Home
In this issue
Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review August 4, 2009 / 14 Menachem-Av 5769

A world of hurt

By Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.


Printer Friendly Version

Email this article

Share and bookmark this article



http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | As an increasing number of roadside bombs, suicidal jihadists and cars packed with high explosives kill and maim in Afghanistan and Iraq, it seemed like a good time to take in a feature film that pays well-deserved tribute to the American service members on the front lines of countering such horrors.


"The Hurt Locker" is an unflinching and powerful testimonial to those George Orwell thanked with his timeless quote: "Men sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."


The movie follows the daily fare of one of the most dangerous specialties in the U.S. military — a bomb-disposal unit — as its deployment in Iraq winds down. The main story line is the tension-filled interactions between the squad's three members as they contend with a series of crises that were all too common in Baghdad and other parts of the Iraqi theater in 2004 and may be in the process of becoming so again.


The film struck me as a terrifically honest portrayal of the carnage of war from the perspective of ordinary soldiers called upon, day after day, to do extraordinary things. While it is a highly sympathetic treatment of the heroism of those who serve, their flaws are on display as well as their courage. The three central characters are all struggling with various personal issues, most notably the central protagonist's reckless disregard for his own safety — and that of others.


True to its grunt's-eye vantage point, the story is a series of suspenseful vignettes disconnected from and largely indifferent to the larger conflict. There are just two cameo appearances by senior officers — colonels, no generals — who are shown the respect required by military discipline but are portrayed as basically out of touch with what their subordinates are experiencing.


The locals are shown as, at best, indifferent and, at worst, cunningly murderous. The images of Baghdad are of a city that is trashed and broken, a place where death lurks around every corner. This reality imparts to the audience a sense of the agonizing slowness of the countdown to the unit's redeployment to a tranquil and safe home stateside.


"The Hurt Locker" touches as well, albeit fleetingly, on the sacrifice made by the loved ones of those who serve. The families left behind confront not only the protracted absences — especially on the part of those repeatedly sent into harm's way. They share with their war fighters the challenge of the readjustment to civilian life faced by those who have experienced the stress and trauma of violent conflict.


Taken together, the message is unmistakable: War is hell, particularly — although not exclusively — on those called to wage it.


For too many Americans, though, the nation's wars have become somebody else's problem. Few have any direct, personal connection to the military. The success of the all-volunteer force in replacing the draft with a superb fighting force has transformed the armed services into a cohort of highly skilled warriors about whom the general population knows little and to whom it is not as tied as has historically been the case.


This problem is compounded by the contraction of the domestic military base infrastructure as the services have tried to cut costs by reducing overhead. Ditto the closure across the country of industrial plants that have produced planes, ships, tanks and other weaponry for the armed forces. The less Americans are living in base communities and involved in manufacturing for the military, the smaller the number who have any sense of what is involved in keeping the nation secure.


Scarcely less worrying is the prospect that those who fight on our behalf may feel increasingly disconnected from the society they are serving so admirably. We owe it to them to ensure that their sacrifice is appreciated — and warranted. The new GI bill that will, starting this week, provide tuition support at American universities for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans will go some way toward rectifying both of these problems by ensuring that vets are represented in larger numbers in our academic institutions and by covering much of the costs of a college education.


Still, there is an important role to be filled by Hollywood in communicating to the American people a sense of the quality of those who are putting their lives on the line for the rest of us. This will be especially needed as the going predictably gets rougher in Afghanistan and Iraq and perhaps elsewhere. The director of "The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow, and her cast deserve our thanks for the contribution they have made in this regard. May its success at the box office encourage others to make such films — and encourage our countrymen to support those in uniform by ensuring their sacrifice is neither in vain nor unacknowledged.


Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy in the Reagan Administration, heads the Center for Security Policy. Comments by clicking here.

Archives


BUY FRANK'S LATEST
"War Footing: 10 Steps America Must Take to Prevail in the War for the Free World"  

America has been at war for years, but until now, it has not been clear with whom or precisely for what. And we have not been using the full resources we need to win.

With the publication of War Footing, lead-authored by Frank Gaffney, it not only becomes clear who the enemy is and how high the stakes are, but also exactly how we can prevail.

War Footing shows that we are engaged in nothing less than a War for the Free World. This is a fight to the death with Islamofascists, Muslim extremists driven by a totalitarian political ideology that, like Nazism or Communism before it, is determined to destroy freedom and the people who love it. Sales help fund JWR.

© 2006, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.

Insight (Our Columnists)

 Arnold Ahlert
 Mitch Albom
 Michael Barone
  Dave Barry
 Tony Blankley
 Andy Borowitz
 David Broder
 Stratfor Briefing
 Mona Charen
 Linda Chavez
 Ann Coulter
 Greg Crosby
 Larry Elder
 Suzanne Fields
 John Fund
 Frank J. Gaffney
 Lloyd Garver
 Jonah Goldberg
 Julia Gorin
 Jonathan Gurwitz
 Paul Greenberg
 Lewis Grossberger
 Victor Davis Hanson
 Betsy Hart
 Nat Hentoff
 David Horowitz
 Laura Ingraham
 Cheri Jacobus
Jeff Jacoby
 Paul Johnson
 Jack Kelly
 Ed Koch
 Ch. Krauthammer
 Michael Ledeen
 John Leo
 David Limbaugh
 Kathryn Lopez
 Rich Lowry
 Michelle Malkin
 Jackie Mason
 Dick Morris
 Bill O'Reilly
 Jim Mullen
 Clarence Page
 Kathleen Parker
 Dennis Prager
 Wesley Pruden
 Tom Purcell
 Jonathan Rauch
 Celia Rivenbark
 Robert Robb
 Cokie & Steve Roberts
 Pat Sajak
 Debra J. Saunders
 Culture Shlock
 Roger Simon
 Michael Smerconish
 Thomas Sowell
 Mark Steyn
 John Stossel
 Cal Thomas
 Bob Tyrrell
 Diana West
 Dave Weinbaum
 George Will
 Walter Williams
 Byron York
 Mort Zuckerman

'Toons
 Robert Arial
 Chuck Asay
 Baloo
 Chip Bok
 Dry Bones
  Lisa Benson
 John Branch
 Gary Brookins
 John Cole
 J. D. Crowe
 John Deering
 Brian Duffy
 Everything's Relative
 Mallard Fillmore
 Jake Fuller
 Bob Gorrel
 Joe Heller
 David Hitch
 Jerry Holber
 Steve Kelley
 Jeff Koterba
 Dick Locher
 Chan Lowe
 Ranan R. Lurie
 Jimmy Margulies
 Rick McKee
 Michael Ramirez
 Kevin Siers
 Jeff Stahler
 Ed Stein
 Danna Summers
 John Trever
 Gary Varvel
 Kirk Walters

Lifestyles
 How 2
 Lori Borgman
 The Savvy Consumer
 Elder matters
 Fixit
 Dr. Peter Gott
 GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
 Richard Lederer
 Tech Maven
 Every Monday Matters
 Nutrition Myths
 Bookmark These
 Bruce Williams
 How Stuff Works