It's been awhile since I've posted a diary, but I read an editorial in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that I had to share.
It's a cross between a tribute to David Halberstam, disgust at how the military treated the death of Pat Tillman, and theorizing how Halberstam would have seen it.
There's more below.
The first thing I want to point out is their direct comparison of Iraq to Vietnam, the war Halberstam became famous covering:
Beholden to obdurate political masters and in over its head, the military of Halberstam's day lied vigorously (and most of all to itself) about how the war was going. According to the party line, it was going well, there was "light at the end of the tunnel," and if the American people would have a little more patience, everything would turn out fine. Sounds familiar.
Indeed it does. Although, the "light at the end of the tunnel" has been discarded since even this administration sees it's not there. Rather it's just have more patience and that "artificial timetables" provide aid and comfort to the enemy. In fact, it might be useful to go back and find all the different slogans the Bush Administration has used to try to keep the support of the American people.
The editorial also spells out very clearly the reasons the military and Bush Administration decided to lie to Tillman's family and the American people about his death:
The war in Iraq had turned sour, and Pentagon planning for the post-invasion occupation was under severe attack. American troops hadn't been greeted as liberators and had been showered with rifle fire rather than flowers. The sorry tale of Abu Ghraib had just come to light. A true hero of Vietnam and severe critic of Iraq, Sen. John Kerry, had nailed down the Democratic nomination for president.
In other words, "Pay no attention to that malfeasance behind the curtain, we have a hero to honor!" Or, shorter yet, "Hey! Look over there!"
I'll close this diary with the same sentence used in the editorial. "There is no light at the end of the Iraq tunnel."