ALERT!!! On NOW!!! C-Span 2... Interview With T. Ricks/ His Book FIASCO!

[ChiciB1]

I've seen him on TV giving several interviews lately and he talks about his book and the Iraq War.

I highly recommend this to everyone!!

[Tin Man]

1. Thanks for the heads-up.

[bleever]

2. Thanks! Watching. nt

[ChiciB1]

3. Well, Not Too Many Takers... But That Was Extremely Informative!

As a female and one who is mostly a Pacifist, I had ALREADY decided I was going to buy his book! Not one who generally likes reading about WAR, this is a "must read" as far as I'm concerned!

It's at the top of my list!! While he doesn't FEEL feel we should leave Iraq immediately, he does make a good argument about what should be done. I think he feels we need to stay because we have so much to repair and it's going to be because we have "screwed" up so badly! And to stay, it's here where that Oh So Cute statement by one of the most evil persons I've ever seen, Donald Rumsfeld, uttered a long time ago.... It's going to be a long hard SLOG! Just saying the word SLOG is so overwhelmingly disgusting to me. As is the man who coined the phrase! He, even more than The Idiot is the epitome of HITLER!

Even though I've heard Ricks say this before, it is MONUMENTALLY refreshing that he put the Onus squarely where it really belongs!

While our soldiers have done some terrible things, how can you not turn an EYE onto those who were supposed to train them to be soldiers and teach them that TORTURE is wrong? I suspect that needing "bodies" so quickly... and the enormity of IGNORANCE of those who ARE in charge, America will BE seen in an entirely different way for a very long long time!

Tomorrow, I get this book!

[crim son]

7. I turn an eye toward those who have been responsible

for their training although I believe the method and the result of said training is exactly what our government wants. However, I also believe that each of us as individuals have a sense of right and wrong, and when we ignore that we are personally responsible for the consequences. Frankly, I don't believe the military attracts the best and brightest any more - if it ever did.

[ChiciB1]

8. As One Who Grew Up As An Army Brat....

there is no doubt that Today's Army IS NOT what my father's Army was! But then what is going on today is NOTHING like what I grew up with.

I DO NOT excuse those who tortured, I'm just saying that it GOES WAY UP! You know that old saying... "lead by example" and what an example we've been exposed to!! Many soldiers, as was witness by Pvt. Green are akin to an Arayan Nation Mentality! It's a tragic symbol of what these people who call themselves "leaders" and "learned" men have brought to a once Great Nation!

I for one, am embarrassed by being the butt of many jokes!!! I don't wear STUPIDITY well!

[crim son]

9. Well, I appreciate that.

And as I said I do agree that there is either gross incompetence or else deliberate mistraining, not to mention the example that we as a nation have set w/respect to our foreign policy.

I'm sorry to offend; it has taken me six years to get so fed up that I can't even look at someone in uniform without feeling anger. I realize it's unfair, yet I'm no longer convinced it's not justified. At any rate, I apologize if my opinion on this matter seems an attack on you.

[ChiciB1]

10. OOHHHH, PUULLEEEZEEE! NO OFFENSE TAKEN!!

I only replied as an explanation. Even before I got married my father who was a Sgt/Mgt (E-9) was always trying to get me to date the men that he commanded. I absolutely knew at a very early age that I was NOT Army material, and that there was NO WAY, I would even "date" a soldier.

This has NOTHING to do with my father, he was THE GREATEST and I miss him since he's passed away. But even though he was a "lifer" it was more because it was a way to feed the family!! I come from a family of SIX (6) females and we learned early on that if you wanted something.... you better get a job and work for it! It was my father who introduced me to politics at a very early age, around 11 or 12 and he was a Democrat!! But he was also in the Medics and he knew about War. He was the one who indoctrinated me about the "casualties" of war!!! My pacifism today is a direct result of how he felt. As for him introducing me to men in his company.... well, IF you had 6 girls wouldn't you want to know that when they married they would have some security. The military was always a job that men could have that provided security. It was a different generation and he only wanted the best for us. I'm a BOOMER... I did the whole Viet Nam thing and to this day have many reservations about men in UNIFORM!!!

I have NO yellow ribbons on my vehicles, and my children have been taught what I LEARNED ABOUT regarding THE MILITARY!! And I dare say, if my father were alive today... he would be OUTRAGED!

But I do have to make one more comment and this says a lot about America today. The fact that you felt obligated to apologize about your feelings regarding men in uniform is something I find offensive. Soldiers don't get little "gold" stars pasted on their foreheads simply because they choose to fight! Many in the military today actually can't wait to get out there and "kill the enemy!" Note my reference to The Arayan Nation!!! This book is a prime example of that. The statement was made that only about 1/3 of the soldiers, including the "higher ups" really understood the mission and had enough empathy to do "the right thing!"

So, you're off the hook, and DON'T ever apologize for what you really believe in!!!

[bananarepublican]

12. Whilst you can never generalise... I'm sure there are plenty of good...

... folks in the military. However, there were definitely plenty of bad apples serving during the Vietnam War. To confirm this, just do a bit of research on "Operation Pheonix" and "Tiger Force".

It makes me wonder whether or not those involved in the "Swiftboat" sliming of Kerry back in '04 were amongst the bad apple category. Also, does anyone know what Oliver North did during the Vietnam War period?

[ChiciB1]

13. I Don't Think He Was Old Enough! n/t

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. link to video...

In his book, "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq," Washington Post reporter Thomas Ricks provides a detailed account of US military involvement in Iraq. Relying on interviews with more than 100 military officers and access to previously unreleased documents, Ricks tells a tale of leadership and strategy failures. He discusses the book with Jeffrey McCausland, a retired US Army Colonel who served during the first Gulf War and now teaches at Dickinson College.

http://www.booktv.org/General/index.asp?segID=7346&sche...

[EFerrari]

5. Thanks, Viva! We were working and missed it!

[ChiciB1]

6. Yes, Thank You... I Should Have Done That! n/t

[wellst0nev0ter]

11. Ugh, No Reruns.

Just re-airings of MAnne Coulter and Tom Tancredo