The War Lovers: Why It Feels So Good to Be Embedded with the U.S. Military

[marmar]

from TomDispatch:



The War Lovers
Why It Feels So Good to Be Embedded with the U.S. Military

By Peter Van Buren


Objective reporting on the SEAL team that killed bin Laden was as easy to find as a Prius at a Michele Bachmann rally. The media simply couldn’t help themselves. They couldn’t stop spooning out man-sized helpings of testosterone -- the SEALs’ phallic weapons, their frat-house, haze-worthy training, their romance-novel bravado, their sweaty, heaving chests pressing against tight uniforms, muscles daring to break free...

You get the point. Towel off and read on.

What is it about the military that turns normally thoughtful journalists into war pornographers? A reporter who would otherwise make it through the day sober spends a little time with some unit of the U.S. military and promptly loses himself in ever more dramatic language about bravery and sacrifice, stolen in equal parts from Thucydides, Henry V, and Sergeant Rock comics.

I’m neither a soldier nor a journalist. I’m a diplomat, just back from 12 months as a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) leader, embedded with the military in Iraq, and let me tell you that nobody laughed harder at the turgid prose reporters used to describe their lives than the soldiers themselves. They knew they were trading hours of boredom for maybe minutes of craziness that only in retrospect seemed “exciting,” as opposed to scary, confusing, and chaotic. That said, the laziest private knew from growing up watching TV exactly what flavor to feed a visiting reporter. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175392/tomgram%3A_peter_van_buren%2C_warrior_pundits_and_war_pornographers/#more (the story follows an intro titled 'Warrior Pundits and War Pornographers')

[LiberalLoner]

1. I think any of us who have served, understand this. Soldiers, or all military personnel,

are often self-sacrificing, and caring for those they serve with (including journalists embedded with them.)

I think it's pretty normal to feel admiration, and express admiration, when you are witnessing people who exhibit nobility of spirit.

I figure I'm going to get flamed for this post, with people piling on to tell me how truly horrible all military and former military are, and how we are only torturers and baby-killers.

But I know the truth. I am proud that I served, and proud that my husband is still serving. Nothing anyone can say can make me feel ashamed that I served or that I am currently an Army wife.

And, yes, "serving" is truly the best word that describes what the military does.

[oneshooter]

2. +100 n/t

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Did you read the piece?

Your comment is a paragraph long non-sequitur.

[LiberalLoner]

5. Yes, I did. I read how the reporter said it was hard not to get caught up in all the

soldier worship, when soldiers were doing things like giving him their own sleeping bags, giving them their own anti-diarrhea medicine, etc.

I was saying, you know, maybe it's not really soldier worship so much as it is honest admiration for the people who make these sacrifices.

[Arctic Dave]

4. The military is just a slice of America, they are no better or worse.

If they were "above" the rest then why do they have police, JAG and brigs?

I am always amazed at the rose colored glasses old soldiers look through when they describe their time in service, it's like listening to a person who still talks about their glory days in high school.

[LiberalLoner]

6. Not all soldiers are good people. It's just that the ones who ARE good, really

stand out in your mind and make an impression. At least they did on me.

[TimLighter]

7. I tend to dismiss braggarts on any level

the louder the the story teller the less likely that it ever happened. They remind me of the idiot freepers who post tales of confronting a "dirty liberal" in a checkout line, devastating them with a clever put down to the cheers of those in attendance and the fools that ^H5 them.

[formercia]

8. Talking Points, tend to be discounted too.

Stick around a while and keep an open mind, otherwise, someone might mistake you for a sock puppet.

[alarimer]

9. I simply do not trust the reporting of anyone embedded with the military.

The military is well known for covering shit up. So any "reporter" embedded is simply acting as a propaganda outlet from the warmongers.
All this military worship makes me barf.

[classysassy]

10. Kudos instead of cash

Tell the service members they are all hero's and we don't have to pay them what the war mongers make.