Heroes don't come wholesale
By Andy Rooney
Most of the reporting from Iraq is about death and destruction. We don't learn much about what our soldiers in Iraq are thinking or doing. There's no Ernie Pyle to tell us and, if there were, the military would make it difficult or impossible for him to let us know.
| I'm not too sure about that, Andy. The idea of embedded reporters goes back to Ernie Pyle. But since the action's not been hot and heavy until lately, they're gone. Now we're stuck mostly with the same old hacks sitting around the bar in hotels and retyping press releases. I don't think the fault lies with the military... |
It would be interesting to have a reporter ask a group of our soldiers in Iraq to answer five questions and see the results:1. Do you think your country did the right thing sending you into Iraq?
| Probably there's a range of opinion on this, but my guess is that the majority would say "yes." |
2. Are you doing what America set out to do to make Iraq a democracy, or have we failed so badly that we should pack up and get out before more of you are killed?
| We can't pack up and get out. If we do, Iraq becomes a stew, with corpse counts higher than anything we've seen to date, and eventually breaks down into at least three separate countries that don't like each other. There's no liberal democracy introduced into the Arab world, and there's no progress made in the war on terror. Further, we'll have demonstrated that we can be counted on to cut and run — like you want to do, Andy — and can therefore be dismissed as an influence in the international arena. |
3. Do the orders you get handed down from one headquarters to another, all far removed from the fighting, seem sensible, or do you think our highest command is out of touch with the reality of your situation?
| There's always a disconnect between orders "from on high" and orders as interpreted in the field. That's a problem that was a lot more pronounced back in your day, though, Andy. Even by my day, it had improved, and today's internet-ready forces make the front end-back end coordination much more coherent. So I think that horse is dead. Now, does the guy in the saddle in the turret see the strategic picture? Probably not. Does the military continue to hurry up and wait? Absolutely. The mechanics of moving large numbers of men and machines, keeping them supplied, and attending to their physical needs is all pretty complicated and it can't be accomplished gracefully. On the other hand, the military handles it a lot better than your friendly neighborhood local government in most cases. If you don't believe that, go get in line to get medical assistance for an aged parent... Oh. Sorry. I forgot. You are an aged parent. |
4. If you could have a medal or a trip home, which would you take?
| Probably the trip home. If I could have a medal or get laid, I'd rather get laid. If I could have a medal or a cup of coffee, I'd take the cup of coffee. But if I could have all three and a medal, too, I'd take the medal. How about you? |
5. Are you encouraged by all the talk back home about how brave you are and how everyone supports you?| If I was still in the military, I'd probably be ignoring most of that and concentrating on what I was doing. I think that's what most people in uniform actually do. |
Treating soldiers fighting their war as brave heroes is an old civilian trick designed to keep the soldiers at it. But you can be sure our soldiers in Iraq are not all brave heroes gladly risking their lives for us sitting comfortably back here at home.
| Probably not, though most are on to the tricks of old civilians by now. Only dumbasses gladly risk their lives. Lives are precious to us non-turban wearers. In some instances it's a necessary thing, though. Without the guys potting turbans in Fallujah, we stand a chance of losing this war, which is as serious as any we've ever fought. Not being 185 years old, like you, Andy, I worry about my children's and grandchildren's future. I don't want them to have to bow down toward Mecca five times a day. I don't want mullahs telling them what position to pee in. I don't want them to adopt Arab culture and forget all the magnificent civilization we've inherited from Europe, who often act like they don't need it anymore. It's not a matter of "glad." It's a matter of "must." Is your memory starting to go, Andy? Have you forgotten that the guys 60 years ago weren't "glad" to be blown to shreds at Anzio or Tarawa? They "had" to do it, so, being men, they did it. Being men (and today, women) our troops in Iraq are doing it, continuing the tradition of the men of 60 years ago. |
Our soldiers in Iraq are people, young men and women, and they behave like people — sometimes good and sometimes bad, sometimes brave, sometimes fearful. It's disingenuous of the rest of us to encourage them to fight this war by idolizing them. We pin medals on their chests to keep them going.
| Medals are signs of recognition for achievement. What've you got against medals, Andy? It doesn't hurt you for a young man or woman to be recognized for bravery or accomplishment or, in the case of the Purple Heart, for wounds received. |
We speak of them as if they volunteered to risk their lives to save ours but there isn't much voluntary about what most of them have done. A relatively small number are professional soldiers. During the last few years, when millions of jobs disappeared, many young people, desperate for some income, enlisted in the Army.
| They enlisted to do a job. When I enlisted, 40 years ago, I enlisted to do a job. I went into the Army for two reasons: I couldn't afford to go to college, and I wanted to serve my country. Which was the greater driver? I still can't tell you. I suspect, though, that if I'd been able to afford to go to college, I'd have gone, then gone into the Army. You're assuming that the people who join up aren't doing it because they want to serve their country, and the Army (and other services, of course) is assuming they are. |
About 40 percent of our soldiers in Iraq enlisted in the National Guard or the Army Reserve to pick up some extra money and never thought they'd be called on to fight. They want to come home.
| When my Dad was at St. Lo, during the Battle of the Bulge, he wanted to come home, too. In my travels around Vietnam, there were lots of times when I wanted to come home. There were times when I wanted a cold beer, too. But adults wait until the things they want are available. |
One indication that not all soldiers in Iraq are happy warriors is the report recently released by the Army showing that 23 of them committed suicide there last year. This is a dismaying figure.
| It's also actually lower than the per capita national suicide rate... |
If 22 young men and one woman killed themselves because they couldn't take it, think how many more are desperately unhappy but unwilling to die. 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.
| I don't confuse the quiet heroism of men and women doing what must be done, whether they feel like doing it or not, with movie heroics, though I've seen actions by young men who were scared pissless that rival things I've seen in the movies. I bestow the mantle of heroism on anybody who goes into the military — as long as they adhere to the contract. Whether infantry or artillery, signals or rear-area pencil pushers, wearing the uniform makes you part of the Army, or the Marines, or the Air Force or the Navy. I have orders of magnitude more respect for the young men and women in uniform than I do for the tough guys strutting around the malls on Friday nights. Are there some deserving of more admiration than others? You betcha. The infantry, ready to go kick the snot out of the Bad Guys, up close and personal, is top of the list, followed closely by the guys in the tanks and the artillerymen — 105 shells are heavy. The sigs guys, up there laying line and setting up antennas in support of the combat arms, the combat engineers, the ordnance disposal guys, the truck drivers who bring the fuel and the ammo to the grunts up front, the rotorheads flying support — I really resent having you denigrate their efforts, Andy. What the hell right do you have to question their motives? Because they're human and they get scared? Because they overcome it and get on with what they signed up to do? |
America's intentions are honorable. I believe that and we must find a way of making the rest of the world believe it. We want to do the right thing. We care about the rest of the world. President Bush's intentions were honorable when he took us into Iraq. They were not well thought out but honorable.
| It's my opinion, which is just as valid as yours, that Mr. Bush's plans were well thought out before we went in. It's my opinion that much of the thinking and planning that's gone into the war on terror has been brilliant. It's also my opinion that we're at war with a vicious and tenacious enemy, that'll do everything it can to keep us from achieving our objectives, which include a better life for Arabs and Muslims as a side benefit of protecting and preserving our own civilization, culture, and heritage. |
President Bush's determination to make the evidence fit the action he took, which it does not, has made things look worse. We pay lip service to the virtues of openness and honesty, but for some reason we too often act as though there was a better way of handling a bad situation than by being absolutely open and honest.
| I've been pretty open and honest in interpreting the truth as I see it, Andy. Can you handle it? |
| Old civilian trick, eh? Yet one more reason not to watch 60 Minutes. |
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