i was in the baltimore airport getting ready to leave to head back to australia when i wandered into the terminal bookstore and came across 'generation kill'. flipping over the back cover and seeing that it was compared to 'black hawk down' and 'dispatches' (thank you mr whaley)and was being made into a mini series by hbo (in fact david simon and ed burns of 'the wire' and 'hommicide' are the ones behind the mini series) really grabbed my attention. since the book was only 15 bucks (compared to the average price of $27.50 for a book in australia) and i had 20 hours in a plane to look forward to, i took a gamble and purchased the book. i loved it. its vivid. it provides an outlook on the invasion of iraq that is neither pro or con, but is real. nothing more and nothing less.
the book got me thinking about the war and i have differing thoughts on it from day to day and hour to hour, but rather than give you my nickels worth of thoughts i wanted to give you a snippet from the afterward (confessed reader of both introductions and afterwards) for you to chew on.
"It's the American public for whom the Iraq War is often no more real than a video game. Five years into this war, I am not always confident most Americans fully appreciate the caliber of the people fighting for them, the sacrifices they have made, and the sacrifices they continue to make. After the Vietnam War ended, the onus of shame largely fell on the veterans. This time around, if shame is to be had when the Iraq conflict ends - and all indications are there will be plenty of it - the veterans are the last people in America to deserve it. When it comes to apportioning shame my vote goes to the American people who sent them to war in a surge of emotion but quickly lost the will to either win it or end it. The young troops I profiled in 'Generation Kill', as well as the other men and women in uniform I've encountered in combat zones throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, are among the finest people of their generation. We misuse them at our own peril." - Evan Wright, 'Generation Kill' p.370
**if anyone wants to hook up this guy who is without hbo with the dvds of 'generation kill' he would be very much appreciative!
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