Newsweek columnist Anna Quindlen makes the typical un-forced error so common among columnists and the chattering class--taking one statement and conflating it to a generalization without the context of time, place and mission.

There is no substitute for spending a lot of time outside the wire with the young men who fight the war in Iraq to understand the context. 

Without the context of time, place and mission, especially mission, the statements of a Soldier or Marine are horribly misunderstood. 

With photos too! 

http://mattsanchez.typepad.com/ 

David told me about a comment Bill O'Reilly made on The Factor that didn't seem correct to him. 

I watched the rebroadcast and agree.

In the paper back novels when a U.S. Senator hatches a conspiracy to aid America's enemies and betray Generals it is done behind closed doors. 

I guess that is why those paperbacks are listed under fiction. 

In reality, the conspiring U.S. Senator does it in public and has conference calls about it and lays out a strategy of political games that treat Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines as mere toys. 

(J.D. is answering your questions!  If you have a question, send us an e-mail.) 

"I bought your DVD and was impressed by the sincerity and integrity of the young Marines portrayed. I'm looking forward to the next one. I'm particularly keen on seeing Fallujah 2007 as compared to 2005. I'm curious as to what your first impression was regarding changes in Al Anbar since your last visit. Thanks and stay safe."  Jim 

Jim, my very first impression was on March 26th 2007 when Al Qaida staged a complex on OP Omar just north of Kharmah.

"We've killed close to 400 known insurgents," Lt. Colonel Valery Keaveny, Commander of Task Force Geronimo said in the stuffy hallway of OP Delta in Kharma, Iraq.  "But that's not really the way to measure success." 

My hand has been on the quick release for a few days now and as I pack up my cameras I'm ready to get out of Iraq and start working on my tapes and start planning my next trip to Iraq.