Mam @
91

Re North’s comment that “some character who apparently had been trained by the French, perhaps the French Girl Scouts or by one of your friends, Alan — took a pot shot at us. The outcome might have been different if he’d been trained to shoot by Dick Cheney, but he missed.”

If he’d bothered reading Thomas Ricks’ excellent book, “Fiasco,” he might have had a clue that the miss is often deliberate, with taking a shot being more a matter of restoring honor and “counting coup” in Iraqi culture than a serious attempt to actually kill someone. But that, of course, would not have played into North’s predetermined narrative that the enemy is hapless/incompetent/cowardly.

This is where it helps to have actually gone to Iraq and have observed (and in my case, been involved in) the fighting. I never heard a thing about “counting coup.” That’s native Americans. Iraqis — on both sides of the war — are simply horrible shots. It’s been very vexing for our troops to get them to do anything but “spray and pray,” meaning pulling the trigger and just firing until all 30 rounds are gone. Conversely, the troops like that the insurgents suffer the same problem. So do I. A machine gun opened up on me from close range in Ramadi and I’m alive to tell the tale. If you’re wondering about snipers, some of those are quite good. I got video of one just barely missing a soldier on top of a roof. But they’re not Iraqis.

Who are the snipers?

What is their source and training?

Re North’s comment that “some character who apparently had been trained by the French, perhaps the French Girl Scouts or by one of your friends, Alan — took a pot shot at us. The outcome might have been different if he’d been trained to shoot by Dick Cheney, but he missed.”

If he’d bothered reading Thomas Ricks’ excellent book, “Fiasco,” he might have had a clue that the miss is often deliberate, with taking a shot being more a matter of restoring honor and “counting coup” in Iraqi culture than a serious attempt to actually kill someone. But that, of course, would not have played into North’s predetermined narrative that the enemy is hapless/incompetent/cowardly.

This is where it helps to have actually gone to Iraq and have observed (and in my case, been involved in) the fighting. I never heard a thing about “counting coup.” That’s native Americans. Iraqis — on both sides of the war — are simply horrible shots. It’s been very vexing for our troops to get them to do anything but “spray and pray,” meaning pulling the trigger and just firing until all 30 rounds are gone. Conversely, the troops like that the insurgents suffer the same problem. So do I. A machine gun opened up on me from close range in Ramadi and I’m alive to tell the tale. If you’re wondering about snipers, some of those are quite good. I got video of one just barely missing a soldier on top of a roof. But they’re not Iraqis.

If he’d bothered reading Thomas Ricks’ excellent book, “Fiasco,” he might have had a clue that the miss is often deliberate, with taking a shot being more a matter of restoring honor and “counting coup” in Iraqi culture than a serious attempt to actually kill someone. But that, of course, would not have played into North’s predetermined narrative that the enemy is hapless/incompetent/cowardly.

I am therefore bewildered that Ollie North has made no mention of her other than that he met her and she poured him some coffee and helped with his crew’s gear. She died trying to help him; my God, doesn’t that deserve recognition? That said, before you start picking on neo-con North, bear in mind that McClung et al. had just dropped off the Fox crew and were actually escorting Newsweek reporters when their Humvee was destroyed. Seen any mention of McClung at all in Newsweek?

Why ISN’T Ollie North in jail?

Gee Dubaya’s daddy pardoned all those losers. Nothing wrong with the presinet dooing what ever he thinks is right, regardless of what laws he breaks. Funny in an ironic way isn’t it?

Last Thursday I was at the CA Capitol for a Hanukkah lighting ceremony (yes a day early) and the flag was flying at half mast for McClung. All of the speakers, including Arnold mentioned praying for the soldiers, but not one of them talked about the lowered flag above them. Why they did not connect the dots I do not know.

I wrote it up here.

watertiger @ 30

Ed*ard Teller @ 20

It isn’t just North and Malkin. I was reading an article about Major McClung yesterday which described what she had been doing earlier that week and that day. She was no more or less brave than other Marines. Maybe she knew little about North beforehand, maybe she knew a lot. Maybe she thought he was an officious prick. But she probably did a little extra if she could for North, because he was an ex-Marine.

North is a treacherous sllimeball, but as long as the toops are there, the reasons they die while doing their jobs will all be ridiculous.

What is so goddamned offensive about North’s behavior (inter alia) is that he IS an ex-Marine, and should have some semblance of sensitivity to what these people are going through.

I have an uncle who served in the special forces in Viet Nam and was one of the original trainers of the Delta Force. He loves Bush, Cheney and the rest. I don’t get it.

Common background, gives a real family feeling and is displayed by a common language and set of attitudes. The President is the CiC and is strongly respected just for that reason.

I’m retired Army, and there are no people I feel as comfortable with as other military or ex-military. But I’ve got a split personality. My parents were Texas Liberals and Democrats, and my mother hated the military – she had a hard time with that because over half the males in the family were in WW II.

A good friend of mine from the Vietnam era was a career regular officer for two tours flying choppers. He knew the war was the wrong one, but his cynical line was “It’s a shitty war, but I’m career Army and it’s the only one I got.”

You can either be cynical in that position, or you can simply decide that your life is already determined so you accept what is happening with totally positive attitude. My unscientific obseration is that the combat arms guys took the totally positive attitude, and we support people were the cynics. The cynics usually failed to get promoted.

I dunno if this is correct, but it seems to be what I have observed. I’m one of the cynics. Iraq was and is the wrong war, but I rather regret that I am too old to be over there with my people. As far as I can tell, there is nothing in civilian life worth belonging to as much as the Army is.

Does that give you any idea of what is going on?

From what’s been reported, by men and women who knew her, Major McClung was an exemplary Marine Officer, a wonderful person and a fine athlete. Her loss is unnecessary, unjustified and unconscionable. We cannot continue to needlessly sacrifice extraordinary Americans such as her at the altar of George Bush’s mindless stupidity.

Yes that is the point of this post. Just absorb the picture. This is the face of the actual people getting sacrificed on the altar of a delusional person’s massive Oedipal complex. Forget the rhetoric of “surge” and all of the hyperbolic flim flam of the administration. Look into Major McClung’s eyes and if the nausea does not scare this country straight then, amigos, it a a darker time ahead than we care to imagine. Stop this war. No more Major McClung’s !!

The Army Captain killed with Maj. Megan McClung was Capt. Travis Patriquin. He is the guy who created this slide show which is being widely distributed throughout the Army and Marine Corps in Iraq. It tells how to win the war in Iraq and is worth seeing by all of us. It is a .pdf file with 38 slides. McClung and Patriquin were very likely targetted because of the slide show.

Bullshit.