James Corum is a sober, thoughtful voice in the ongoing debate about peace and war, and how each should be waged.
OS enjoys reading his thoughts, and hopes his readers will take a few moments to ponder them as well.
This time, he discusses the massive WikiLeaks scandal, abetted by the Yew Nork Times.
He asks the cogent question:
Take a hypothetical situation. In 1943 some British and American military intelligence personnel decided that the public had a right to know how the war was really going. They gave the documents to the New York Times and Guardian, who published them in accordance with “the public’s right to know”. Along with the routine reports, the media published thousands of pages of low level intelligence documents including documents that mentioned army staff meetings. The media blacked out the names of the sources and some details – but a clever enemy could quickly figure out which meetings had been compromised and who had likely compromised them. They would also have likely figured out which information had come from signals intercepts – and would then quickly change their procedures and codes to shut off intelligence to the Allies. As a result of the compromise, many Allied soldiers would likely die.
What would be the response of the British and US governments to such a leak of classified information?
And, more to the point, he poses a sharper question at the end
[W]hy were soldiers lives considered valuable in 1943 and not even considered at all by the political and media elites in 2010? The answer is that the liberal elites who think leaking documents is worthy of praise appear to have no regard at all for the lives of the soldiers they send to war, if such lives get in the way of their momentary ego gratification. Our elites are making it very clear that their moment of fame, of self-righteous glory, and their moral posturing far outweigh the lives of our soldiers.
It's a question that goes to the heart of our culture, and needs to be addressed head-on.
Now, by contrast, OS is on a business trip in Northern Kentucky this week. The local paper is covering the funeral of a local young man killed in service of his country. Ambushed in Afghanistan, leaving behind a widow and three children. The accounts are, well, heartbreaking.
Carroll County and neighboring county residents are encouraged to attend a community memorial service on Friday, July 30, to “honor the life of Staff Sgt. Chris Stout.” The announcement was made on Monday, July 26, by Carroll County Judge-Executive Harold “Shorty” Tomlinson.
Stout was among three soldiers killed on July 13 when their unit came under attack by insurgents in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. Stout was assigned to 1st Batallion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C. He served much of his career as a rigger with the 782nd Main Support Battalion and other quartermaster units on Fort Bragg. It was during this time that he sang with the 82nd All American Army chorus. Stout reclassed to become a chaplain’s assistant in September 2006.
“This is a service not only for the people of our Carroll County community,” Tomlinson said, “but for neighboring communities as well. We need to make sure our younger generation realizes that there is a real cost for the freedoms we enjoy.”
Plans were still incomplete at press time regarding who would be the speakers and other active participants in the service, Tomlinson said.
Stout grew up in the Worthville community and attended Carroll and Owen county schools. He resided in Fayetteville, N.C., with his wife Misty and daughters Audreanna and Kristen. His oldest daughter Jacqueline resides in Bedford, Ky. Stout is the first chaplain’s assistant killed in action since 1970 during the Vietnam War.
It is maddening to see the disconnect between the outpouring of sympathy for this fine young man, and the cynicism of the elites whose reckless behaviour leads to these tragedies. Not just the loss of a soldier's life, but the lives forever altered by his death. It matters not a whit to the soulless editors seeking that next Pulitzer by climbing over the corpses they create.
If we are going to set this culture back on track, we must begin to speak with clarity, repeatedly and loudly, that this sort of travesty is not acceptable.
Condolences to the family and friends of Sgt. Stout.
May an incurable pox afflict the editorial staff of the New York Times.
1 comment:
I think the fact that we have a "volunteer military" now, as opposed to a draft based military makes a part of the difference. If the elites themselves, and those close them, were subject to being caught in the draft, they would see things entirely differently. As it is, they see the military simply as "employees" who are entirely expendable. (If they don't like the work, they should not sign on for the job sort of an attitude.)
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