[iron-bound]

Hi folks, I'm back.

Concerning Hackworth's comments:

I really don't want to be flamed for saying this, but I have lost all respect or Colonel David Hackworth.

He's become just another publicity hound, filling his columns with nothing but insultive, inflammatory rhetoric. He has reversed himself on so many issues, so fast, and so often, that I am no longer able to identify what his agenda is, other than just seeking publicity, perhaps to increase book sales. It is as if he intentionally pushes the envelope in the language of his writing, for the sole purpose of seeing what kind of reaction he will get. This is the same man who said that the 10th Infantry was more qualified to play video games than to fight wars. This while they were still being shot at in Afghanistan.

Yes, it's perfectly acceptable to criticize certain deficiencies within the military, but Hackworth does it in such a way that he discredits himself, and angers the same soldiers that he claims to be the "most vocal voice for."

Quite frankly, I don't consider David Hackworth to be any more reliable than Jayson Blair.

I thank Hackworth for his decorated service in Vietnam, but something has changed in him.

[cody evans]

LesterB, believe or not, I was just going to post that when I saw your version there.

There are two instances I know of in WWII where secrecy was used to cover up a high
casualty blunder.

One is the USS Indianapolis (in which her commander was scrapegoated, and a lot of
questions were left unanswered.)
http://starbulletin.com/97/11/10/news/story3.html

The other is an incident in which a German u-boat was able to sneak up to the coast of
Scotland and sink a loaded transport ship that was participating in a practice run for
D-day. (unfortunately, I can not find a link for this incident on the net.)

In both cases secrecy was slapped on the incidents so that it took along time for the real
truth to come out. Truth which was hurtful to the bigwigs in charge.

Call me cynical. Call me wrong. (And I may even be embarrassed next week if the report
comes out then). But I get the feeling the report on the 507th is being held back until a
new major attack occurs elsewhere that distracts our attention. Then I expect it to be
papered over with secrecy and dumped in a filing cabinet somewhere until it gets
declassified twenty years from now. I would be delighted to have somebody say I’m
wrong and can show why. But I doubt it.

[fredlev]

Yes, Col. Hackworth's article is interesting. If he says there are 'Secrets Galore' then, that's just what it is. No doubt, he too will be bashed for expressing his views. Hackworth served his country...he is not anti-american...he has covered a dozen wars since WW2 as a correspondent. Hackworth can be very funny or extremely sarcastic...just read his books. He loves to target the Pentagon for spending tax money foolishly. The man knows his stuff!

[cody evans]

Arab news picking up on Hackworth.

http://www.khilafah.com/home/category.php?...ID=7186&TagID=2

[atomeye]

GOOD.

[fredlev]

Col. David Hackworth is not a "spin doctor." He calls an ace an ace and a spade a spade. As a matter of fact, Hackworth doesn't care which political party is in power. If he thinks the Pentagon is spending the tax payers money foolishly then he blast them good and what he says is substantiated by facts. He had an absolute field day when the government was considering military base closures. Anybody remember those days?

When Col Hackworth says there are 'Secrets Galore' the man knows what he's talking about and he also knows somebody is going to get the right story eventually. There are too many unanswered questions about what happened to the 507th and Pfc Jessica Lynch.

And there is another question that's being raised on other internet forums. How come we suffered so much loss of life related to Helicopter accidents? What went wrong? That is obviously another topic for another time.