Kimball is right. The headlines assigned Rubin's story do not do it justice. It's an extraordinary account of combat in Afghanistan and should be read by every subscriber to this site.
Thank you Mr. Kimball! Above all, Thank you Elizabeth Rubin! God stay with you, Battle Company!
"Mistakes were made." Now, too much is being required of too few. Too much has been required of too few for too long. We have to pull back, refurbish, rebuild, and -if we ever return- return in sufficient numbers with eyes wide open.
Are we seeing the initiation of the demonization of our troops? I seem to see more and more 'quotes' from troops being splashed in headlines that surely cast a negative light on our troops if they are true. Perhaps someone should be chatting with our men and women about providing fodder for the media with their off hand remarks. Are we our own worst enemy?
Perhaps someone should be chatting with our men and women about providing fodder for the media with their off hand remarks.
I guess I see it differently. If our soldiers don't tell their own story, who will? The problem wasn't with CPT Kearney and his soldiers' words - the problem was that they were selectively taken out of context.
What's really interesting is that as this piece has bounced around the blogosphere, the response has been almost uniformly positive. Comments that I've seen from both veterans and active duty folks alike have generally been approving - the key here is a poor editorial decision, not the words themselves.
