JOURNALIST: SERVE THY SELF

Kevin Sites has a self-serving piece on his website about the shooting in the mosque in Fallujah. Why is it self-serving? Here are a few reasons that come to mind:

Sites titles his self-glorifying piece “Open Letter to Devil Dogs of 3.1”. Devil Dog is a nickname given to the Marines by the Germans during WWI. It is now a term of honor for Marines. Coming from Sites’ the use of the term is more a kin to the hangman saying, “Hey ‘buddy’ let me help you with that hood.” right before he pulls the lever to spring the trapdoor.

Sites goes to great lengths to portray himself as a fellow warrior. He is not. He is a journalist who can go where he wants and say no when he wants. Warriors do not have that option. The fact that, by his choice, he is with the mopping up operations instead of the frontline is telling. The fact that he feels compelled to tell us how brave he is, like the loudmouth drunk at the VFW who spent his service time in the rear with the gear and warm beer, tells me he is not. Professor Combat even takes credit for saving Marines when he points out that there are munitions near a fire started by the Marines. Like a rooster taking a bow for the sunrise, I think he gives himself too much credit.

When Sites writes, “I had no idea how our other ‘pool’ partners might use the footage.” he is either dumber than a hoe handle or lying through his teeth. Anybody watching coverage of the Iraq war knows that every story will be used to put Americans in a bad light. Abu Grhaib, the ammo dump story, looted museums were all stories that were sensationalized by the media in an attempt to place the Americans in a bad light. When the facts about these incidents started to trickle out, the stories just went away. NBC and Sites knew damn well that as soon as that tape hit the air al Jazeera would scoop it up, remove any context and play it 24-7 adding commentary on how barbaric the American occupiers are.

Sites goes to note, “So here, ultimately, is how it all plays out: when the Iraqi man in the mosque posed a threat, he was your enemy; when he was subdued he was your responsibility; when he was killed in front of my eyes and my camera -- the story of his death became my responsibility.” And the only way to fulfill that responsibility was to air the story that you knew would be used as propaganda to undermine our strategic objectives in the region, right? This is where I believe that the media are borderline treasonous. If there was any good in this story, it was outweighed 1,000 to 1 by the negative impact. How about turning the tape over to military until the investigation is complete? Once the facts of the case are known go with the story and the results of the investigation.

Prediction: If the Marine receives a courts martial, I can’t see him being him convicted by a panel of his peers. Reasonable doubt? Of course there is. The Marine’s acquittal will give Mr. Sites and his leftist buddies a whole new issue with which to bash the military and America. I can see the headlines, AMERICAN MURDERER FREED – KEVIN SITES WEEPS. But, what really makes these media people weep is American success.