Regarding the whole Kevin Sites filming Marines shooting wounded Iraqis / terrorists / insurgents / freedom fighters; what the hell is the big deal? I'm not particularly dismayed at the incident since I have no illusions about true the brutality of war. Rules of engagment my ass. Any Marine in a war zone that feels threatened doesn't need a lazy public at home second guessing his stressed, split second decision. What the public needs to be doing is second guessing the decision that put that Marine in that God awful situation.
Which I suppose is why the right is coming down so hard on Sites. Their attacks on the reporter are not in defense of the Marine so much as to hide from the public the true nature of the war they want waged in the American public's name. They know that any public support they have for this war is the result of a very aggressive and comprehensive management of the war's image.
To them, it's not enough to needlessly put troops in harms way and make them do horrible things - they have to deny that such brutality is even occuring! Furthermore, to them it is an act of treason to let the citizens of this country know what is occuring - as if people cannot be allowed to decide for themselves how to deal with this news. If this were a just war of self-defense, no way people would care about this - because they would realize that the brutality is justified. It's only because the entire basis for the war is a sham that appearance of fairness and decency must be maintained. And it's a facade that is breaking down with each and every day U.S. forces continue to occupy that country.
Jeremy's Rule of War: if the public can't stomach the unfiltered brutality of a current war, that's a sure sign that the war is not legitimate.
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