"Victims" Answer Andy Rooney

A column by Andy Rooney questions the character and morale of servicemen in Iraq. Rooney offered five questions that he wanted reporters to ask the soldiers, a group he dubbed "victims" rather than "heroes." Rooney gained a reputation as a reporter during the second World War. Sixty years hence he has not only lost his edge, I believe he has also lost his ability to think rationally. Perhaps he should just go back to whining about paper clips or something similar as has been his forte for the last thirty or so years. Move him out of the field of the banal he will be outside his field of competence. His column is followed by another by Robert Alt that fields those questions posed by Rooney.
A quote from Rooneys article, "There's no Ernie Pyle to tell us and, if there were, the military would make it difficult or impossible for him to let us know."
Well Andy. The questions have been asked, answered, and posted in the main stream media and on the internet so, your sideways claim of censorship went out the window. Robert Alts article is below this excerpt of Rooneys column.
---Larry Everett

FROM: The Montana Standard

"Heroes don't come wholesale
By Andy Rooney Tribune Media Services - 04/08/2004

Most of the reporting from Iraq is about death and destruction. We don't learn much about what our soldiers in Iraq are thinking or doing. There's no Ernie Pyle to tell us and, if there were, the military would make it difficult or impossible for him to let us know.

It would be interesting to have a reporter ask a group of our soldiers in Iraq to answer five questions and see the results:

1. Do you think your country did the right thing sending you into Iraq?

2. Are you doing what America set out to do to make Iraq a democracy, or have we failed so badly that we should pack up and get out before more of you are killed?

3. Do the orders you get handed down from one headquarters to another, all far removed from the fighting, seem sensible, or do you think our highest command is out of touch with the reality of your situation?

4. If you could have a medal or a trip home, which would you take?

5. Are you encouraged by all the talk back home about how brave you are and how everyone supports you?

Treating soldiers fighting their war as brave heroes is an old civilian trick designed to keep the soldiers at it. But you can be sure our soldiers in Iraq are not all brave heroes gladly risking their lives for us sitting comfortably back here at home".

[snip]

"About 40 percent of our soldiers in Iraq enlisted in the National Guard or the Army Reserve to pick up some extra money and never thought they'd be called on to fight. They want to come home.

One indication that not all soldiers in Iraq are happy warriors is the report recently released by the Army showing that 23 of them committed suicide there last year. This is a dismaying figure. If 22 young men and one woman killed themselves because they couldn't take it, think how many more are desperately unhappy but unwilling to die. We must support our soldiers in Iraq because it's our fault they're risking their lives there. However, we should not bestow the mantle of heroism on all of them for simply being where we sent them. Most are victims, not heroes."

[read it all... it's short]

Andy gets his wish.The troops in Iraq were asked these questions and the results were sent to Robert Alt, a regular contributer to The National Review Online

"July 22, 2004, 8:34 a.m.
Troop Talk
Soldiers on Iraq.

TUZ, IRAQ — As I walked into the barracks, Sgt. Kevin Porter, a 23-year-old trooper in the Ohio National Guard serving south of Kirkuk, Iraq, called me over. He had just received a package from his family in Bellaire, Ohio, which included a then-weeks-old copy of his local newspaper. The op-ed page featured a column by Andy Rooney opining about the character and morale of servicemen in Iraq. Rooney offered five questions that he wished a reporter would ask the soldiers, a group he dubbed "victims" rather than "heroes." Although Sgt. Porter is not someone who frequently talked politics or current events, Rooney's article struck a nerve with him and his fellow troopers. He asked if I would assist him and the others in responding to Rooney's questions."

[Read The Whole Thing]