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Jul 14 2008
Only 5% of Americans Totally Stupid Print E-mail
Written by JD Johannes   
Monday, 14 July 2008

Answer this question:

If the U.S. withdraws all combat troops from Iraq, will terrorists stop trying to attack the United States?

Eighty percent said no, 15% were not sure, 5% said, "yes, if we leave Iraq they will stop trying to attack us."
That 5% probably posts incessently at DU, HuffPo and Kos.

What is more interesting from the same Rasmussen poll is that 16% are not sure if "it possible for the U.S. to win the war in Iraq?"

Forty percent say it is possible, 44% say it is not possible--but 16% is a large number of people are "not sure."

But this report is missing the key and logical follow-up question: why?

Why is it not possible?
Why are you not sure?

A few years ago, Pew asked a similar poll question and a surprising number of people answered, "can win, but will not."  Pew, like Rasmussen, didn't ask the obvious follow-up question. 

The answers to those questions will shape the debate and foreign policy as implemented by elected officials for the next 10 months.
 
Jul 13 2008
GK Episode 1 Print E-mail
Written by JD Johannes   
Monday, 14 July 2008
"Stop scribbing, it encourages him," the team leader Brad Colbert says to embedded reporter Evan Wright in HBO's miniseries, Generation Kill .

And that scribbling may be the downfall of the entire enterprise.

In the course of making four documentaries about Iraq, I've learned that Soldiers and Marines will 'perform' for a reporter.

That is one of the hazards of the embedded reporter system.

I've had a built in advantage--the Eagle Globe & Anchor tattooed on my shoulder.  I've been one of them and I don't care for the acting.

As a filmmaker embedded with grunts, I have a simple policy--if the camera is rolling they are obviously on.  During an interview they know it is the real deal.

But I spend a lot of time without the camera on.

A print reporter like Mr. Wright is always on and therefore the temptation for young men to perform for him is always there.

And in the sheer volume of living with grunts 24x7, there will be a lot that could be missed, misunderstood and misquoted.

In the documentary I'm editing now, I disect one raid/firefight.  The whole operation took 90 minutes, but conveying all the moving parts, audibles, complex details and events subject what Julias Caesar called "the fortunes of war" is next to impossible.

And that was for one 90-minute raid with the added benefit of video tape.

In the 21 days of major operations, there was too much detail to be covered in the 384 pages of Mr. Wrights book or 8 hours of a miniseries and the neccessity of creating an entertaining narrative guarantees much will be glossed over, simplified, ignored or discarded.

Throw in the opportunity for the young men to perform 24x7 and you have a Polaroid photo of warfare--small field of view with a fuzzy focus where you may never know what was real and what was a performance.
 
Jul 11 2008
Fairness Doctrine and the FM Dial Print E-mail
Written by JD Johannes   
Friday, 11 July 2008
'The Church of Lazlo' is one of my favorite radio programs.

Syndicated from Seattle , it also airs in Kansas City where I listen to it.

Lazlo and his side-kicks, Afentra and Slimfast, are talented radio personalities who have perfected their craft.

And they are unabashedly liberal and discuss politics almost every day.

But, their on-air presence is so good, that a conservative like me, will put up with the liberal talking points to hear to the rest of show.

Under a re-institution of the fairness doctrine, the stations that air 'The Church of Lazlo' would have to provide air-time for opposing political views.

That means an alternative rock station that carries the 'Church of Lazlo' would have to carry a show with conservative for several hours a day.  An openly conservative DJ on an alternative rock station is a recipie for ratings failure.

Or, in the alternative, all the politics in 'The Church of Lazlo' would have to go away.

I am not sure how much the liberal politics plays into audience attraction/retention--but if it didn't, the show would have been off the air a few years ago.  Obviously, the politics works.  Which is good for the fans, good for Lazlo and company, good for the advertisers and good for the radio stations.

Under the fairness doctrine, 'The Church of Lazlo' would be stifled, or an equal amount of time would have to be given to a DJ whose show would probably flop.

If the liberal politics is part of the draw of the show, then ratings would suffer, which would not be good for Lazlo & Company, advertisers or the radio stations.

A lot people who are focused on the AM dial, forget that there are lots of Lazlos on the FM dial.

Moreover, radio stations will have Lazlo on the FM and Limbaugh on the AM side.

Case in point.  KRBZ-FM, which airs 'The Church of Lazlo' is an Entercom station.  In Kansas City, Entercom also owns KMBZ-AM which carries Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Mark Levin and Neal Boortz.

Entercom carries Lazlo because he is perfect for their FM alternative rock station and Limbaugh because he is perfect for their AM talk station.

Obviously, Entercom is an equal opportunity profit taker.

Those who want to bring back the fairness doctrine need to remember that it applies to the Lazlos on the FM dial as well.

And just like watered down AM talk doesn't work, a watered down 'Church of Lazlo' wouldn't be nearly as fun to listen to.
 
Jul 10 2008
Real Combat vs. Staged Combat Print E-mail
Written by JD Johannes   
Thursday, 10 July 2008

First a review of the staged combat.

This is actual Marines in real combat . 

This is a real live firefight with real bullets.

HBO seems to prefer the staged version better.  And I'm sure there will be plenty of raves about how 'gritty' it is and captures the 'essence' of combat.

But this is not the essence of combat--it is real combat . 

(HT: Hotair Headlines)

 
Jul 08 2008
Memo to Murtha: It is Called COIN Print E-mail
Written by JD Johannes   
Tuesday, 08 July 2008
Representative John Murtha (D-PA 12), has an illuminating explanation for why the surge has worked so far.

"I'm not sure whether it's because the Iraqis are just worn out, but certainly the way they're doing it today makes a big difference."

As if the insurgents would have worn themselves out if we had withdrawn as Murtha proposed in 2005 and the coalition's continued presence had only a tertiary effect on wearing out the insurgents.

In the interview Murtha doesn't really elaborate on who exactly is 'worn out.'  Iraqi insurgents or the Iraqi people?

In my travels through the Euphrates river valley last Summer it was obvious many ordinary Iraqis were sick and tired of Al Qaida in Iraq and the insurgency.

In Baghdad ordinary Iraqis were tired of Jaish al Mahdi and the Takfiris.

Some of the Iraqis who were getting tired of it all were ones formerly aligned with various insurgent groups.  When you wear out the enemy to the point they switch sides, it is called winning.  Counter Insurgency is not a maneuver warfare--it is a slow grind wearing down an opponent.

If Murtha had his way , we would have been out of Iraq in 2006.  He obviously wore out way before any Iraqis.

What Murtha can't seem to figure out is that it was the coalition's presence, aggressive tactics and Petraeus' counter insurgency strategy that "wore out" the enemy.
 
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