I didn't get around to writing about this last week, but I believe it merits attention.
As reported by Michelle Malkin, The New York Times ran a feature on the 2,000th American death in Iraq on Wednesday, Oct. 26. Part of that article was on Marine Corporal Jeffrey B. Starr. The Times wrote:
Another member of the 1/5, Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr, rejected a $24,000 bonus to re-enlist. Corporal Starr believed strongly in the war, his father said, but was tired of the harsh life and nearness of death in Iraq. So he enrolled at Everett Community College near his parents' home in Snohomish, Wash., planning to study psychology after his enlistment ended in August.
But he died in a firefight in Ramadi on April 30 during his third tour in Iraq. He was 22.
Sifting through Corporal Starr's laptop computer after his death, his father found a letter to be delivered to the marine's girlfriend. ''I kind of predicted this,'' Corporal Starr wrote of his own death. ''A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances.''
Cpl. Starr's uncle sent Michelle Malkin a copy of the entire draft letter, and implored her, "What Jeffrey said is important. Americans need to understand that most of those who are or have been there understand what's going on. It would honor Jeffrey's memory if you would publish the rest of his story." Read what Cpl. Starr actually said:
"Obviously if you are reading this then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this, that is why I'm writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances. I don't regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark."
Wow.
But after a week of phone calls and emails, the Times indignantly denied any bias in their story. Their explanation, in part:
Jim Dao's article about the 2,000 dead last Wednesday was entirely fair, and so, within it, was our presentation of Corporal Jeffrey Starr.
The most prominent part of the presentation of Starr was the picture and caption at the top of Page A15. The caption represented him this way: "His father, Brian Starr, said his son believed in the war but was tired of the harsh life." The article also reported that even after his son's death Brian Starr "remained convinced that invading Iraq was the right thing to do."
It is true that the article did not quote everything that Corporal Starr said in his e-mail, like his reference to Iraqi freedom, any more than it quoted everything said by all the others quoted in the article, who represented all sorts of shades of opinion. But the article was completely fair in its representation of the views of Corporal Starr and his father.
You can count me firmly in the column of those who believes that war is a regrettable action which must be undertaken only as a last resort. I'll be honest and say that I have questions about some of the things that we have done, militarily, with regard to Iraq, though there is no shortage of evidence that Saddam Hussein was a serious threat and needed to be dealt with in a much more serious manner than sanctions and spineless UN resolutions.
But it makes me madder than hell to see our fighting men and women disrespected, smeared, portrayed as losers, and generally used as pawns by those who hate America and who hate the President.
I have had the pleasure to personally know four generations of veterans, from WWII through Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraq. Brave men, medal winners, veterans of some of the most vicious combat ever endured by our fighting forces. Individually and as a whole, as husbands, fathers, and citizens, I can honestly say that they are among the finest individuals that I have ever known. They are loyal and dedicated. Many are men of God. They love our country and they love our people. They had a tough job to do, but they did it without fear and without complaining.
General Douglas MacArthur's 1951 farewell speech to Congress, one of the greatest speeches given in modern times, concluded with these words:
I have just left your fighting sons in Korea. They have met all tests there, and I can report to you without reservation that they are splendid in every way.
It was my constant effort to preserve them and end this savage conflict honorably and with the least loss of time and a minimum sacrifice of life. Its growing bloodshed has caused me the deepest anguish and anxiety. Those gallant men will remain often in my thoughts and in my prayers always.
And ours as well. Thank you, Corporal Starr. You and your brothers in arms are still splendid. And we won't forget.
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