My apologizes for being so far behind in posting clips — I got the first 6 from Tuesday posted (finally!) and hope to get the other 12 done in the morning (fingers crossed and being mindful that I have an ATC post to get ready before I leave for work.) And of course, then I can start on Wednesday’s clips!
Remember a long time ago when I called him Mr. Prolific? Man, he re-earned that title this week. I have no idea when he got any sleep — 40 clips in three days. Just amazing. And no one has the kind of contacts he does in Iraq, nor understands the feeling of the Iraqi people as much as he does. And over and over again he made the point that the American people should be pausing to remember the 4,324 American men and women who died in Iraq over the past six and a half years. He really does understand this story from every angle.
I was thinking the other day that when I first heard the name Michael Ware, he was still with Time and his television appearances were fairly rare. Never did I anticipate that the website would turn into as massive an undertaking as it later became after he made the transition to CNN. When I started, he was saying things I had not heard from any other journalists at the time — that the White House was lying, that the insurgents were not just that bunch of so-called “dead-enders,” that our troops were not being properly prepared for what they were facing over there. Like so many Americans, I knew no-one being deployed and was content to let someone else worry about what was going on in Iraq.
I also remember the hell of 2006 and 2007, when the slaughter of Iraqi civilians was at its worst yet the neocons in this country were still in control of the war and their vapid followers wrapped themselves in the flag and called anyone who dared speak the truth a traitor. And they called Michael that, plenty. They called me that for having the website! Had they just watched some of the clips and listened to what he was saying, they would have learned much; instead they vilified him.
The Drudge debacle … what a nightmare that was! I can’t even imagine the kind of hate mail that went to CNN, but I was stunned by the venomous bilge that I got. Not just name-calling, but wishes for his death. Some even described, in horrifying detail, what they hoped would be done to him. All for the crime of being a reporter and speaking the truth.
Now, people understand the mess we made of the invasion. People understand the value of having reporters who give us the story warts-and-all, even if it puts us in a bad light. Those of us who do not go to war need reliable people to tell us the truth of what is happening, so that we can honor the sacrifices, correct the mistakes, and aid the innocent victims.
I don’t blame the Iraqi people for celebrating the beginning of our drawdown. By not understanding the sectarian differences, our civilian leadership screwed up what could have been a far less bloody and acrimonious ending to a horrible dictatorship. Our men and women in uniform have paid for that malfeasance with their lives and limbs … but so have the Iraqi civilians.
Hopefully, the day will come when Iraq is once again a peaceful country, its streets thronged with people, its economy thriving. I hope to someday be able to travel there, to see the country that Michael’s work made me care about, and to honor the fallen from both sides.
Meanwhile … I listen to what he says, and keep trying to understand the complexities.
