Iraq Mission 'Hard But Not Hopeless', says Petraeus
Topic: War on Terrorism
11:45 am EST, Feb 10, 2007
Gen. David H. Petraeus formally took command of American troops in Iraq on Saturday, declaring that the mission here is hard but not hopeless.
Petraeus ... will oversee 132,000 American troops currently in Iraq and thousands more on their way as part of a so-called surge that is widely considered the last, best effort to bring peace to a country increasingly riven by sectarian violence, crime and corruption.
Iraqi officials, faced with such relentless violence, seemed unsure of whether a new American commander and the new plan could clot the bloodshed. Among American military officers, General Petraeus is considered an imaginative leader with a deep understanding of Iraq's problems, culled from two tours here. But for some in Baghdad, his assumption of control looked routine.
Confessions of a Hawkish Hack: The Media and the War on Terror
Topic: War on Terrorism
11:14 am EST, Feb 3, 2007
The nature of terror has changed beyond recognition since Philip Geddes died in an IRA explosion in 1983. That change, and the response of the media class to it, is the theme of this unapologetically personal essay.
This is an edited version of the Philip Geddes Memorial Lecture given in the Examination Schools, University of Oxford, on Friday 27 October 2006.
About the Author: Matthew d’Ancona is editor of The Spectator and political columnist for The Sunday Times and GQ. He was named Political Journalist of the Year in 2006 by the Political Studies Association.
Put simply: Happy viewing. Although navigating the world of online war videos is at best a haphazard venture, there is enough material to provide as clear a view into the lives of combat, boredom and pointless amusement of the soldiers in Iraq as one will find anywhere.
On this particular video:
... the video "3/1 Marines Siege Fallujah" covers the fight of a single company through the streets of that city in November during Operation Phantom Fury, set to the opulently hostile heavy metal anthem "Out of My Way" by Seether.
Put simply: Happy viewing. Although navigating the world of online war videos is at best a haphazard venture, there is enough material to provide as clear a view into the lives of combat, boredom and pointless amusement of the soldiers in Iraq as one will find anywhere.
On this particular video:
A more subtle view of the role of private military firms is shown in one of the most heavily viewed videos from the war, in which Blackwater USA contractors join the fight to defend the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) headquarters in Najaf during the April 2004 Shiite uprising. The video shows a Blackwater sniper firing countless rounds at insurgents, part of an operation that included the use of Blackwater helicopters to deliver supplies, ammunition and close-air support and that is credited with saving the CPA compound from being overrun when U.S. Army helicopters were held back because of heavy enemy ground fire.
The Blackwater sniper video was filmed a week after the mutilation of four Blackwater contractors that forced the Marine Corps into the battle of Fallujah, a strategic debacle that upended months of Marine commanders' planning to gradually build trust with the local population and root out the insurgents with minimal collateral damage or U.S. casualties. It is not apparent that Blackwater's heroism in Najaf did more good than the Fallujah mutilations did harm, but this single video posits the evidence for our consideration.
Put simply: Happy viewing. Although navigating the world of online war videos is at best a haphazard venture, there is enough material to provide as clear a view into the lives of combat, boredom and pointless amusement of the soldiers in Iraq as one will find anywhere.
On this particular video:
One topic that has received extensive online treatment is the role of contractors on the battlefield, the subject of a Robert Greenwald documentary, "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers," that has been promoted heavily on YouTube and other online forums. As with many critiques of contractors on the battlefield, Greenwald lambastes the extravagant fees paid to contractors in Iraq and the apparent disregard for their lives shown by the companies that send them over.
Put simply: Happy viewing. Although navigating the world of online war videos is at best a haphazard venture, there is enough material to provide as clear a view into the lives of combat, boredom and pointless amusement of the soldiers in Iraq as one will find anywhere.
On this particular video:
One topic that has received extensive online treatment is the role of contractors on the battlefield, the subject of a Robert Greenwald documentary, "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers," that has been promoted heavily on YouTube and other online forums. As with many critiques of contractors on the battlefield, Greenwald lambastes the extravagant fees paid to contractors in Iraq and the apparent disregard for their lives shown by the companies that send them over.
Put simply: Happy viewing. Although navigating the world of online war videos is at best a haphazard venture, there is enough material to provide as clear a view into the lives of combat, boredom and pointless amusement of the soldiers in Iraq as one will find anywhere.
On this particular video:
... the popular blogger "Buck Sergeant" at American Citizen Soldier is working to edit his footage from Iraq into a serviceable full-length feature, "Give War a Chance." The trailers he has posted on YouTube show some of the stunning images he has captured, as well as the inspiration for his title choice — a plea for public support on the home front that will let the troops continue to fight for hearts and minds in Iraq.
Put simply: Happy viewing. Although navigating the world of online war videos is at best a haphazard venture, there is enough material to provide as clear a view into the lives of combat, boredom and pointless amusement of the soldiers in Iraq as one will find anywhere.
On this particular video:
The video "Iraq Marine Battle Fallujah" is set to the somber "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits, which captures perfectly the tragic futility of the April offensive that ended in a unilateral cease-fire after 27 Marine deaths.
Put simply: Happy viewing. Although navigating the world of online war videos is at best a haphazard venture, there is enough material to provide as clear a view into the lives of combat, boredom and pointless amusement of the soldiers in Iraq as one will find anywhere.
On this particular video:
The most common format for the online videos are barely that — they are photo montages either compiled by returning U.S. troops to commemorate their experiences in the war, by American citizens to express their gratitude to the soldiers fighting there, or reflecting a collective effort on the part of whole units. Usually set to sentimental, patriotic music (with genuinely moving effect, given the pictures they display), these montages have been available since the beginning of the war. One characteristic example is "Iraq Freedom 2006 'The Kids,'" with photos that Army reservist Rene Phan took of his unit interacting with Iraqi children in the course of their mission to train Iraqi police.
Put simply: Happy viewing. Although navigating the world of online war videos is at best a haphazard venture, there is enough material to provide as clear a view into the lives of combat, boredom and pointless amusement of the soldiers in Iraq as one will find anywhere.
On this particular video:
A characteristic and terrifying example of the invisible menace posed by insurgents is a YouTube video in which a camera lying on a barracks floor during an intense mortar attack captures troops praying and screaming as rounds land ever closer to their position.
