strawberry_soldier
2004-10-17 17:41:23 UTC
-- but it ain't shit compared to the Web! "(O)ne thing no one can control
is the Net. Today there's a laptop in almost every bunker, manned by grunts
who are a whole lot smarter and faster than their watchdogs. Which means
that despite a hogtied press corps, we're getting the unspun word from
Iraq - and the news ain't good. The brass are going nuts trying to stop
this electronic tsunami of truth that's washing over the land courtesy of a
generation of sharp kids who've been armed with computers since age 4. Kids
who glory in staying three irrepressible steps ahead of their minders via
blogs, dummy ISP addresses and cute tricks like sending e-mails to cutouts
for forwarding to guys like me." And if the Pentagon thinks it's bad now,
just wait until they bring the draft back and force a shitload of cybergeeks
into uniform. Like kids with their fingers in the dike, the brass will need
more arms than Hindu god to stop the hemorrhage of TRUTH from the front.
And when things finally get bad enough, it wouldn't surprise me at all if
Col. Hackworth just "disappeared" for "the duration", having been put under
house arrest in an undisclosed location in a vain attempt to shut him up
(Don't scoff. Interning "subversives" en masse was SOP during both World
Wars).
Muzzling Soldiers Is Nothing New
By David H. Hackworth
Politicians and military commanders were lying about how wars were
progressing long before the sword and the shield first clashed. And the long
distances and delayed communications made censoring what was reported to
citizens no big stretch.
After all, from the Greek Wars to Gettysburg, it took months for letters and
casualty lists to travel by runner, boat, pony and finally, rail. By the
time the bad news arrived from the front, the dead were buried and the
battle long over.
But as war morphed from cannonballs to aircraft to missiles, communications
also zoomed along - from printing press, telegraph, radio, TV and satellites
to the Net.
Even so, the Thought Police headquartered in space-age offices in
Washington, D.C., are still trying to bend any and all information about
military campaigns. Our leaders know that in democratic America, they must
have popular support for their wars, and they won't keep it if folks start
to think we're losing and being lied to.
The propagandists' mantra seems to be the ancient Greek proverb, "In the
land of the blind, the one-eyed Cyclops rules the land." It's become
standard drill to keep the truth for the leaders' eyes only. Especially when
the real story is a downer.
During the Vietnam War, the Eddie Adams's, Kevin Buckleys, Joe Galloways and
hundreds of other daring young reporters brought us a blow-by-blow about
what was going on.
But after dealing with the fallout, Washington vowed that never again would
the press have so much access and freedom. And from Grenada to Panama to
Kuwait to the reporters embedded last year in Iraq, the Pentagon has been
into keeping the American people in the dark. For example, caskets are no
longer allowed to be photographed, the number of evacuees from war zones and
the causes behind any evacuations are now covered up, and reporters in
general are ever more carefully controlled.
But one thing no one can control is the Net. Today there's a laptop in
almost every bunker, manned by grunts who are a whole lot smarter and faster
than their watchdogs. Which means that despite a hogtied press corps, we're
getting the unspun word from Iraq - and the news ain't good.
The brass are going nuts trying to stop this electronic tsunami of truth
that's washing over the land courtesy of a generation of sharp kids who've
been armed with computers since age 4. Kids who glory in staying three
irrepressible steps ahead of their minders via blogs, dummy ISP addresses
and cute tricks like sending e-mails to cutouts for forwarding to guys like
me.
So the brass have reverted to the weapon they've used to silence warriors
since long before Caesar was running Rome: intimidation. The troops are
being warned: Shut up; and if you don't button it, you'll be drummed out of
the service.
Sgt. Al Lorentz wrote a piece from Iraq (See "A Sergeant Speaks the Hard
Truth," Special Reports, Sept. 30, 2004, SFTT.org). He now faces
disciplinary action for "disloyalty" and "insubordination." He could end up
with 20 years in the slammer if found guilty.
An officer in Iraq who has asked to remain anonymous says: "The
establishment here wants to present the picture that everything is A-OK when
it's too often not the case. Soldiers shouldn't be punished or made to feel
like they're disloyal, not part of the team, troublemakers, whiners,
dissenters, malcontents, etc., etc., just because they give somebody a true
sitrep on certain things going on over here. But sadly this is the case."
Then there's the personal attack on anyone with a point of view that's
different from the party line: You're un-American; or you're supporting the
enemy or not supporting the troops. The latest tactic is to say you're
sending out mixed messages that hurt troop morale.
But according to our soldiers in Iraq, this is just not true. They say their
morale is in the toilet because of how badly the war's been handled, not
because of what's being reported or debated by politicians.
"I resent the fascist-style approach that tries to paint any objection of
current policy as traitorous," says Ken Druhut. "I am a proud vet and
gratefully enjoy the freedoms that our military has provided. But this
Gestapo stuff has to stop."
Amen.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=Hacks%20Target%20Homepage.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=87&rnd=106.0697020552272
is the Net. Today there's a laptop in almost every bunker, manned by grunts
who are a whole lot smarter and faster than their watchdogs. Which means
that despite a hogtied press corps, we're getting the unspun word from
Iraq - and the news ain't good. The brass are going nuts trying to stop
this electronic tsunami of truth that's washing over the land courtesy of a
generation of sharp kids who've been armed with computers since age 4. Kids
who glory in staying three irrepressible steps ahead of their minders via
blogs, dummy ISP addresses and cute tricks like sending e-mails to cutouts
for forwarding to guys like me." And if the Pentagon thinks it's bad now,
just wait until they bring the draft back and force a shitload of cybergeeks
into uniform. Like kids with their fingers in the dike, the brass will need
more arms than Hindu god to stop the hemorrhage of TRUTH from the front.
And when things finally get bad enough, it wouldn't surprise me at all if
Col. Hackworth just "disappeared" for "the duration", having been put under
house arrest in an undisclosed location in a vain attempt to shut him up
(Don't scoff. Interning "subversives" en masse was SOP during both World
Wars).
Muzzling Soldiers Is Nothing New
By David H. Hackworth
Politicians and military commanders were lying about how wars were
progressing long before the sword and the shield first clashed. And the long
distances and delayed communications made censoring what was reported to
citizens no big stretch.
After all, from the Greek Wars to Gettysburg, it took months for letters and
casualty lists to travel by runner, boat, pony and finally, rail. By the
time the bad news arrived from the front, the dead were buried and the
battle long over.
But as war morphed from cannonballs to aircraft to missiles, communications
also zoomed along - from printing press, telegraph, radio, TV and satellites
to the Net.
Even so, the Thought Police headquartered in space-age offices in
Washington, D.C., are still trying to bend any and all information about
military campaigns. Our leaders know that in democratic America, they must
have popular support for their wars, and they won't keep it if folks start
to think we're losing and being lied to.
The propagandists' mantra seems to be the ancient Greek proverb, "In the
land of the blind, the one-eyed Cyclops rules the land." It's become
standard drill to keep the truth for the leaders' eyes only. Especially when
the real story is a downer.
During the Vietnam War, the Eddie Adams's, Kevin Buckleys, Joe Galloways and
hundreds of other daring young reporters brought us a blow-by-blow about
what was going on.
But after dealing with the fallout, Washington vowed that never again would
the press have so much access and freedom. And from Grenada to Panama to
Kuwait to the reporters embedded last year in Iraq, the Pentagon has been
into keeping the American people in the dark. For example, caskets are no
longer allowed to be photographed, the number of evacuees from war zones and
the causes behind any evacuations are now covered up, and reporters in
general are ever more carefully controlled.
But one thing no one can control is the Net. Today there's a laptop in
almost every bunker, manned by grunts who are a whole lot smarter and faster
than their watchdogs. Which means that despite a hogtied press corps, we're
getting the unspun word from Iraq - and the news ain't good.
The brass are going nuts trying to stop this electronic tsunami of truth
that's washing over the land courtesy of a generation of sharp kids who've
been armed with computers since age 4. Kids who glory in staying three
irrepressible steps ahead of their minders via blogs, dummy ISP addresses
and cute tricks like sending e-mails to cutouts for forwarding to guys like
me.
So the brass have reverted to the weapon they've used to silence warriors
since long before Caesar was running Rome: intimidation. The troops are
being warned: Shut up; and if you don't button it, you'll be drummed out of
the service.
Sgt. Al Lorentz wrote a piece from Iraq (See "A Sergeant Speaks the Hard
Truth," Special Reports, Sept. 30, 2004, SFTT.org). He now faces
disciplinary action for "disloyalty" and "insubordination." He could end up
with 20 years in the slammer if found guilty.
An officer in Iraq who has asked to remain anonymous says: "The
establishment here wants to present the picture that everything is A-OK when
it's too often not the case. Soldiers shouldn't be punished or made to feel
like they're disloyal, not part of the team, troublemakers, whiners,
dissenters, malcontents, etc., etc., just because they give somebody a true
sitrep on certain things going on over here. But sadly this is the case."
Then there's the personal attack on anyone with a point of view that's
different from the party line: You're un-American; or you're supporting the
enemy or not supporting the troops. The latest tactic is to say you're
sending out mixed messages that hurt troop morale.
But according to our soldiers in Iraq, this is just not true. They say their
morale is in the toilet because of how badly the war's been handled, not
because of what's being reported or debated by politicians.
"I resent the fascist-style approach that tries to paint any objection of
current policy as traitorous," says Ken Druhut. "I am a proud vet and
gratefully enjoy the freedoms that our military has provided. But this
Gestapo stuff has to stop."
Amen.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=Hacks%20Target%20Homepage.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=87&rnd=106.0697020552272