the Centrist

 

 

As I read about the two soldiers who were tortured and whose bodies were mutilated I was certain that this would be the turning point.  This would be the point in which we Americans drew a line in the Iraqi sand, and it would be the line our enemy should never have crossed.  These atrocities should have become our rallying call, the point in which all America would unite … almost a second 911, because once again the enemy has shown that even the word barbarism is too sophisticated an adjective for them.  Moreover, I based this conclusion on the integrity of the oft heard leftist doctrine: “we support the troops, but not the war”.  If ever there were a time for them to ‘support the troops’ … this was it.  If ever there was a time that the media should attempt to rally the citizens to a common cause, against the Islamo-fascist terrorists, this heinous crime should have been the occasion.  
            Naïve me … perhaps I expected the left to hold on to some of their former leftist scholastic idealism’ … but I should have known that integrity, compassion, and outrage, once synonymous with their cause, are now only reserved for their agendas.  Yet I feel strongly that America should be resolved to contend for these victims.  I feel all Americans should view these recent atrocities not only with anger, but also outrage.  I further feel just as resolute that the media should be leading the way.  These men were in uniform when captured and should have been afforded the privileges of the Geneva Convention.  Privileges this same media has accused their nation of not providing.  Though these accusations have never have proven, the names Guantanamo, Abu Ghariab, and Haditha have become familiar only because the media has kept these stories alive. Since these men were not accorded their rights and subjected to the height of barbarism, a valid question to leftists is: what would they have contended had American troops acted in a similar manner?  The New York Times ran over 50 front page, ‘above the fold’, stories on those ‘crimes’.  The word ‘atrocity’ was used repeatedly for what was at worst disrespect, at best hazing.  We were privy to the photos of naked prisoners being made to form human pyramids and mocked … while I agree that behavior was ‘dehumanizing’, it falls far short of torture.  But even though none were physically tortured, the Americans responsible were sentenced to up to 15 years imprisonment and dishonorably discharged.  The press, almost universally, seemed to think the punishment fit the crime. I did not.
What was the New York Times response to this carnage?  Rather than rally America against its enemy, they gave away the details of yet another successful and legal form of espionage used against the terrorists.  One cannot say that this story was not newsworthy as so often claimed.  After all, when the bodies of our soldiers were found they had numerous marks indicating the worst possible types of torture resulting in a slow and agonizing death. Moreover, the bodies were booby trapped and in such a state it took a DNA analysis to identify them.  If the ‘New York Times’ had 50 front page stories for Abu Gharib, these barbaric actions should have precipitated a ‘fair and balanced’ response from media on all levels.  With the exception of talk radio and internet blogs, it did not. The media did not even feign outrage after these atrocities.  There was nary a word on the front page of most liberal bastions across the fruited plains.  What is appalling to me is that while most Americans cannot even recall the names and faces of these two brave souls. 
Those on the left have totally ignored the fate of hundreds of thousands of all ages found buried in mass graves.  Torture chambers and rape rooms are commonly ignored by the left as if they were ‘collateral damage’ and to be expected.  When I hear these liberals harp on an ‘illegitimate’ war it reveals their utmost hypocrisy.  The freedom fighters in this war have been the American Military and the new Iraqi Forces.  It should be no small thing and a point of pride that American blood and money has created two democracies.  These new governments have already restored the right to vote, freedom of the press, and women’s rights.  Yet there is nothing but criticism for military accomplishments from the main stream media. 
            Since the press refuses, it might be a good thing to remind America what the enemy is.  It is one thing to sit in your ivory towers and claim: ‘a terrorist to one is a freedom fighter to another’ … but these terrorist are fighting against the freedoms already won by the people via the American military. It is becoming alarmingly evident that the main stream media is in lock step with the terrorists … after all both have the same goal, to defeat America.  While the enemy is attempting to defeat it by intimidation and barbarism, the press is determined to defeat it by revealing secrets and refusing to cover any stories that would bolster its cause.  So while many insist that we should ‘understand them’, I contend we must defeat them.  But how can we ever defeat them when they are allowed to torture and desecrate at will, while our military fights them with one hand tied behind their backs?  It seems to this rather irate columnist that we should send a clear message.  The first step in response to these murders should be to pardon (are you listening Mr. President?) all of those accused of and or serving time for the inane accusations against them at Abu Gharib.  The second should be to find and prosecute the ‘leaker’ to the New York Times as well as the paper itself, for revealing top secret data to the enemy (aiding and abetting). Folks, we are at war and the American Press does not even have the integrity to report the fight from the battlefields as it occurs.  Finally, it is time to make our soldiers our heroes … and lets start with two names Americans should never forget: Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. the soldiers tortured and killed, but ignored by their national press … may they rest in peace, and on behalf of most Americans … thank you from the bottom of our hearts for dying for our freedom.