Wow! This is a great op-ed from the NYT's Robert D. Kaplan. (HT: RealClearPolitics) We need to hear this more and more...here is my favorite passage:
"Liberal democratic societies have commonly been defended by conservative military establishments, whose members often lack the sensitivities and social graces of the elites whom they protect...I've learned that marines swear all the time out of habit, and love to be in on a fight, or otherwise they would not have joined the Marine Corps."
"Yet those same swearing marines are capable of a self-discipline and humanitarian compassion - drawn, often, from an absolute belief in the Almighty - that would stun the average civilian...In Iraq, there was nothing more natural for marines (and soldiers, too) than to go from close-quarters urban combat to providing food and medicine, and back again. "
The ending is equally as good...I'll leave it to you, the reader to read the article.
I hope the blogosphere picks up on this...we need more good reports from the MSM.
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