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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! March 1, 2005 Circles and ChainsBy GreyhawkSome are unbroken...  The Orange Revolution 
Others will fall.
Thanks Roger! (And thanks Glenn!) Posted by Greyhawk / March 1, 2005 10:16 PM | Permalink 4 TrackBacksOne a thrilling and chilling photo essay by Greyhawk (hattip to Instapundit.) The other a touching personal essay from Jeanette. Both make you feel privileged to view. Read More Christopher Hitchens is dead wrong that the "Arab Street" is a " vanquished cliché" that should be put to rest. The return of politics to Iraq has had many blissful secondary consequences, one of them apparently minor but nonetheless, I... Read More So really, we're all on the same side here. Just some of us are vicious about it. Read More Checking out the Anchoress led me to this post at The Mudville Gazette by Greyhawk with some stirring pictures from Iraq and Lebanon. Enjoy the intense emotion and wonderful visual qualities of the pics, then read all the comments. At least most of the... Read More 29 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 |
Powerful. And moving.
Do I hear Dean screaming in the background "Nooooooooooo!" ?
awesome.
BTW, that V is for VICTORY!
No more dirty, stinkin', hippy claims to it as the peace symbol.
Lebanese chicks are hot.
What do you think Burkhas are for? They're afraid rich westerners will swoop in and carry off all the hotties..
(And they're right to be afraid ;))
Martyrs' Square, scratch that, Freedom Square*
Hey Todd, we're on a roll.
For once, you can bless horney AP photographers. If they get a chance to take a picture of a pretty girl, they will. I've seen this again and again on the wire. Subject doesn't matter.
that's exactly what i was thinking when i saw this picture and the other hot girl with flags on her cheeks. :)
I would love to see a photo essay like this one that includes some pics of the "Not In My Name" folks (from before GWII), and some from the sites where people have posted pictures of themselves apologizing to the world for our actions...
That's the onliest one of them planes they is, so they best be kareful!
Does anyone else think that it's a little simplistic to say that the orange revolution had anything to do with GWB's policies? I mean, if anything, he bent over backwards to let Putin crush freedom in his own country and to try to do it in the Ukraine.
I'm a little skeptical about Lebanon as well. C'mon, Syria blew up the most popular guy in the country, as well as a dozen other people. Perhaps their massive miscalculation was the result of pressure from Bush (which seems unlikely), but the result was all Lebanese. GWB trying to take credit for this revolution is like Great Britian taking credit for our actions after 9/11 because we had their example of the Falklands war to emulate.
Inspiring photos, all.
Thanks.
And I feel an appalling pity for those who cannot emotionally connect with them.
Vince,
I think the Lebanese know they can win this fight now as US threats against Syria, made extremely credible through the actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, will very likely deter any Syrian military response against the protesters.
In the past, Syrian regimes have not always been willing to entertain such dissent. Now I imagine Assad would have to expect a military response in Damascus within 30 days of crushing these protests, possibly much faster.
So, the Lebanese are making a calculated gamble that they can win due to what is effectively timely US support.
Lew
The judge overseeing Saddam's case has just been assassinated i Baghdad. The modus operadi (sp?) of the terrorists hasn't changed much. How soon do the marines move against Assad? SHOCK AND AWE STRAIGHT INTO THE HEART OF DAMASCUS? Assad is cornered. The methodology, as I said, used by terrorists, continues until we put an end to the regimes. What's the time frame?
Vince: Your comment that Bush bent over backwards for Putin is nothing but revisionist history. Bush was squarely on the side of the Ukranians who contested the election (here's an editorial from the Washington Post, dated 11/25/04, praising Bush for being "Admirably frank and forceful this week in denouncing the fraud in Ukraine and in making clear to Ukrainians that it is on their side." : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11910-2004Nov25.html)
Puts it into perspective. Long live freedom to choose. The Iraqi's risked life and limb to vote. They have set the example and more and more will be willing to risk it all for freedom of choice. It is an amazing time to live in and I feel sorry for those who can not comprehend these truly extraordinary events in our lives.
Though I happen to believe that GW's policies have had a massive impact on the spread of democracy in various parts of the world, it wouldn't matter one bit if in fact all of these happenings were completely coincidental. Its still a beautiful thing to witness, no matter the cause.
Vince, I feel for ya pal. Things are going SO WELL for freedom in the world which means, of course, that things are going very POORLY for the Democrats that it is imperative to pour cold water on the good news at any and every opportunity.
Not that it will matter, though. I just get a kick out of your pathetic attempts.
Back on topic.
What the h--- kind of "election materials" were they delivering that had to go in that huge Antonov?
Sounds perilously like a euphemism .... as in, crates of Sharps rifles labeled "Beecher's Bibles" (for you American History fans).
Where is Dan Rather and his a$$ kissing interview with Saddam? Maybe he can hurry and interview Bashar Assad. Just to prove his rightful place in history.
Lebanese women are hot. My sister is married to a Lebanese guy. OK he's not hot, but you should see the sisters.
I smell a conspiracy A Cannon G2. Sounds alot like Gannon or maybe Guckert. Jeff Guckert that is. hemmmm.
Its all Karl Rove's doing. GWB was pissed because Chirac spoke in French and he criticized Cheney wearing a parka at Auschwitz.
So in order to get even Rove told the Mossad who told the Lebanese. Which is like telling the Syrians that something must be done. So the Syrians wanted to blow up something French but they missed.
Its all there in the clues. You just have to know where to look. Don't even get me started on Condi Rice's boots which is the next secret clue.
Either way, its the most extraordinary thing going down. First the Iron Curtain and now the Sand Curtain is getting ripped to pieces. I wonder what they will say 50 years from now.
With regards to the US bringing up Lebanon...
Prominent Lebanese oppositionists have specifically mentioned the Iraqi elections and said "if there, why not here?" This includes some who initially opposed the invasion. I think we need to step back and look at the big picture--four years ago, the Middle East was a hell-hole. Now, we have freedom in Afghanistan (OK so that's Central Asia, but still...), Iraq, minor elections in Saudi Arabia, calls for elections in Egypt, new starts in Palestine, and a rising against Syrian influence in Lebanon. Sure, all these things, bar Afghanistan and Iraq, have other causes too, but you can't help wonder what influence W had on all this...
I second the "Lebanese women are hot" motion. I have a Lebanese friend from college who was hot too. In fact, I challenge anyone to post a picture of an unattractive girl from Lebanon in these protests... I'm beginning to wonder if there are any
Glad to see I'm not the only one who's been noticing the Lebanese women this week. Here's a link for further - um - research on the topic: http://stopthebleating.typepad.com/stop_the_bleating/2005/03/special_midweek.html
enough's enough folks- W is not all powerful, all seeing and all over.A little reflection might be in order. Start by asking the Lebanese-followed by asking the Syrians why they would dare take such risks when everyone knows that W is all-seeing and vengeful and might very well smite down the bad, bad Syrians for their impertinance
enough's enough folks- W is not all powerful, all seeing and all over.A little reflection might be in order. Start by asking the Lebanese-followed by asking the Syrians why they would dare take such risks when everyone knows that W is all-seeing and vengeful and might very well smite down the bad, bad Syrians for their impertinance
Believe it: W was right: Freedom is on the march.
W is not all seeing, I agree--just look at the steel tarriffs. But on THIS, he was right.