thedrifter
06-13-08, 06:38 AM
Strategy over politics for ‘hero’
By John Deppen
For The Daily Item
Fri, Jun 13 2008
— Jim Webb is an American hero. As a Marine platoon commander with Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in Vietnam in 1969, Webb earned the Navy Cross — second only to the Medal of Honor among U. S. military decorations — for his courageous combat leadership. Webb also earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. Later, Webb served as Secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan, and became a best-selling writer and award-winning journalist. Webb’s novel “Fields of Fire” is widely regarded as the definitive work of historical fiction about the Vietnam War.
Webb, now a U.S. Senator from Virginia, reveals a thought-provoking and persuasive view of our current national condition in his latest book, “A Time to Fight — Reclaiming A Fair and Just America” (Broadway Books, 2008). Webb scrutinizes the development and expansion of inequalities in our economy, our criminal justice system, our foreign policy, as well as the complex and frustrating relationships between our political parties and our military.
In his 2006 Senate campaign, Webb committed the unpardonable heresy of running as a Democrat. Right-wing pit bulls like Sean Hannity and Michael Savage used their media platforms to launch rabid attacks targeting Webb. The decorated Marine endured ugly accusations of everything from cowardice (for daring to question the Bush doctrine on Iraq) to child pornography (for writing about unusual local customs he witnessed during his travels in Southeast Asia). Webb, wearing a pair of his son’s combat boots throughout the campaign, marched on, prevailing in a narrow victory over his Republican opponent.
Though readers of “A Time to Fight” may not agree with Webb’s positions on issues, no one can dispute that the Senator takes his leadership responsibilities very seriously, and that Webb feels a profound obligation to our men and women in uniform to see that any decision placing them in harm’s way makes strategic, rather than political, sense.
Webb is on many pundits’ lists of potential vice presidential candidates for Senator Barack Obama. Webb’s experience in making life-and-death leadership decisions — some of which are recounted in heartbreaking detail in “A Time to Fight” — makes him an impressive asset to whatever administration assumes power in January 2009. Webb’s blunt honesty, however, troubles many who have spent most of their adult lives walking the halls of power in Washington D.C.
Sean Hannity is right about one thing — we live in “consequential times,” as he asserts daily on his radio show. “A Time to Fight” is a consequential book. Thinking citizens of all political persuasions would do well to read it.
n John Deppen, of Northumberland, can be reached at GeneralWSH@aol.com
Ellie
By John Deppen
For The Daily Item
Fri, Jun 13 2008
— Jim Webb is an American hero. As a Marine platoon commander with Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in Vietnam in 1969, Webb earned the Navy Cross — second only to the Medal of Honor among U. S. military decorations — for his courageous combat leadership. Webb also earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. Later, Webb served as Secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan, and became a best-selling writer and award-winning journalist. Webb’s novel “Fields of Fire” is widely regarded as the definitive work of historical fiction about the Vietnam War.
Webb, now a U.S. Senator from Virginia, reveals a thought-provoking and persuasive view of our current national condition in his latest book, “A Time to Fight — Reclaiming A Fair and Just America” (Broadway Books, 2008). Webb scrutinizes the development and expansion of inequalities in our economy, our criminal justice system, our foreign policy, as well as the complex and frustrating relationships between our political parties and our military.
In his 2006 Senate campaign, Webb committed the unpardonable heresy of running as a Democrat. Right-wing pit bulls like Sean Hannity and Michael Savage used their media platforms to launch rabid attacks targeting Webb. The decorated Marine endured ugly accusations of everything from cowardice (for daring to question the Bush doctrine on Iraq) to child pornography (for writing about unusual local customs he witnessed during his travels in Southeast Asia). Webb, wearing a pair of his son’s combat boots throughout the campaign, marched on, prevailing in a narrow victory over his Republican opponent.
Though readers of “A Time to Fight” may not agree with Webb’s positions on issues, no one can dispute that the Senator takes his leadership responsibilities very seriously, and that Webb feels a profound obligation to our men and women in uniform to see that any decision placing them in harm’s way makes strategic, rather than political, sense.
Webb is on many pundits’ lists of potential vice presidential candidates for Senator Barack Obama. Webb’s experience in making life-and-death leadership decisions — some of which are recounted in heartbreaking detail in “A Time to Fight” — makes him an impressive asset to whatever administration assumes power in January 2009. Webb’s blunt honesty, however, troubles many who have spent most of their adult lives walking the halls of power in Washington D.C.
Sean Hannity is right about one thing — we live in “consequential times,” as he asserts daily on his radio show. “A Time to Fight” is a consequential book. Thinking citizens of all political persuasions would do well to read it.
n John Deppen, of Northumberland, can be reached at GeneralWSH@aol.com
Ellie