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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! January 27, 2005 Rather in IraqBy GreyhawkA few days ago Marine Corps Moms posted a letter to family members from USMC Major Adam Holton, one of the updates Marine commanders routinely send home from Iraq. (Note to other service Chiefs: The Marines are doing it right with this sort of stuff.) The whole thing is well worth a read, but this passage twisted my stomach a bit, for what should be obvious reasons: We had a fairly atypical visit to our company's FOB yesterday. Dan Rather of CBS News came to Iraq to do a story for 60 Minutes II on fighting the insurgency and the upcoming elections. His two-day visit was hosted by Colonel Johnson, our MEU Commander (who is the boss of Lt Col Smith, our Battalion Commander). They spent time on the first day of the visit solely with the MEU Commander, and then yesterday, they visited two sites in our zone, with ours being one of them. The visit here in Lutayfiyah went great from my perspective. There were a few one-on-one interviews, and a group "discussion" with a squad from mostly second platoon and some of weapons platoon (I wish that I could have him talk to everyone, but with operations going on, many of our guys were outside of the wire at the time he visited). If I had to guess, I would say a clip from the group discussion will end up in the final story. I felt good that Rather had the opportunity to talk to enough of the Marines here to get a real sense of the "spirit" of Golf Company. Regardless of what "angle" he was looking for the final story, your Marines did a phenomenal job yesterday in laying down for him how they feel and what the reality on the ground actually is. The producer told us as they were leaving that the story will air this Wednesday night (Thursday morning here) on 60 Minutes II. I would ask as many of you as possible to tape the episode, as I am not sure we will actually get it on the satellite TV here. We have one channel that tends to shift back and forth between news and shows on the major four stations, so we are not guaranteed to get the show here at all. The result can be found here, and I admit to being surprised. Dan Rather reports: We were heading to a remote outpost in the town of Ludifayah. Ten of the men based there have died. Still, these Marines insist the enemy is losing, at least in this key area. There's plenty more at the link, and to their credit the CBS team avoided the all too often seen media device of "balancing" this sort of reporting with "quagmire" quotes or Vietnam comparisons. In other words, Dan was on his best behavior. (Hey, you think his proximity to actual US Marines might have some influence on his style?) Hat tip for pointer to 60 Minutes piece to Cori Dauber, Associate Professor of Communication Studies (and of Peace, War, and Defense) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her area of scholarship is the way the media represents war and the military, and her blog should be a daily read for anyone interested in that topic. Posted by Greyhawk / January 27, 2005 6:06 PM | Permalink 2 TrackBacksIf you've been listening at all to the likes of such pathetic Senators as Boxer, Kennedy, or Byrd, bad quotes of the month have been a dime a dozen. January's good quote of the month comes from one of America's... Read More A commenter on a Mudville Gazette piece about CBS' coverage of the election noted:It's like 1989 all over again. The media has been forced to reluctantly acknowledge something beautiful and wonderful is happening: the birth of a new democracy. When... Read More 22 Comments |
November 26, 2010America@war [Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit. That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary. From their about page:
"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation: The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism. Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented. I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are. "Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result. Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web... And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed. The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down. But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:
Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down. If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real. And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale. We've already made history, it's time to save it. (More to follow...) Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink |
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
 Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house. I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  Tending Distant Far from hearth and home, watching What tales we'll tell When things grim Some distant sunset, vision fading Saluting fallen friends whose names - Greyhawk, Baghdad, December 2004 |
I saw that 60 Minutes report and kept listening for some remarks that did not come up. Do you suppose the media is getting the message?
Maybe its because Dan used to refer to himself as a "former Marine" until he was outed in Jug Burketts indespensible "Stolen Valor" as having washed out in Basic Training
Well, he sure looked ridiculous in that helmet.
The helmet gave us a laugh today too. Guess no one on the camera crew had the 'nads to tell him how he looked. The Marines probably told him he looked great.
Well, who do you think gave him that helmet to wear? Surely not a marine!! When I laughed at it I did'nt know the whole world thought it looked funny.
Oh yeah Granny! You bet a Marine would put a helmet on Rather's head. In a heartbeat! Marines have a really twisted sense of humor. They knew he would look like an egghead!
Depraved human beings!!! :-o
Greyhawk -- I read you everyday, and I just wanted to thank you for the lovely compliment.
-- The Ranting Prof.
Soldier Lewis's comments about "tired of hearing the crap" was priceless. We worry here at home that you guys think we are falling for the bias coverage of the war. We know you are doing a great job and sacrifice for us. Thanks and I and many others are praying dailey for you. God's Speed and Protection Be Yours--Jenny Morris Mansfield OH
I think it's odd people would expect Dan Rather to have anything biased to say against the troops; he was moved to tears while narrating a tribute to them a couple months back. Whatever one's opinion may be about his bias against the President, if anything his bias toward portraying our armed forces has always been supportive, even from his Vietnam days.
During the build up to the invasion in Feb '03, producers and photographers from 60 minutes II came to our base. The producer was some "flaky" (my observation) woman from New York.
We gave them the grand tour and flew them around (a whole days worth) simulating missions. We also staged a simulated scramble which was stupid and super fake. They also interviewed everybody and took hundreds of photos.
As they left they said "watch wednesday", it will be on... weeks later nadda, nothing. Nothing ever showed..
CNN came too and spent several days. scraps, 30 seconds or less, showed up days later on CNN Headline news.
Foxnews came out too and we gave them the same treatment as 60 Minutes. However, they did a actuate (no media stumbles) 2-3 minute piece on us and our mission. This piece played for several days afterward.
Normal media stumbles = mixing up Army and Air Force; mixing up airplanes and helicopters; mixing up sand and water.....
Flaky = 5 minutes after you meet her, she is your best friend....
marty
Dear Sgt. Lewis;
Thank you for what you and the MEU are doing in Iraq.
37 years ago I and others in 1/5 were working in Hue, eliminating elements of three NVA regiments which had enveloped the Citadel on the north shore of the Perfume River. Following the month long house-to-house firefight Walter Cronkite (Dan Rather's predecessor at CBS)issued his infamous slur against the American military when he claimed the war could not be won militarily but must be negotiated.
We killed 4000 to 6000 NVA during the month of February/March 1968 and suffered more than 140 killed and hundreds more injured. Years later we learned the NVA had murdered 4000 Citadel residents and buried them in a mass grave before we arrived to exterminate the NVA.
I only bring this up to give you a flavor for big media and CBS specifically.
By the way, did Rather tell you or any other Marines that he enlisted in the Corps in 1954 right after the shooting stopped in Korea? Did he mention that he never completed recruit training at Parris Island and has never publicly divulged the circumstances of his seperation from service? I didn't think so.
We admire the execution of your mission in Iraq.
Semper Fi,
Tom York
Newport Beach, California
It's like 1989 all over again. The media has been forced to reluctantly acknowledge something beautiful and wonderful is happening: the birth of a new democracy.
When Dan "The Soviet people like communism" Rather started talking about the positive changes in Eastern Europe, you knew the Soviets were done. Now he's reporting positive news from Iraq.
Every human being deserves freedom and democracy.
God bless the Iraqi elections.
Maybe Mr. Rather is going to spend the rest of his career on "legacy journalism", in hopes that he's remembered for that. He could do worse than to become a full voiced cheerleader for the troops.
LBJ said that when Cronkite turned against him he knew he had lost in Vietnam, the jihadists can say the same about Rather.
Gunga Dan has got the message all right, and he's trying to make amends before the door hits him in the ass.
"DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY" to all of you fighting for FREEDOM forever everywhere on this planet!! You are in my thoughts and prayers always. SEMPER FI!!
USMA West Point, NY
It will take a lot of this type of stuff before I forgive Rather. But it is important to remember that Rather is not an enemy - just a misguided and sometimes arrogant idiot.
One thing that tempered my disgust with Rather was seeing him bashed unfairly by Michael Moore in Farenheit 9/11 for being a slavish Bush lackey. Seriously! Moore claimed the media was pro-Bush and deceiving the American people with patriotic propaganda and then he cuts to footage of Rather on camera during the invasion admitting that when push comes to shove, he and the media have to admit their bias - hoping for safety and victory for the U.S. Armed Forces.
Ha! Imagine rather getting attacked from the Left!
Hi Guys,
THanks a TON for all your work. You are absolute
ly the best of what America is! Many of us do not buy the standard TV news coverage - they are so biased, their credibility is sliding. Thank goodness for the I'net - we find the successes! You are really cool!
Be careful.
J
Semper Fi, guys. There are lots and lots of us who understand your commitment, mental toughness and your sacrifice. Just don't any of the scummy maggots reporting half truths with a negative slant get you down. You are helping make history and proving those piss-ants to be wrong. Hang tough...and get it done.
Go US Marines! Thank you for your service. No amount of kindness from Dan Blather can make up for his bias towards our Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush. Thank God for our President.
I was a Paratrooper (fallschirmjäger) in the German Bundeswehr before Reunification. My Father was a War Prisoner in America during the War. I happily remember working with US Soldiers during the Eighties. I wondered "what makes such Boys come here to defend a Nation that killed their Elders? What makes this People treat their Prisoners better than We treated our Soldiers?" And today I wonder "what makes Boys like we once were, go around half the World to fight for the Freedom for which so many of Us won't walk to the Polls?"
I want to thank the US troops of all Generations who stood for Freedom even when the People they protected would not, or in Iraq could not. I feel Disgust for my Nation for having supported Hussein, and for not to fighting to defend the Freedoms that so many of today's Germans don't appreciate. And happy the Iraqi People will so fight.
Would that I could fit into my Uniform and see so well to shoot, so I could help! I am with Envy!
An earlier comment referred to Dan Rather's having been "outed" in B.G. Burkett's "Stolen Valor" as "having washed out in Basic Training." Burkett's exact words (p. 107) are:
"Although the press often refers to Rather as an 'ex-Marine,' he did not finish Marine recruit training. He joined the Marines on January 22, 1954, but was discharged less than four months later, on May 11, for being medically unfit. (As a boy Rather had suffered from rheumatic fever.)" [Note 131 cites Rather's medical record, obtained via FOIA request.]
Marines have told me that a recruit is not considered a Marine unless he completes basic training, or "boot camp." Therefore, Dan is neither a "former Marine" (the usual and favorable reference), nor an "ex-Marine" (an insider reference reserved for those few who have disgraced themselves or otherwise not served honorably). His separation for physical reasons is in no way dishonorable, merely disqualifying.
The real reason for Burkett's investigation of Rather's hyped claim to be a "former Marine" arises from the genuine scandal that he and CBS were caught in when they produced and aired "The Wall Within" in 1988 -- which featured hair-raising stories about "trip-wire" vets -- later proven false (much like John Kerry's earlier "testimony" before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971).
Get "Stolen Valor" for yourselves. The detective work alone in unmasking phony vets and correcting the slanders of the anti-war movement (again active over Iraq!) is worthy of appreciation by all.
JMyer, USAF (Ret.)
O-1E FAC, 1966-67