This is a bit of an odd one really and one I am still pondering myself for a connection but it just doesn’t FEEL right.
Snopes listed a false letter/email spam stating how Obama ‘blew off’/ignored troops and played basketball on a recent visit to Afghanistan.
the letter was proven wrong (well not really, I’ll come back to that) and defied military rules against speaking about politics while in uniform? apparently yoru personal opinion is not allowed when in uniform. But whatever, much of that crap doesn’t make sense anyway, it is to be expected.
Firstly, I understand that such visits have to be conducted under a blanket of severe security and in the most covert ways, anyone can appreciate that need, I am sure.
Stories about Democrats ignoring trops or blowing them off as they rush through on PR trips are also not new, and are usually later proven to be BS, it seems that the military like to discount democrats, as do many others, and Dems shoot off about Republicans etc. It’s internal, political warfare. whatever.
But the response to the false email states a few things that raised my eyebrows.
First, it was Miltary spokeswoman, Army Lt.Col Rumi Nelson-Green who addressed it by saying ” These comments are inappropriate and factually incorrect.” okay, so the military actually DOES negate inncorrect/false comments by miltary toward political parties. That’s good, right?
BUT she then added.
“Such political commentary is barred from uniformed personnel.”
Uh, what? They aren’t ALLOWED to say what they see? They aren’t ALLOWED to talk about meeting who may be the next US president?
This isn’t security, security was how his arrival was obviously kept a secret, and instead of parading in front of troops in a Hummer, they were invited to meet with him ina secured area/building.
He also was said to have met with MANY different troops and divisions and spent time to answer questions and ask a few of the troops himself, an ordinary visit for any leader or potential leader.
So what about this email? Apparently it was not intended to be a mass mailing at all, but as a private email to his (the Captain’s)family.
But he had never even met Obama, wasn’t near the area Obama visted, the letter said Obama was playing basketball, which was also apprently false and simply taken from a local headline.
The part that bugs me is that this is a Captain in the US military that is filling his family with this BS. It then gets circulated as coming from a legitimate source, ‘the troops are saying it and THEY know first hand what is REALLY going on’.
As we now see, while they MAY know what is really going on, there are still those who like to create their own SPIN on the events and slander potential leaders in letters home. So we REALLY don’t get the full story from the source either, that is IF and WHEN they are allowed to talk of such matters. How much other information ALLOWED to be aired to the world is actually factual and how much is false?
I find it laughable that in addition to naming his rank, he found a need to add, “American Soldier” and the big closer (“married and father of 6 children”). SFW?
Because you are am American solder AND a father does that make your opinion more valid? Give me a break!
The ability to procreate makes your opinion more worthy? LOL, what a mentality.
When confronted with it, he apologized for it being circulated, NOT because it was full of lies and fabrications but because he CLAIMS it was intended for his family only and not as a blanket statement. So why would he lie to his family? Dad, why did you lie to us when you were at war?
Fair enough on that either wat but he missed one thing, did his WIFE not realize he was an “American solder”, that he was married and had 6 kids?
I call bullsh*t; he intended it to be circulated as a piece on condemning commentary from a captain in the field. By not adhering to restrictions on what can be said and WHEN it can be said, he beat the others to the punch. Some others who really DID meet Obama and thought he was a fine example of a future leader of America. I am sure some did not, that’s not the point though.
Another letter was written a while after the visit when they were cleared to send letters and discuss it, though only a few were alowed to photograph the event. Other letters say the absolute opposite of what the Captain had said.
They say Obama is a fine man, he apepars to have great leadership qualities, is genuinely interested etc. Even to the point of saying how McCain was playing golf in the US with Bush sr. and wondering why Obama was getting so much press (just a soldier’s ‘non-uniformed’ opinion there though).
I suppose my question is, how much of this actually makes it to Americans?
I know with all the BS surrounding John Kerry, many people were jumping on the bandwagon without investigation (which proved most of teh comments and slagging as pure BS or comments taken out of their original context, any negeative press was eaten up, whether correct or not.
Is it still the same or are people actually a little more open to an alternate solution now?
Have Americans finally seen the light?
Are Americans tired of the constant need to be at war, the deceit, the misinformation, the excuses, the posturing from both left and right?
Are people dead set against Obama because he is a democrat or for McCain just because he is a Republican?
I am sure McCain has many merits, that is not my concern, but are people just following the party and politics without looking at the candidate for who they really are?
Does military censorship, even in such a mild form, cause people to get and BELIEVE the wrong picture just because the source is deemed credible?
The snopes article is here:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/afghanistan.asp
How does a guy get a fair shake in such a media controlled marketplace?
How do YOU find or validate your sources?