thedrifter
07-22-04, 12:03 PM
July 22, 2004, 8:34 a.m.
Troop Talk
Soldiers on Iraq.
TUZ, IRAQ — As I walked into the barracks, Sgt. Kevin Porter, a 23-year-old trooper in the Ohio National Guard serving south of Kirkuk, Iraq, called me over. He had just received a package from his family in Bellaire, Ohio, which included a then-weeks-old copy of his local newspaper. The op-ed page featured a column by Andy Rooney opining about the character and morale of servicemen in Iraq. Rooney offered five questions that he wished a reporter would ask the soldiers, a group he dubbed "victims" rather than "heroes." Although Sgt. Porter is not someone who frequently talked politics or current events, Rooney's article struck a nerve with him and his fellow troopers. He asked if I would assist him and the others in responding to Rooney's questions.
Some rightly may wonder why ink should be spilt on what is necessarily a belated response to Rooney, whose banal "did you ever notice" segments on 60 Minutes have come to epitomize journalistic navel gazing. It is worth noting that Rooney was not always a curmudgeonly caricature. During WWII, his combat reporting for Stars and Stripes earned him the Bronze Star. Because of his admirable service, many Americans still lend their ears to what he has to say about our soldiers.
Unfortunately, Mr. Rooney seems to have joined the ranks of journalists whose political disagreements with the current president and open disdain for the war in Iraq cloud their already questionable judgment. In this way, Rooney's tirades about and condescension toward the soldiers are typical of a sizable segment of today's journalists, who according to a recent Pew Center survey are as a whole more liberal than the public for whom they report. And so, after being told for the past year — by those who are not fighting — how the war and reconstruction are going and how the troops are faring, it's past time the troops had their say.
Many of Rooney's questions are skewed in a naked attempt to elicit his desired response. To the extent that he was not simply trying to score rhetorical points in his column, this reflects a belief that the soldiers can be easily led by the nose to tout a particular line. I do not share this opinion, and therefore I let Rooney's questions stand in an attempt to show his calculation wrong. I did not color his questions, but assured they were asked verbatim by requesting that the servicemen read Rooney's written questions before answering. To the extent possible, I interviewed the troopers separately, so that they would not be influenced by another's response, and I made efforts to ensure that the most "pro-Rooney" responses I found for each question were included here. (In the era of Dowd, I should also note that any ellipses are not offered to alter the content, but for the traditional reasons of conciseness, grammar, and to show pauses.)
Rooney's first question was "Do you think your country did the right thing sending you into Iraq?" Cpl. Caleb Clark of Cuyahoga Falls offered an emphatic response: "Absolutely. I think that what we are doing over here has a direct effect on international terrorism. And I think the government should continue to send soldiers over here until the job is done. I feel that we would be cheating the soldiers who went before us if we didn't finish the job." Sgt. Porter shared the view of many soldiers who looked at the impact for future generations: "I think we did the right thing for the simple fact that if we didn't, then our sons or grandchildren would have to come over here and do the same thing." Spc. David James of North Royalton offered his usual candor: "Yeah, I think as a whole, I'm glad we're over here; and me, I'm glad to be part of that whole.... If we didn't step up, who the hell would?" Spc. Daniel Richmond of Akron saw the benefits for both countries: "[T]he country needed our help. And we needed to come over here for our own safety: to help our country deal with the terrorism. And to help them set themselves up with a better government, so that things like terrorism...[don't] happen." For Gulf War veteran Sgt. Joseph Black of Massillon, the only complaint was that we waited this long. "Saddam should have been removed a long time ago, either by the United States or by the surrounding Arab states for the crimes he committed against his people." As you would expect, however, there was not unanimity on the question. Spc. Dickens thought "there were other places that needed attention first" but said, "[N]ow that we are here, we need to finish the job."
Rooney's second question was: "Are you doing what America set out to do to make Iraq a democracy, or have we failed so badly that we should pack up and get out before more of you are killed?" This question drew a unanimous and emphatic response from every trooper I spoke to. Spc. Dickens explained, "[w]e're doing exactly what we set out to do." As for pulling out, he took the prospect quite personally: "We've told the people that we are here to help. If they pull us out now, they would make me into a liar." Spc. Richmond recognized a simple fact which too many armchair analysts in the states overlook: "We are doing what is necessary to make Iraq a democracy — it takes time." Sgt. Black echoed this sentiment, saying "[a]nyone who thinks that we could undo 35 years of brutality with a band-aid is sorely mistaken." Black emphasized the work being done by his troop — including training the Iraqi National Guard and digging wells for local villages — as evidence of the good that is being done on a daily basis by the military in Iraq. Sgt. Porter pointed out that his troop is "helping the Kurds and the Arabs to work together" — something I witnessed in a contract which the platoon helped negotiate between two villages, one Kurdish and one Arab, which had previous harbored distrust toward each other. And again, the irrepressible Spc. James offered candor: "Who the hell is saying we failed?" He conceded, "it's tough over here, but you expect that. . . . This is a war against terrorism; this is about winning the peace. That doesn't mean that there isn't going to be any fighting."
continued...........
Troop Talk
Soldiers on Iraq.
TUZ, IRAQ — As I walked into the barracks, Sgt. Kevin Porter, a 23-year-old trooper in the Ohio National Guard serving south of Kirkuk, Iraq, called me over. He had just received a package from his family in Bellaire, Ohio, which included a then-weeks-old copy of his local newspaper. The op-ed page featured a column by Andy Rooney opining about the character and morale of servicemen in Iraq. Rooney offered five questions that he wished a reporter would ask the soldiers, a group he dubbed "victims" rather than "heroes." Although Sgt. Porter is not someone who frequently talked politics or current events, Rooney's article struck a nerve with him and his fellow troopers. He asked if I would assist him and the others in responding to Rooney's questions.
Some rightly may wonder why ink should be spilt on what is necessarily a belated response to Rooney, whose banal "did you ever notice" segments on 60 Minutes have come to epitomize journalistic navel gazing. It is worth noting that Rooney was not always a curmudgeonly caricature. During WWII, his combat reporting for Stars and Stripes earned him the Bronze Star. Because of his admirable service, many Americans still lend their ears to what he has to say about our soldiers.
Unfortunately, Mr. Rooney seems to have joined the ranks of journalists whose political disagreements with the current president and open disdain for the war in Iraq cloud their already questionable judgment. In this way, Rooney's tirades about and condescension toward the soldiers are typical of a sizable segment of today's journalists, who according to a recent Pew Center survey are as a whole more liberal than the public for whom they report. And so, after being told for the past year — by those who are not fighting — how the war and reconstruction are going and how the troops are faring, it's past time the troops had their say.
Many of Rooney's questions are skewed in a naked attempt to elicit his desired response. To the extent that he was not simply trying to score rhetorical points in his column, this reflects a belief that the soldiers can be easily led by the nose to tout a particular line. I do not share this opinion, and therefore I let Rooney's questions stand in an attempt to show his calculation wrong. I did not color his questions, but assured they were asked verbatim by requesting that the servicemen read Rooney's written questions before answering. To the extent possible, I interviewed the troopers separately, so that they would not be influenced by another's response, and I made efforts to ensure that the most "pro-Rooney" responses I found for each question were included here. (In the era of Dowd, I should also note that any ellipses are not offered to alter the content, but for the traditional reasons of conciseness, grammar, and to show pauses.)
Rooney's first question was "Do you think your country did the right thing sending you into Iraq?" Cpl. Caleb Clark of Cuyahoga Falls offered an emphatic response: "Absolutely. I think that what we are doing over here has a direct effect on international terrorism. And I think the government should continue to send soldiers over here until the job is done. I feel that we would be cheating the soldiers who went before us if we didn't finish the job." Sgt. Porter shared the view of many soldiers who looked at the impact for future generations: "I think we did the right thing for the simple fact that if we didn't, then our sons or grandchildren would have to come over here and do the same thing." Spc. David James of North Royalton offered his usual candor: "Yeah, I think as a whole, I'm glad we're over here; and me, I'm glad to be part of that whole.... If we didn't step up, who the hell would?" Spc. Daniel Richmond of Akron saw the benefits for both countries: "[T]he country needed our help. And we needed to come over here for our own safety: to help our country deal with the terrorism. And to help them set themselves up with a better government, so that things like terrorism...[don't] happen." For Gulf War veteran Sgt. Joseph Black of Massillon, the only complaint was that we waited this long. "Saddam should have been removed a long time ago, either by the United States or by the surrounding Arab states for the crimes he committed against his people." As you would expect, however, there was not unanimity on the question. Spc. Dickens thought "there were other places that needed attention first" but said, "[N]ow that we are here, we need to finish the job."
Rooney's second question was: "Are you doing what America set out to do to make Iraq a democracy, or have we failed so badly that we should pack up and get out before more of you are killed?" This question drew a unanimous and emphatic response from every trooper I spoke to. Spc. Dickens explained, "[w]e're doing exactly what we set out to do." As for pulling out, he took the prospect quite personally: "We've told the people that we are here to help. If they pull us out now, they would make me into a liar." Spc. Richmond recognized a simple fact which too many armchair analysts in the states overlook: "We are doing what is necessary to make Iraq a democracy — it takes time." Sgt. Black echoed this sentiment, saying "[a]nyone who thinks that we could undo 35 years of brutality with a band-aid is sorely mistaken." Black emphasized the work being done by his troop — including training the Iraqi National Guard and digging wells for local villages — as evidence of the good that is being done on a daily basis by the military in Iraq. Sgt. Porter pointed out that his troop is "helping the Kurds and the Arabs to work together" — something I witnessed in a contract which the platoon helped negotiate between two villages, one Kurdish and one Arab, which had previous harbored distrust toward each other. And again, the irrepressible Spc. James offered candor: "Who the hell is saying we failed?" He conceded, "it's tough over here, but you expect that. . . . This is a war against terrorism; this is about winning the peace. That doesn't mean that there isn't going to be any fighting."
continued...........