Frontline launches its new season tonight .. with a feature titled » Obama's War. We're taken to Afghanistan, where we hear a commander begin the segment by saying, "We are experts in the application of violence." Catchy. Got my attention.
Was surprised to hear the f-word uttered so many times. Soldiers use the f-word a lot. Even more than sailors do. But then, sailors don't normally get shot at .. which can't be a very pleasant experience.
Glad to know they didn't edit-out the real-life dialogue. That's why I like Frontline .. feel like they give me the straight poop. (Much as possible.)
Great contrast showing the difference between the suit-n-tie crowd discussing policy in an air-conditioned banquet-room in Washington .. with soldiers dodging bullets in Afghanistan's withering heat (.. one of whom got shot thru the neck and died).
If nothing else, this program illustrates the gulf that exists between the Washington policy-makers and the bullet-dodging soldier.
I'm convinced that anybody who is involved in making war policy should be required spend a week (just a week) with the soldiers who are charged with executing policy.
Nothing like a little first-hand experience to inject a dose of reality into the plan. Cuz it's much easier to make policy, while sitting in an air-conditioned room (sipping a dry martini) .. than it is to execute policy .. with bullets whizzing by your head.
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Contrast this episode with the one done March of last year, titled » Bush's War. A war of your own seems to have become vogue with US presidents.
I'm no military expert, but I heard that the bad-guys (Taliban) come down from the tribal areas across the border with Pakistan, a region no nation has ever conquered (ever!) .. despite many who've tried over the centuries (.. including the mighty Soviet Red Army, the Brits & Alexander the Great). A wise man will learn from the mistakes of others.
The terrain is inhospitable, the heat oppressive, and they don't much care for outsiders. Seeing how they live there (it's home), I doubt they're planning to leave any time soon. Not the case with us.
War and violence go back to mankind's earliest hours. The history of man is the history of men at war. I see no change on the horizon. Do you? Only now, we have bigger weapons, and more of them. Doesn't take a genius to predict the future.
Frontline is my favorite TV show. Besides being commercial-free, I like that they don't use the word 'Republican' or 'Democrat.' (No political bashing .. entertaining as it might be, sometimes.) They don't sensationalize or sugarcoat. (Cuz they don't need to.) Just gimme the facts please, straight up, and let me form my own opinion.
But mostly I like Frontline cuz they take us places we'd normally never go (.. with conventional news sources). Deep inside. And they ask the tough questions that others politely avoid. If you miss tonight's show, you can always catch it online (.. along with many others).
For more along these lines, here's a Google search preconfigured for the query > Frontline Obama's War Afghanistan PBS
