American Soldier Writes Idiotic Rant in Newspaper

David Lucas, apparently a 1LT in the 10th Mountain Division, has written a rant in the Knoxville Sentinel (reg required) about his displeasure that people back in the United States are practicing democracy. There are so many errors in his editorial, and the fact that the Milblog crowd has picked it up as a rallying cry, I felt I needed to respond.

First, his displeasure with those who are against the war and his expression of it is exactly why military officers are not allowed to identify themselves this way and go public with a position. He uses his rank and his participation in the war as a qualifier of his positions which is specifically forbidden. It is the equivalent of wearing your uniform to a protest. He should be reminded that he is defending a DEMOCRACY not an autocracy and that means there will be those on both sides of the aisle. Welcome home to the United States. Perhaps you have been in Iraq too long.

Second, he states that he would only have done this if he truly believed in the mission. His quote (not mine):

"...and I knowingly volunteered for it. I never would have done that if I did not believe that I was defending this great country of ours and all those in it.

Many people will think this is just defending the president, but I will tell you that I would never risk my life for somebody else's ideas if I did not hold them myself. That being said, I am a soldier, and I will do my duty to my country every time, no matter what the personal cost."

He sticks in the little qualifier at the end, I guess to get himself out of the muck he realized he got himself into when he wrote this but, what is he saying? Is he saying that if he did not personally believe in the President's ideas he would not execute his mission? Suppose the orders were to go somewhere that he disputed, would he go? Except for the last sentence, it certainly sounds like he, as a military officer, is declaring he will only fight wars for which he believes in. If that is not the case, then what was the point of the whole paragraph?

He then goes on to whine about how he does not like it that CNN does not make headline news that he put two generators in to a town versus reporting 15 or 20 dead. Well, my friend, tough luck. The FOX news network is there for all of you and you seem to be doing great when it comes to talk radio so let CNN report what they want. Remember, the independence of the media? That is another one of those democracy things that you seem to have forgotten in your 1 year stint in fantasy land.

Finally, I am sick and tired of those on the right thinking that anyone who is against the war is trying to maliciously undermine the United States of America. We have a point of view and it is as viable as yours. If you attribute this to me then I guess I should freely attribute the comparison of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Gulags to you. Durbin did that and he should be ashamed.

You should be ashamed that you attribute opposition to a policy to somehow being less American.

You sir (And I say that lightly since I was far higher rank than you were when I was in) are a disgrace to the officer corps, democracy everywhere and America and I don't care how many wars you fought and how many babies you carried.

This flag is now being waved by The Mudville Gazette and Instapundit showing their blind allegiance to anything that is George Bush and War.