[Dean's World] Dave Price: Flags of our Fathers vs. Present-Day Partisans

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Posted by Dave Price:
Flags of our Fathers vs. Present-Day Partisans
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1161622443.shtml


   Over the weekend I saw "Flags Of Our Fathers," Clint Eastwoodâs film
   about the famous picture of the Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima.
   It was fairly good, but what really struck me was how the press of the
   day seemed almost as interested as the military in painting the men in
   the picture as heroes, a title the men themselves were somewhat
   shocked by, and less than enthusiastic to claim. We also witness the
   soldiers hearing Tokyo Rose on the radio before the battle, telling
   them how their lonely wives and girlfriends back home are stepping out
   with other men, whom she says may soon even escort their grieving
   widows to the soldiersâ funerals, and this clearly bothers them.
   Then I came back home to our present-day press and saw [1]this.

     (CNN) -- Chilling scenes from a videotape made by insurgents show
     the work of snipers in Iraq, targeting and killing American troops,
     taking them down with a single bullet from a high-powered rifle.

   Which of the two media examples above does it remind you of more?
   Thereâs also a scene in which the soldiers find the body of âIggy,â a
   Marine who had the bad luck to fall into one of the caves with the
   Japanese soldiers. As they stare at his remains, aghast, one of the
   soldiers says âPoor bastard, look what they did to him.â They never
   show exactly what happened to Iggy, but itâs clearly implied that it
   was quite horrifying, probably involving torture and mutilation. His
   parents are never told how he died, despite asking again and again.
   Much later, the narrator notes one man in the unit finally told them
   something, âbut it was definitely not the truth.â
   Today, I read [2]this:

     CNN was right to broadcast the truth of these sniper attacks. It's
     well past time to rip off the blinders, so we are forced to see
     reality, even when it is filmed by insurgents.

   Unbelievably, this sanctimony is offered in defense of a network that
   has admitted covering up Saddamâs atrocities in order to gain better
   access to the regime. Where was the need to rip off the blinders then?
   For shame â but clearly they have none.
   This contrast does not happen by mistake. I would guess that if you
   polled reporters, you would find something like 90% of them opposed to
   the war, and just as many hopeful that negative perceptions of the war
   will put the Democrats back in power. This is not some noble pursuit
   of truth, this is deliberate regurgitation of enemy propaganda
   intended to influence American public opinion against the war for
   partisan purposes.
   Yes, I question their patriotism. As Glenn has [3]noted, "antiwar"
   increasingly seems to mean "on the other side."

References

   1. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/10/19/iraq.sniper.video/index.html
   2. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/10/22/whats_really_going_on_in_iraq/
   3. http://instapundit.com/archives/008407.php