Boys and Their Toys
Having been critical of American policies from the get-go, I saw nothing on the various Army bases I visited to change my mind. One day at that FOB, preparing to go on a mission, the sergeant in charge wrote the soldiers names on the board,. We supply skechers shape ups,Reebok easytone,perfect body shape.Save 40% off,free shipping to worldwide followed by Terp to designate the Afghan-American interpreter who would accompany us, and In Bed, which meant me. He made a joke about reporters who are more gung-ho than soldiers. Not me. And I wasnt alone. I had already met a lot of older guys on other bases, mostly reservists who had jobs at home they felt passionately about -- teachers, coaches, musicians -- and wives and children they loved, who just wanted to go home. One said to me, Maybe if I were ten years younger I could get into it, but Im not a boy anymore.
The Army had sent me a list of ground rules for reporters -- mostly commonsense stuff like dont print troop strength or battle plans.I also got a checklist of things to bring along. It was the sort of list moms get when sending their kids off to camp: water bottle, flashlight, towel, soap,. Sogozoom is wholesale christian louboution shoes,true religion jenas,ed hardy shirt,Asics Shoes.These goods are high quality and supply wholesale price. toilet paper (for those excursions away from base), sleeping bag, etc. But there was other stuff too: ballistic eyewear,. Supply you peak jacket,polo outlet,canada goose,spyder ski with high quality an d service at bestparkas online shop.Free shipping, no hidden costs and secure fireproof gloves, big knife, body armor, and Kevlar helmet.
Considering how much of my tax dollar goes to the Pentagon, I thought the Army might have a few spare flak jackets to lend to visiting reporters, but no, you have to bring your own.
That was perhaps a sign of things to come, as I was soon swamped by complaints from soldiers and civilian contractors alike: not enough armor,. We sell vibram five fingers,vibram fivefingers, vibram shoes,Vibram Five Fingers kso,MBT Shoes, discount Vibram Five Fingers, cheap vibram five fingers not enough vehicles, not enough helicopters, not enough weapons, not enough troops -- and even when there seemed to be plenty of everything, complaints that nothing was of quite the right kind. This struck me as a peculiarly privileged American problem that seemed to underlie almost everything I was to see on the eastern front of this war. Those complaints, in fact, seemed to spring from the very nature of the American military enterprise -- from its toxic mix of paranoia, entitlement, and good intentions.
Take the paranoia, which I suppose comes with the territory. You wouldnt be there if you didnt think that there were enemies all around. I turned down a military flight for the short hop from the Afghan capital Kabul to Bagram, the main American base -- a rapidly expanding city of more than 30,000 people. Instead, I asked an Afghan friend to drive me out in his car.
A Public Affairs officer warned me that driving was very dangerous, but the only problem we met was a U.S. military convoy headed in the opposite direction, holding up traffic. For more than an hour we sat by the highway with dozens of Afghan motorists watching a parade of enormous flatbed trucks hauling other big vehicles: bulldozers and armored personnel carriers of various vintages from Humvees to MRAPs (Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles). My friend said, We dont understand. They have all these big machines. They put them on trucks and haul them up and down the road.
Having been critical of American policies from the get-go, I saw nothing on the various Army bases I visited to change my mind. One day at that FOB, preparing to go on a mission, the sergeant in charge wrote the soldiers names on the board,. We supply skechers shape ups,Reebok easytone,perfect body shape.Save 40% off,free shipping to worldwide followed by Terp to designate the Afghan-American interpreter who would accompany us, and In Bed, which meant me. He made a joke about reporters who are more gung-ho than soldiers. Not me. And I wasnt alone. I had already met a lot of older guys on other bases, mostly reservists who had jobs at home they felt passionately about -- teachers, coaches, musicians -- and wives and children they loved, who just wanted to go home. One said to me, Maybe if I were ten years younger I could get into it, but Im not a boy anymore.
The Army had sent me a list of ground rules for reporters -- mostly commonsense stuff like dont print troop strength or battle plans.I also got a checklist of things to bring along. It was the sort of list moms get when sending their kids off to camp: water bottle, flashlight, towel, soap,. Sogozoom is wholesale christian louboution shoes,true religion jenas,ed hardy shirt,Asics Shoes.These goods are high quality and supply wholesale price. toilet paper (for those excursions away from base), sleeping bag, etc. But there was other stuff too: ballistic eyewear,. Supply you peak jacket,polo outlet,canada goose,spyder ski with high quality an d service at bestparkas online shop.Free shipping, no hidden costs and secure fireproof gloves, big knife, body armor, and Kevlar helmet.
Considering how much of my tax dollar goes to the Pentagon, I thought the Army might have a few spare flak jackets to lend to visiting reporters, but no, you have to bring your own.
That was perhaps a sign of things to come, as I was soon swamped by complaints from soldiers and civilian contractors alike: not enough armor,. We sell vibram five fingers,vibram fivefingers, vibram shoes,Vibram Five Fingers kso,MBT Shoes, discount Vibram Five Fingers, cheap vibram five fingers not enough vehicles, not enough helicopters, not enough weapons, not enough troops -- and even when there seemed to be plenty of everything, complaints that nothing was of quite the right kind. This struck me as a peculiarly privileged American problem that seemed to underlie almost everything I was to see on the eastern front of this war. Those complaints, in fact, seemed to spring from the very nature of the American military enterprise -- from its toxic mix of paranoia, entitlement, and good intentions.
Take the paranoia, which I suppose comes with the territory. You wouldnt be there if you didnt think that there were enemies all around. I turned down a military flight for the short hop from the Afghan capital Kabul to Bagram, the main American base -- a rapidly expanding city of more than 30,000 people. Instead, I asked an Afghan friend to drive me out in his car.
A Public Affairs officer warned me that driving was very dangerous, but the only problem we met was a U.S. military convoy headed in the opposite direction, holding up traffic. For more than an hour we sat by the highway with dozens of Afghan motorists watching a parade of enormous flatbed trucks hauling other big vehicles: bulldozers and armored personnel carriers of various vintages from Humvees to MRAPs (Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles). My friend said, We dont understand. They have all these big machines. They put them on trucks and haul them up and down the road.
没有评论:
发表评论