A Final Thought on Arkin’s Mercenaries, Maybe.

John Donovan aka The Armorer pens an excellent reply to Mr. Arkin’s claim that our current troops are receiving obscene amenities in the war on terror and that because they are well cared for he can willingly call them mercenaries. Let’s remind everyone out there just what it is that Mr. Arkin said, courtesy of Mr. Donovan:

So, we pay the soldiers a decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social support systems and ship obscene amenities into the war zone for them, we support them in every possible way, and their attitude is that we should in addition roll over and play dead, defer to the military and the generals and let them fight their war, and give up our rights and responsibilities to speak up because they are above society?

I hadn’t thought much more about that statement other than the fact that he just didn’t truly understand the nature of the military support system, Mr. Arkin should be forgiven, after all it’s not like he’s the Washington Post’s expert on Military Affairs.

But back to Mr. Donovan, he reminds us that these so called obscene amenities that Mr. Arkin is so upset about receive must be the improved housing and medical coverage, which still isn’t better than mine that I purchase through my provider; and the penchant to find Burger King, Pizza Hut and Subway in theatre. But there is one problem with Mr. Arkin’s claims that must be addressed; those Obscene Amenities aren’t being paid for with your tax money.

I'm sure that Arkin has in mind the Great Ameriki Souk, AAFES. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service, and NEX, the Navy Exchange. And the MWR services (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) that the profit from AAFES operations funds. With NAF money.

NAF. Now there is an interesting term not tossed about much in the press.

Non-Appropriated Funds. The significance of Non-Appropriated means that Congress does NOT authorize the expenditure of those funds. They are not appropriated. They do not come from the Treasury. They are not Bill Arkin's tax dollars. They aren't my tax dollars. They aren't your tax dollars.

But they are my dollars. They are the dollars of anyone who is authorized to use the PX/BX, the Post Exchange/Base Exchange. The military's in-house J.C.Penney / Sears / Target. Or, who pays to use the MWR facilities, like the swimming pools, stables, golf courses, movie theaters, arts and crafts shops, auto craft shops, etc.

They are self-supporting. And the money comes from - us. The soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, coast guardsmen, commissioned Public Health Service and NOAA personnel, active, Reserve, and retired, and our associated families, who are authorized to use those facilities.

So those obscene amenities that my fellow brothers and sisters in uniform seem to be wallowing in, come not from the Citizenry’s taxes but rather from those same folks who use them, what a novel concept Mr. Arkin, is this somehow akin to the wonderful benefits you receive from your employer. Of course not, you don’t pay for the privilege of having a those benefits, they are given to you to attract you and other’s like you to the company, after all the journalism business is incredibly cut-throat isn’t it. I guess that makes you a mercenary doesn’t it. Funny how that works out, you and those you malign aren’t that different, except for the fact that the members of the US Military do what they do not out of sense of who will pay me more, but rather because they believe in a set of values that are centered around Honor, Duty and Country.

Mr. Arkin you have shown us that the media and those on the left do not appreciate in the slightest what it is that the US Military provides you on a daily basis. As a former member of the US Armed Forces you should know better, and perhaps you do and if that is true then you have sold your soul and have become that which you so despise; a mercenary at its most base level.

Arkin - Can't Move On

William Arkin the writer of such enlightened material as A Note to My Readers on Supporting the Troops, The Arrogant and Intolerant Speak Out, New Middle East Commander Correctly Stays in His Lane and The Troops Also Need to Support the American People continues his whine fest, even though he claims he isn't upset at being criticized and attacked for speaking his mind writes Demonization and Responsibility:

I've been making my way through the mail and online comments I've received in response to my columns last week.

The many e-mails I've gotten privately from people serving in the military are, not surprisingly, the most respectful and reflective. Some correspondents are downright indignant, some are sarcastic, and most are hurt by the "mercenary" epithet and my commentary. But they are philosophical about their service and where we are in the war and the country today.

The torrents of other mail -- biting, fanatical, threatening -- represent the worst of polarized and hate-filled America. I'm not complaining about being criticized or being made the latest punching bag for those who subsist off of high-volume conquest. Nor am I apologizing for addressing, however imperfectly, the questions I did last week, nor for being critical of the military.

Mr. Arkin grow up. In a country where the First Amendment guarantees that Goverment troops won't come kicking in your door in the dark of the night because of what you write, there is no guarantee that you will not be subjected to the same vitriolic writing in return.

As I stated in my previous post concerning your disrepect towards those who willing volunteer to wear their country's uniform and go where they are told:

I suppose that you believe that by writing these post you are somehow speaking truth to power but in reality you are only hurting the endeavor, adding fuel to the fire and making it harder for those troops you don’t believe in to do their job. Perhaps if you put into practice those “policies of tolerance” you claim are so important and engaged those of us that have other beliefs then maybe, just maybe we could come to a consensus on Iraq and the War on Terror and we could have a tolerant discussion without your arrogant hierarchy of ideas raining down on us.

As your editors have so succinctly pointed out, you are adding nothing new to the debate, so how about you get down off your high horse and come to the table ready to discuss the merits of your beliefs: if you truly know of a better way to achieve victory in Iraq please let us know, and stop attacking those honorable men and women in uniform that are simply serving at the will of the Government. The US Military does not make foreign policy they implement it at the request of the President and the Congress of the United States; someone who covers Military Matters for the Washington Post should know that.

Arkin’s Moral Authority

I realize that many have already written about Arkin’s hit piece on the troops yesterday and commented on his rebuttal to the thousands of comments and emails that he has received in response from those who support the troops, in point of fact many of those posts found their way into today’s Web Reconnaissance. Not one to believe that I can do better than those august writers that tend to grace that daily activity, I am still going to respond to Mr. Arkin and I believe that everyone should also do so. Arkin’s actions are totally unacceptable and everyone should express their feelings about his hatred for our troops.

When I first read Arkin’s post I couldn’t believe that a journalist would dare even write something so blatantly anti-military as what he did, but then I wondered, if Mr. Arkin is truly expressing his opinion that the troops should just “shut-up, quit whining” and just take it who does have the right to respond to his libelous statements? If the anointed Left demands that those who support the war must somehow serve in this war, are not the troops, the best and brightest of our country, the holders of the Absolute Moral Authority on the matter?

If we suppose that the Left means by their Chicken Hawk argument that if you support the troops and believe that the Global War on Terror is a noble undertaking, then you must by default also be in uniform fighting said war, what gives the Left the right to disagree with the war and the manner in which it is being prosecuted? Are those on the left that disagree with all that is Iraq currently in uniform on the front lines or preparing for deployment, and if not why should I even listen to what they have to say? Is their Moral Authority somehow greater than mine, simply because they are on the Left and I on the Right?

When Mr. Arkin writes that the arrogant and the intolerant are speaking out he is not addressing those who on a daily basis use their anger at the Bush Administration to belittle the troops, he is talking directly to those troops on the front line and in doing so he dismisses out of hand the one attribute that he demands of anyone that speaks against his erroneous convictions, that they have some stake in the matter. The troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Horn of Africa and the Philippines have a stake in the war Mr. Arkin, as do their families; they are staking their lives on it. On the contrary it’s safe to say that the conflict in Iraq and the other theatres has affected you little if at all, you sit comfortably in your climate controlled office and type out your libelous drivel.

To further assert that any opinion differing than yours is just that and not a fact also implies that your opinions are somehow fact. Where those opinions of yours sent down from on high or did you form them after walking on patrol in a squalid neighborhood of Baghdad and see the hope in the eyes of the children? To claim that the United States is not engaged in a “grand and noble mission” is to dismiss out of hand those 3000 deaths you on the left cry about and use as proof that the mission is un-winnable, the cost too high, and the enemy too strong.

Mr. Arkin demands of his readers the one thing he belittles in the troops; an unanimity of thought and any thought that does not coincide with his can and should be dismissed out of hand. If unanimity of thought and an absolute allegiance to a hierarchy of ideas is foreign in the civilian world, how dare you challenge those who disagree with you, for in doing so you demand that which you detest. The Left demands of its members more unanimity of thought and strict adherence to it’s hierarchy of ideas more than those whom you denigrate. The U.S. Military demands of its members an unflinching devotion to Honor, Duty and Country, not blind loyalty to it leaders. We serve at the will of the administration whether it is led by a Democrat or Republican. We serve in countries we would rather not be in, and we do it because we believe in Honor, Duty and Country.

Are we to assume then Mr. Arkin that your solutions for Iraq are better than those in place and will assure victory? If so then please join up and let’s hear them, lets put them into place and we’ll blindly follow you into hell with a can of gasoline. Otherwise, when the decision is made to go to war then I would proposition that yes, the military is the best source on deciding when, where and how to attack the enemy, not someone sitting idly by in their climate controlled office sipping a double latte, typing out their useless drivel that is only for those enlightened enough to share the same world view as you.

Clinton and company had 8 years to do something about Islamic Extremism and despite claiming that the threat was real, did nothing to stop it. We tried talking and peace for decades and not once has it paid off, Islamic Extremists were only emboldened by our inaction. Now we are trying another option, a viable option and its working but you certainly aren’t helping in the endeavor.

I suppose that you believe that by writing these post you are somehow speaking truth to power but in reality you are only hurting the endeavor, adding fuel to the fire and making it harder for those troops you don’t believe in to do their job. Perhaps if you put into practice those “policies of tolerance” you claim are so important and engaged those of us that have other beliefs then maybe, just maybe we could come to a consensus on Iraq and the War on Terror and we could have a tolerant discussion without your arrogant hierarchy of ideas raining down on us.