotypes about soldiers. Demeaning stereotypes such as "it's not really a volunteer army, it's a 'recruited' army and many of these soldiers came from broken homes and had no choice but to join"; that soldiers, in general, aren't all that bright; that soldiers do not support the war effort or their commanders. Good stuff like that.
In reality the liberals who perpetuate stuff like this probably do not know any people in the military, and have never really been exposed to it in real life. How else to explain their bizarre opinions of these heroic men and women who have volunteered to serve their country, putting their lives on the line every day?
Blogger Michael Fumento has written a piece on this show after having watched a few episodes. Michael is currently embedded in Iraq and has decades of military experience. The article is relatively short and I think illustrates well how the left in this country is really separated from mainstream thinking, and from reality.
For a real look at what's going on in Iraq and what kind of risks are willingly taking every day, real some military weblogs ("milblogs"). I have read a few and am looking for some to add to my list of regular reads. I stumbled into Michael Yon's blog this evening and found his story about taking down terrorists who tried to blow up a convoy he was in, riveting. Read it here. When I finished reading this particular dispatch, I found myself wondering just how long this blogger will survive in such an environment.
The contrast between the world portrayed by Bochco on TV, and the world in which Yon lives, could not be more stark. While they both claim to be describing the same place and the same conflict, the characters involved could not be more different.
The Dangers Of Liberal Bias
A few lines in Yon's latest piece really reminded me of how vocal liberals are endangering our troops and hurting the overall war effort. First, comments like the following remind me that liberals are being heard, even in Iraq:
I looked back to where we had been because the prisoner [the American soldiers always remind me that I should call prisoners "detainees"] was still there, handcuffed, and on his knees, with the radio transmitter lying beside him on the ground.
It seems harmless enough, but let's get real: "Detainees" is a non-judgemental word, while "prisoners" indicates they are being held for a reason. These are men who have been captured while attacking U.S. troops, trying to kill them. Why the concern for not hurting their feelings or judging them in even the simplest of ways? It gets worse. After the troops capture the guy who tried to blow them up, they cannot interrogate him properly and are offered help by the Iraqis; help which they have to reject, thanks to liberal pressure:
"Let him go and we will catch him again." But LTC Kurilla kept reiterating, “You know I can't give him to you. I might not agree with all the rules, but I must enforce them.""Give him to me, just for the night," the Chief said. "You can have him back tomorrow.""That I cannot do," Kurilla replied firmly. "If your police had been with us when we captured him, you could have him. But these are the rules."
In this case, no more troops were killed as a result of our inability to get the necessary information from this prisoner. Thank God. But it could easily have gone the other way, and the liberals who would prevent the army from letting the Iraqi police interrogate a prisoner to get the information they need to save lives, would be the first ones clamoring on the news for George Bush's head on a platter for killing our young soldiers (aka Cindy Sheehan), or reading the killed soldiers' names on national television (a la "Nightline").
Here is another comment, made in various forms to Yon by several soldiers:
Many quiet tears marked the true pain of the loss. A few soldiers wondered, Do people at home even care?
Indeed, Yon himself wonders this sometimes. Following an interview, he pondered this:
I walked back through the dark and did the radio interview by cell phone. During such interviews, I get the impression that people at home are losing faith in the effort, though we are winning. But at home they cannot see it, and when I said goodbye that time, I sat in the dark.
The message on Yon's blog and in other milblogs is that our soldiers are good at what they do, are proud to be serving and are loyal to our country and their commanders; and most importantly, that they are having a positive impact in Iraq. Yet you would never know it by the reports in the mainstream media. At a time when liberal college campuses are forbidding military recruiters on campus and liberal pundits can't stop talking about this "unelected" commander-in-chief having gone to war for no good reason, we need to start recognizing these people for who they are: enemies. They are endangering our soldiers with their ridiculous comments and campaigns. I, for one, have had just about enough. How about you?
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