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February 10, 2012
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Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
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January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
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January 12, 2012
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January 11, 2012
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Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 10, 2005
/ 1 Adar I, 5765
Of Men and Mice
By
James Lileks
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
It's bad enough that we have to kill the Taliban, but must we employ men who enjoy sending them to the pits of heck? That seems to be the reaction to the unguarded comments of Lt. Gen. James Mattis. Speaking at a panel in San Diego, he let the secret out.
"It's quite fun to fight them, you know," he said. "It's a hell of a hoot. ... It's fun to shoot some people.
"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."
Predictably, his remarks gave some the vapors. But this is a surprise? Would you prefer some Leslie Howard type who puts down his flower and sighs his soldierly lament:
"Oh, many are the times I've had a fellow in my sights but stayed my hand, as I've contemplated the forces of history that brought me to this sad, battered land. As I looked down the scope, I imagined that I saw him look at me, and in our gaze we posed the same question to each other. He is the foe, yea, but he was once some mother's child. Of course you could say the same thing about the chap whose head he just sawed off. But once you start, where do you stop? So I just try to graze them a little, or shoot them in one of those organs you can do without."
Please. War requires warriors, and sometimes the sharp tip of the spear will lack the refined edges you find in civilian life. Nevertheless, Mattis had his remarks amended by some cheek-biting people up the chain.
"Lt. Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candor," said Marine Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee, noting that the candid soldier in question "agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully." Translation: We are dealing with a regrettable excess of truth.
The story went 'round the world from Web sites to wire services. But oddly enough, it did not cause undue alarm. Even the Saudi mouthpiece Arab News gave Mattis a fair shake in its English edition, quoting his good reputation for respecting Arab culture, ending with a supportive statement from someone who had served under him.
But the CNN report on his remarks ended with criticism from someone who hadn't.
Which brings us to Eason Jordan, CNN's news chief. He's sitting on the biggest story of the year, it would seem. At a recent gathering of overclass hangers-on at Davos, Switzerland, Jordan said U.S. troops shoot journalists on purpose.
CNN later said Mr. Jordan had been quoted out of context, but other attendees — the ever-available David Gergen, Sen. Chris Dodd and that notorious tool of the vast right-wing conspiracy, Congressman Barney Frank — have corroborated the gist of his remarks. In any case, it's not the first time Jordan has made the assertion; last November he was quoted thus in the London Guardian: "The reality is that at least 10 journalists have been killed by the U.S. military, and according to reports I believe to be true journalists have been arrested and tortured by U.S. forces."
Slamming the United States at international conferences is hardly brave. If it's the honeyed thanks of sheiks and Eurocrats you seek, plant your tasseled loafer in the hindquarters of Donald Rumsfeld's Wehrmacht.
In the olden days such rote tripe would have gone unreported. But these are not the olden days. The Jordan story has been roiling the blogs for some time — possibly because some on the right are suspicious of CNN, and see Jordan's remarks as emblematic of that organization's biases and offshore courting of anti-American sentiment.
But perhaps the blogs recognize a simple truth: Either Jordan is right, in which case it's news he should report, or he's spinning humid fictions that conform to the darkest suspicions of America's foes. And surely that's news as well.
Check your local channel for details. Not to say you'll find them — but hope, like hatred of America, springs eternal. It's almost as if some people enjoy killing our reputation for sport. Heck, it's a hoot.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in uplifting articles.
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JWR contributor James Lileks is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Comment by clicking here.
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© 2005, James Lileks
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