Andrew Sullivan linked to an article from an embedded reporter in Fallujah. The relevant bit comes at the end:

Well, it's surprising, to be honest. ... I have spoken to a lot [of Marines] who have been engaged in some of these firefights. In fact, I was in one of the combat surgical rooms where they were working on a couple of these guys.

Two of them had been ambushed, not where the main fight is going on tonight, but their unit had been ambushed east of Fallujah. And seven people rolled in. There were two that had gunshot wounds. And they pulled a huge slug, a bullet, out of the leg of one of the Marines. And another one had a bullet wound right through the back.

And, amazingly, they were trying to convince their commanders that they were ready to go and go back out. I have been really surprised at ... the high degree of morale that these Marines have shown. Remember, they have only been here for a month and a half. Many of these units that are here now engaged in the initial invasion last year and were in Iraq for several months.

Now they're back. But they seem to be engaged. They're taking casualties. But it's really surprising. You don't see much head-dragging or anything like that. I mean, you know, what you see is kind of more encouragement for these guys.

And, for example, the one who had the gravest -- the bullet in and out through his back -- was trying to convince his commander that he'd be back. And his commander actually promised him that his spot was still going to be there. Another soldier who was injured in that huge firefight yesterday who I spoke to earlier this morning, he wanted to get back out there. But the only problem was, was that half his shoulder was missing around his firing arm.

But he was convinced he would be able to sit there on a roof and not have to run anywhere and he could contribute that way. So it's been surprising. But ... the Marines that are here certainly appear to be geared up for whatever the future holds.

One of Sullivan's readers makes a simple point:

The line that struck me as most interesting in that piece from the embedded CNN reporter is near the end where he writes 'So itÂ’s been surprising'. I would love for him to further explain why he finds the actions & attitudes of these men 'surprising'. I would take a guess & say that this is this man's first exposure to our men in the military.
I was an Army brat from the day I was born until I was halfway through college, and my father was an Airborne ranger most of those years. This reporter's observations of our soldiers don't surprise me at all. Anyone who has spent anytime around our soldiers would not have expected anything different. These men take their code and their duty seriously. The fact that the reporter is 'surprised' I think reveals more than anything his (and no doubt a significant number of media people's) disconnect from what most people know, either first hand or instinctively, about our military personnel. We have the best military known to mankind and one of the primary reasons is the simplest one: The people who are in it.

Once I got my taste of military life, I never wanted to live any other way. Having taught soldiers, I never want to teach anyone but. I decided this morning that if my husband ever decides to separate from the military, I will require that we live near a military post so I can continue to work with soldiers. Once you see the caliber person the military fosters, you never want anything less.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:11 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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"As far as we know, Senator Kerry got three Purple Hearts for risking his life in Vietnam and President Bush got a dental examination in Alabama," Pelosi said.

This little quote tagged onto the Cheney-is-a-chickenhawk article is disgusting. I don't even know what else to say about it. It makes my blood boil to see such spin.

Posted by: Sarah at 08:52 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 "President Bush got a dental examination in Alabama" Perhaps Kerry OTOH let his teeth rot. War hero, maybe. Dental role model, maybe not. Knowing Fox's biases, the quote was probably included to create the very effect that it had on you (and me).

Posted by: Amritas at April 29, 2004 09:45 AM (clwfO)

2 I looked and looked, but nowhere in the Constitution does it say that one has to have been to Vietnam to be President. Nowhere does it say one has to have been in a war to lead the country during one. Did I maybe miss that particular amendment? Or is it in the one section that only Liberals can see, in the same place as the "right" to abortion??

Posted by: CavalierX at April 29, 2004 10:57 AM (KEdMI)

3 That isn't a contrail Kerry's sporting, it's smoke from the fire on his tail.

Posted by: Mike at April 29, 2004 11:47 AM (cFRpq)

4 CavalierX, Remember, the Constitution is a "living" document. Apparently, we missed out on the Vietnam Amendment. That one must've materialized after the golden age of Clinton ended. Always keep in mind that these sound bites are designed for voters who don't think things through. They don't have to make sense. Such is the nature of mass memetic warfare.

Posted by: Amritas at April 29, 2004 12:03 PM (7TKgY)

5 The Dems try to confuse the issues here. Everybody recognizes Kerry as a "war hero", earning the unprecedented 5 awards in 4 months of service. The issue was what did he do immediately after his "heroism", such as accusing American soldiers as baby killers, mass murderers, and rapists.

Posted by: ic at April 29, 2004 04:54 PM (X4gTE)

6 "Everybody recognizes Kerry as a 'war hero' " Not "everybody." Some deny that. What he actually did in Vietnam has been disputed. There is, however, no doubt about what he did after he came back.

Posted by: Amritas at April 29, 2004 07:58 PM (7TKgY)

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Sometimes I just have to laugh when I think of how the terrorists are starting to mimic what they hear on the American media. I don't for a second believe that these terrorists give one fig about Kyoto or Halliburton or a peace treaty with Europe. These people are not dumb; they know what the transnational progressives in the West want to hear and they give it to them. They listen to the protestors, and then suddenly a "new bin Ladin tape" comes out and says exactly what the moonbats want to hear. It's all fascinatingly silly to me.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:29 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Found an Andy Rooney editorial via Bunker, and the headline makes my blood boil.

Our soldiers in Iraq aren't heroes:

We must support our soldiers in Iraq because it's our fault they're risking their lives there. However, we should not bestow the mantle of heroism on all of them for simply being where we sent them. Most are victims, not heroes.

As a veteran, he should be ashamed of himself for belittling our servicemembers like that. They're not perfect, but they're all risking their lives so we don't have to. Shame on you, Rooney.

MORE TO GROK:

Tim organizes our servicemembers into a fisking. He also invites Rooney to visit the America he lives in.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:24 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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