His fellow fighters and associates appear similarly inept in the newly released footage. One reaches out to grab a just-fired weapon by the barrel, apparently unaware that it would burn his hand. The camera quickly pans to the ground and then away.
"His close associates around him ... do things like grab the hot barrel of the machine gun and burn themselves," Lynch said. "Makes you wonder" about their military skills.
Another clip showed the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi -- who has derided everything Western -- dressed in a black uniform but wearing New Balance tennis shoes as he walked to a white pickup.
Okay, here's what pisses me off about this: You don't have to be a rocket scientist to enjoy rockets. You don't have to be a five star Army General to know how to pull a trigger. Making fun of people with guns and the will to point them at, and fire at, people is just plain fucking stupid.
"This is convoy Alpha, we just ran over a roadside bomb and under fire from 30 or more armed forces. There's only five of us but they all look like idiots so I'm sure we'll survive the ambush and kill all the enemy forces, but just in case how about some help?"
Who the fuck is the Army trying to convince with this nonsense? Are they trying to reassure our troops that the people shooting at them aren't smart enough to kill them? Are they trying to assuage the loss of parents by telling them their children were killed by non-military morons who can barely tie their own tennis shoes but seem to be able to fashion bombs and fire rifles well enough to kill a couple thousand American kids?
Its time for our glorious leaders to realize that any moron can kill (or order the killing of others---see GWB). Afghanistan defeated the USSR with a little outside help and a "never surrender" mentality. The North Vietnamese did the same to the US. Were the non-military combatants in either case incapable of taking lives? No. In short, a West Point education, x number of weeks, months or years of military training is unnecessary when there are no prolonged battles, when there aren't armbands defining sides, when the enemy may be a mother pushing a carriage loaded with explosives.
Oh but by all means lets make light of the situation. Lets give voice to some more meaningless rhetoric about how "we're closing in" on the insurgent leadership. And besides, will anybody on this planet find this relevant? I mean our president can't speak english, swallow a pretzel, or ride a mountain bike but would a Zarqawi diatribe about his inadequacies alter Bush's opinion of himself?
As Colbert said, "Anybody can stand in front of a bunch of computers and order other people into war." (too tired to check for exact quote from press core soiree--if someone corrects I'll update.)
Here's the story.
Yep, I saw that this story was already commented on. It had just been published when I was set to put in print my ravings on the subject and since the other diary had no real substance I'm not inclined to delete or apologize for the repetition.
Haven't been around because I'm so busy with work now that spring is here. Was glad to find a story that struck a chord and compelled me to contribute my depreciated 2 cents.
Shocked and awed to see a TU diary make the hit parade, it happens so rarely.
And that is all Good Luck and Good Luck.
