Wednesday, February 06, 2013

An article from one year ago offers a troubling look into the murderous mind of the "heroic" American Sniper Chris Kyle.

After Kyle's death at that shooting range in Texas, most of what has been written about him has been a glowing account of his life as a heroic sniper fighting the bad guys overseas.

I personally did not know much about him, and had no intention of reading his book.

As it turns out, within his book is a look inside the mind of a man who probably should NEVER have been issued the weapon, or given the training, that allowed him to kill 160 people.

Almost exactly one year ago there was an article written and published on a blog called Pro Libertate, and written by a man named William N. Grigg. Mr Grigg DID read Kyle's book and his takeaway was that he was anything but heroic: American Sniper:

The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, the ghost-written memoir for which Kyle claims primary authorship, offers convincing testimony that Kyle not only failed to display genuine courage in Iraq, but was incapable of recognizing it when it was exhibited by desperate patriots seeking to evict the armed foreigners who had invaded and occupied their country. 

The insurgents who fought the American invasion (and the few “allied” troops representing governments that had been bribed or brow-beaten into collaborating in that crime) were sub-human “savages” and “cowards,” according to Kyle. 

“Savage, despicable evil,” writes Kyle. “That’s what we were fighting in Iraq…. People ask me all the time, `How many people have you killed?’... The number is not important to me. I only wish I had killed more. Not for bragging rights, but because I believe the world is a better place without savages out there taking American lives.” 

“The people we were fighting in Iraq, after Saddam’s army fled or was defeated, were fanatics,” Kyle insists. “They hated us because we weren’t Muslim. They wanted to kill us, even though we’d just booted out their dictator, because we practiced a different religion than they did.” 

Actually, most of them probably wanted to kill Kyle and his comrades because they had invaded and occupied their country. They were prepared to use lethal force to protect their homes against armed intruders who had no right to be there. 

Ironically, Kyle’s book offers evidence that he understands that principle; he simply doesn’t believe that it applies to Iraqis. 

“They may have been cowards, but they could certainly kill people,” observes Kyle of the guerrillas. 

“The insurgents didn’t worry about ROEs [Rules of Engagement] or court-martials [sic]. If they had the advantage, they would kill any Westerner they could find, whether they were soldiers or not.” 

If that charge (made on page 87 of Kyle’s book) is accurate, it might reflect the fact that the Iraqi resistance (as well as the tactics of foreign guerrillas who joined the fight) was playing according to ground rules established by the U.S. early in the war. 

On page 79, Kyle describes the Rules of Engagement that his unit followed when they were deployed to Shatt al-Arab, a river on the Iraq-Iran border: “Our ROEs when the war kicked off were pretty simple: If you see anyone from about sixteen to sixty-five and they’re male, shoot ‘em. Kill every male you see. That wasn’t the official language, but that was the idea.” (Emphasis in the original.) 

Those orders were of a piece with the studied indifference to civilian casualties that characterized the “Shock and Awe” bombing campaign that began the war. In preparing that onslaught General Tommy Franks and his military planners were guided by a computer program that referred to civilian casualties as “bugsplat.” Franks had no compunction about ordering bombing missions that would result in what the computer projections described as “heavy bugsplat.” After all, aren’t the lives of American military personnel “clearly worth more” – to use Kyle’s phrase -- than those of the Iraqi civilians, who were mere insects to be annihilated? 

There is much more, most of it rather stomach churning, but you get the idea.

It can be argued that Chris Kyle was turned into a heartless assassin by a country that needed him to decimate a people who dared to fight back against the Americans who invaded their land, but I am not sure if that is enough to explain the absolute monstrous attitude that he seems to have directed toward these people, that ostensibly. we were there to liberate. And it makes me wonder just how many of those 160 kills were people who presented an actual threat, and how many simply represented a people that he openly despised.

I am certainly not suggesting that Chris Kyle deserved to be gunned down by a PTSD suffering fellow soldier at that shooting range in Texas. I am just saying that after reading this shedding tears of sympathy would seem hypocritical at best.

103 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:12 PM

    I don't think Kyle was exaggerating the threat by the insurgents. In addition, all kills had to be accounted for and ROE applied. I have known other people who served in Iraq, and his statement that these people were savages seems to be true.

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    1. Anonymous1:17 PM

      What about the statements of your acquaintances who say you are an ignorant ass? That seems to be true also too.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:25 PM

      Did you read the book? I did. My acquaintances were in the military who witnessed it firsthand.Does that mean they are ignorant asses?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous3:14 PM

      The read the book meme is old, get a new script. Many people know those who were in Iraq and Afghanistan, acquaintances, friends and family in the military. They are not all of one mind.

      Delete
    4. They are PEOPLE. They are God's creation as much as you are. They had done nothing wrong, and were suddenly invaded and being killed by American soldiers, whose ROE were "anything goes. No one will be charged for killing anyone else." Look at the torture chamber at Abu Graib. Who has been held accountable for that Nazish place? Look at the billions in damage we did to a sovereign nation, just because 'they were a different religion than us (sic.)" Seems to me the US soldiers were every bit the savage if they were there only to kill.

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    5. Anonymous3:39 PM

      Thank you Gryphen! It is crucial to look beyond the bull about war and the so-called heroes. I am not saying there are no real heroes, but the blustering egos and fake propaganda does not count as hero.

      OT EXCLUSIVE: FBI Informant Tells All – Part 3 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=35693

      FBI Informant Tells All – http://www.themudflats.net/?p=35343
      FBI Informant Tells All – Part 2 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=35399

      Delete
    6. Anonymous5:02 PM

      Did everyone see the Wikileaks video? Of the remote shooting of Iraqi citizens on the street?

      Go check it out sometime.The ROE apparently were to shoot anything that moves, even if he is a journalist! We should of never been in that war and for a slimebag like Kyle to call the Iraqis exercising their FREEDOMS to DEFEND their Home from INTRUDERS, and stand by while those fuckers raped and killed their wives and children!
      There is a reason CONServatism is called mental illness and all of them should have their guns taken away!
      And this Kyle person, Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword...
      KARMA!
      He's just one less Con fucktard. Maybe this is the Conservative Genocide? The can't control their breeding so their poor kids will suffer when they shoot themselves with mommy's pink gun, or like in Ms. Lanza's case her own son shot her and
      Unfortunately innocent children, but wait! When we have armed guards at every school they will shoot him full of holes next time...right?
      I am really sick of the Conservative agenda.
      If they die while playing with their precious guns so be it!
      Now I know the dumbfuck, "you don't love our troops fighting for our freedums" troll will be here, and stfu in advance and
      not all soldiers "LIKED" killing! Some had to but some REVILED in it! That is to whom I speak.
      If you loved to kill other beings this message is for YOU!
      If not, disregard. And quit trying to sell this POS book!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous6:02 PM

      I celebrated the news of his demise. I remember when the book came out and I thought it was bad karma to try to capitalize on others grief. If I was an Iraqi, I would be an insurgent without a doubt. So would you. And I don't think you read the book bc i doubt you could read a book.

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  2. Anonymous1:16 PM

    I agree with you, Gryphen. Thank you for saying what needed to be said.

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    1. Paul - Minnesota2:05 PM

      +1

      You also said what I was going to say thanking Gryphen for this post and his statements and sentiment re: this man.

      Delete
  3. Super Fan In Atlanta1:18 PM

    Having been mobilized during a war, I can say first hand that once you're deep in the trenches, you operate in a bubble. On the civilian side, however, knowing that we went into a country for no reason whatsoever and starting killing these people in order to "liberate" them, makes no one a hero. It just makes America appear to be "doing business as usual". Moving in and taking over by any means necessary -- justifying the massacre and depletion of a people's identity as a fight for "freedom" (from who and what is never clear or honest). Columbus, The Pilgrims, Slavery, etc...

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  4. Anonymous1:32 PM

    He may have been an excellent marksman but how does that qualify him to help someone who has serious mental issues with regard to PTSD?
    And as you say, Gryphen, Kyle had an "absolute monstrous attitude that he seems to have directed toward these people, that ostensibly, we were there to liberate." Well remember all the GOP Christian conservative hawks who said we would be treated as liberators, showered with rose petals and admiration from the Iraqi people? Didn't happen.

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  5. Anonymous1:36 PM

    Alaska climate change board fails to meet:
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/05/alaska-climate-change-body-meeting

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  6. Easier to understand why the Palins were so enamored of this guy. The whole lot of them have no curiosity or comprehension about people of different ethnic, racial, cultural or religious backgrounds than they represent. They all seem to get their identity and bravado more from a love of guns and bullets and taking out those who aren't in sync with their mindset rather than a sense of making the world a 'safer' place or spreading peace and Democracy.

    My friend's grandson looks like Kyle and since his enlistment in the Army a couple years back, acts and talks like him too. Very scary 'my way or the highway' bunch.

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    1. Anonymous3:44 PM

      "My friend's grandson.." I have seen the same, it is awful. Especially if you knew the enlisted when they were adorable children. It is tragic what the Military Industrial Complex does to a nation and a world. We should have listened to President Eisenhower. The Dick, Chaney, sure screwed this country over.

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    2. Anonymous5:28 PM

      The Military has been pretty much taken over by the "fundies" like this guy is.
      The jaysus guns, bibles all over the place GAG ME!
      Yep and they are all Bitter clingers! And fuckers.

      Mikey Winestien of the MMFF is trying to get god out of the military! How many wars are fought and justified by god?
      Too damn many!

      Delete
  7. Anonymous1:46 PM

    And that coward Barrack Obama that you praise orders more drone strikes into sovereign countries that we aren't at war with killing civilian non combatants including children. He's just carrying on the grand American tradition of bullying by fear and military might.

    He's no better than the mass killers in schools and movie theaters of America. But you'll give him a pass because he's "your guy".

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    1. If you scroll down a post or two you will see that no pass was given.

      But nice try.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:24 PM

      Have you condemned him for it? More like you wring your hands and shrug it away while you praise all the things you agree with. You didn't have a problem voting for him after seeing his track record on drone assassinations and civil rights violations as far as domestic spying. By tacitly supporting him, you set things up for the next guy who may be a radical right wing fundamentalist who decides it's OK to use drone strikes against atheists.

      I voted for Obama his first term hoping that he truly represented change back to the foundation of Constitutional protections, but he turned out to be more of the same, so I couldn't vote for him again. And no I didn't vote Republican either.

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    3. Anonymous2:39 PM

      If you could experience combat, you might have a different opinion. You need to get over the fact that, in many ways, it is either kill or be killed. Security or no security. Does your remark mean that you think every man who has defended this country for decades are murderers? You'd better be glad that Hitler didn't win!!!!

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    4. Anonymous2:50 PM

      Too much nuance for those lacking reading comprehension. But trolls like that won't understand no matter how many times you break it down for them.

      Good post, G.

      BBB

      Delete
    5. Anonymous2:53 PM

      1:46 Who's "your guy"

      Delete
    6. Yes, we have been constantly against the drone strikes. Where in the heck were YOU when Bush was authorizing torture, the surveillance of all Americans, and these killing machines? He started the drones. He signed the heinous Patriot Act. yes, we want it all stopped, but YOUR party won't even close Gitmo. They won;t even allow gun registration. They want America as armed as Chris Kyle. Do they not realize that the only people dying will be innocent kids and braindead militiamen from the woods? Oh, and ex-military, who never got the help they needed to get over this killing obsession. I have the feeling if Kyle hadn't died, he would have gone on a spree himself someday.

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    7. Anonymous5:31 PM

      Anonymous1:46 PM

      And that coward Barrack Obama that you praise orders more drone strikes into sovereign countries that we aren't at war with killing civilian...
      *****
      Whoa, whoa whoa fucktard? Where the fuck do you think you are?
      If YOU READ...HELLO, You did learn to read?
      This is for "Terrorist" the concern that Rachel and G are saying...what about the NEXT POTUS?
      Especially if he is REPUBLICAN is the Unsaid message here.
      Go spew your sperm at BeerFart! Not here, stinkin' up the joint!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous5:36 PM

      Add to Sue's comment, Where were you when
      Bush did a false flag and killed all the people in 911 to start a war, to kill Bin laden?
      Lied and said there was WMD!
      Where the fuck where YOU!

      Delete
  8. Anonymous1:51 PM

    Wow... I almost wish I hadn't read this. Kill every male that you see? Are you frickin' kidding me? Who the hell would think that was okay?

    Is it really so out there and crazy to believe that the innocent civilians matter just as much as our troops? Because that's what I believe.

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    1. Anonymous2:42 PM

      In certain places, women and children are just as dangerous as the soldiers. In Viet Nam, children were armed with grenades that they were trained to use on American troops. Same for women. In Iraq, the same applies.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:43 PM

      I would like to add one more comment here: I do not like Sarah Palin at all, so my comments are based on what I read in the book and what I have heard from people who served in Viet Nam and Iraq.

      Delete
    3. "Kill everyone you see" is not combat. Or war. It is barbarism. It is terrorism. It is criminal.

      2:42 and 3, I suggest you watch The Fog of War or the documentary about My Lai for a different moral perspective.

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    4. Good recs, Liz.@ 3:50 PM.

      There was. no ore more hawkish than McNamara in JFK & LBJ's administrations. Although he was brilliant, I ways regarded him in the same league as Gen Westmoreland, as merely ''insiders" working on behalf of the Military Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned against. But listening to McNamara's words in The Fog of War, he seemed sincerely regretful and that he learned firsthand some lessons that would benefit our entire generation to listen to and learn without repeating the same mistakes.

      The massacre by Lt Calley's platoon at My Lai should serve as a cautionary tale to the atrocities that can occur when we see our enemy as lesser human beings than ourselves.

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    5. Anonymous5:33 PM

      I voted for Obama his first term hoping that he truly represented change back to the foundation of Constitutional protections, but he turned out to be more of the same, so I couldn't vote for him again. And no I didn't vote Republican either
      ************
      So you
      REALLY need to STFU if you didn't vote chump!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous9:22 PM

      I did vote chump, just couldn't vote Dem or Repub.

      Now go back and sit in your cave until you learn how to reason.

      Delete
    7. Wars are never what we are told they are. At least they only told them to kill all the males. http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Anything-That-Moves-ebook/dp/B008FPSTOQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1360290154&sr=1-1&keywords=kill+anything+that+moves

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    8. The military always creates hatred for those they fight against. In WWII soldiers were shocked to find Japanese and German soldiers were human, they thought they were monsters or demons. I totally agree with your assessment of Kyle Mr. Griffin. The military finds these types and uses them to their benefit. I have to wonder if the vet with PTSD shot him because he represents all the lies he was told and the wrong he felt he did because he was young, naive and just following orders.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous1:54 PM

    ....which explains the Palin's adoration.

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  10. Anonymous2:20 PM

    1 2 3....

    The Sarah Palin Curse

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  11. Anonymous2:28 PM

    If another country invaded the US, we would respond just as the Iraqui people did and fight back. We had no right to invade their country, except W wanted to avenge the fact that Saddam wanted to kill GHW Bush. Cheney wanted the oil for his friends in the energy business. Look at the lives lost or destroyed with PTSD and amputations over this. Totally useless war.

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    1. Anonymous7:04 AM

      Thank you for your reasonable post! Yes, if another country invaded the US, we would have to defend ourselves. What is so new about that concept to some of the posters here?

      Delete
  12. Anonymous2:38 PM

    Well of course they were trying to kill Americans...we invaded their country. If the Chinese land on our shores and start shooting, just what the hell would we being doing....shooting back. For Fuck Sake....This Bullshit America is the best. Do as I say pisses me the fuck off. I am no better than anyone. My life is not worth more than anyother HUMAN regardless of nationality.

    The vets that I have know from WW2 to Korea (my father) to Vietman (my neighbor) when asked what they did during their tours of duty either don't talk about it or tell me that I don't need to know. They don't write bragadocious filled books about their war kills.

    He's a war hero...depends on your perspective I guess

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    1. Anonymous5:46 PM

      The vets that I have know from WW2 to Korea (my father) to Vietman (my neighbor) when asked what they did during their tours of duty either don't talk about it or tell me that I don't need to know. They don't write bragadocious filled books about their war kills.
      *************
      EXACTLY!!!!
      But now we got big mouth kunts like paylin, blabbing about Troops and they can do no wrong...nonononono....so you got fucks like this glorifying killing.
      Describing another human being as a Lesser species,a lessor BEING!
      just like Hunter's (ASSHOLES) say about wolves or coyotes or any animal THEY deem to be a nuisance! Its disguising and sickening and if people choose to live their lives this way they will die this way too.Good Riddance, write on their headstone "Happiness is a Warm gun".

      Delete
  13. Anonymous2:39 PM

    I do not support the actions of our troops. It is a choice that is made to enlist. They make that choice and then they kill innocents in the name of their almighty god and oil, and my taxes pay their salary. I do not condone the payment of their salaries with my tax dollars, however, I have no choice in the matter, I unwillingly subsidize murderers.

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    1. Anonymous3:00 PM

      HUH????

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:25 PM

      I would be fine if Mr. Panetta gave snipers a pay cut or no pay at all. Let them volunteer. It takes a certain type of person to kill like that. There are many that love the work and would do it for free and for the trainin,g as well, the great hero status in the military.

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    3. Anonymous3:53 PM

      2:39 PM

      You are right, they do enlist. There is no draft. I spent part of the summer with a family and their 17 year old son. He was raised to believe the military could solve all his problems. He was an avid gamer and loved all the kill mentality. He wants to join the military to learn to kill. That was his main focus. I won't go into all his issues but he was abused and harbors feeling of getting even with the abuser and those that didn't believe him. Very scary to think about. On the surface he could be appear so nice.

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    4. Anonymous5:47 PM

      Anonymous2:39 PM
      Right ON!
      I'm damn sick of it too!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous5:50 PM

      Anonymous3:53 PM
      ery scary to think about. On the surface he could be appear so nice.
      ***********
      Ummm does he have access to guns?
      You might want to drop a dime on his ass,(Call the Cops) before he acts out and there's another school shooting, mall shooting, movie shooting...JUST SAYIN'!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous7:13 PM

      5:50 I know nothing about any access to guns or not. He is far away from where I am now. I heard he will be signing up to join the National Guard. It may be something like Track Palin's situation. I don't have anything to drop a dime on, the authorities where he lives would know far more about him then I do. They are encouraging him to join the military. When I saw him he was a kid that expressed some things. From what I could tell many of his his friends joined the military or were planning on it. One of the selling points is learning how to "protect" (how to kill). From my point of view it seemed they had a romantic notion. They are like brothers and family and they will save the good people together. They will always have each other and the brotherhood. There are probably many kids like this all over the country. The military doesn't want every service member to be well educated and worthy of a high position. The not so educated but bright kids are perfect. He is not a gang member who wants to use the military to learn skills he can take back to the streets.

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  14. Anonymous2:40 PM

    More will come out about Kyle's own mental state...but the radical war-mongering right wingers will dispute any and all examples of his extreme views/kills/etc.
    Honestly, more information will trickle out about this right-wing 'hero' and it won't be pretty.

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    1. Anonymous4:01 PM

      The military has a stellar publicity/propaganda machine going for them. They will make sure stories get told from their POV. Things came out about John McCain but never enough to matter. People still think he is a war hero.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:31 PM

      Hey probably fucked Sarah...or the Toad.
      Family values and all.

      Not sorry to see him or any of his asshole friends who brag about Killing other people.
      YES the IRAQIS are PEOPLE too!

      Delete
  15. Once you de-humanize another group of people, it's easier to hate them and find fault with every action they take in defending their property, their culture, or even their own lives and their families'.

    Will Grigg, the author of that blog is an exceptional writer. I don't agree with all of his politics, but he makes such a reasoned argument for his beliefs, it's hard not to give serious thought on the positions he takes. It's hard to believe that Grigg is a former member of John Birch Society, but the more I read of his work and his writing, the more I realize that the Birchers have swayed far away from their original positions against intervention in foreign policy, into anti-semetism and paranoia about 'the Soviet threat' (yes, Soviet. Listen to some of the rants of their leadership on YouTube). There is always a power struggle in any organization at some point, especially she a long-time leader or founder reaches the end of his tenure.

    I'm uneasy with our using the drones as well. Yes, a case can be made that they 'save American lives' by reducing the number of boots on the ground. The more I contemplate the issue, the more I move toward the position that a life is a life, and the lives of our family members are important to us, but no more important than the lives of those killed in 'collateral damage' in war, period, whether it involves drones or not.

    By the way, NYT screwed the pooch by revealing the drone base in Saudi Arabia. They could have reported reported all of the detais about the program without mentioning specifically that the base for the drones was in the same country as the most holy site in Islam, Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad and where the Quaran was revealed. This sure won't help us in our relations with the Saudis, whom we depend upon to help us in the region. This leak has neocon and AIPAC written all over it, although I haven't heard anything reported directly on the sources they are quoting. But the Neicons sure all had their talking points and chicken-hawks all lined up today to feast off the news, didn't they?

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    1. Anonymous5:52 PM

      Yep! NYT's a rw RAG!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:26 PM

      Not so much right-wing but unabashedly, neo-conservative, pro-war, pro-establishment. NYT plays both sides of the fence politically on an editorial level, but they are consistently in favor of the Zionist agenda, which brings out the worst elements of both political parties because the Israeli lobby has a disproportionate level of influence on our congress, just as the NRA, for instance. They will always highlight the Anti-Muslim, pro-statist, and are always prodding any soft spots in the fractures of our country's foreign policy. NYT is just like all of the other corporate media--- they benefit from war bc people are glued to their trusted sources of news.

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  16. Anonymous2:48 PM

    My thoughts were that this guy enjoyed killing..If i was a sniper the last thing i would do is write a book about it..Guy didn't make any sense..

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  17. Anonymous2:51 PM

    LOL, the GOP is now against drones.

    Shallow attempt GOP, shallow attempt.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous3:00 PM

    There is going to be a memorial service for Kyle at Cowboy Stadium on Feb 11. I think that is a bit much-way over the top actually. The other man who was with Kyle and also shot, was also a veteran and yet you hear little about him.

    Just my opinion--but this just seems showy--and not dignified.

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    1. Anonymous3:27 PM

      Does Sarah Palin know about this photo op?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:28 PM

      This type of grandstanding is nothing more than a slap in the face to all of those killed in the wars, and those who will die before we exit Afghanistan.

      How embarrassing this must be for any of Kyle's family members to look into the eyes of any other fallen soldier's family members who actually died in combat. This sounds more like a photo-op for PR for those who want to be in the spotlight, standing on someone else's grave. Fuck any and all of the politicians and celebrities who will use this to plug their fucking books and TV shows or movies. And I needn't call any names. But look for CNN to be there to get their comments as though they matter.

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    3. I bet Hagee and Ricky Perry and the entire GOP House delegation shows up to 'honor' this killer. You are so right...over the top.

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    4. Anonymous4:41 PM

      @3:28 I saw Kyle's brother in that news report and he seems just fine with it all. Grandstanding all the way around.

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    5. Anonymous4:46 PM

      I guess that the other guy didn't write a book. There have been a number of military who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan only to be killed here at home. Kyle is not the only one. In fact, if he was trying to help someone with post traumatic stress, he should have realized that he was dealing with someone with problems, real problems.

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    6. Anonymous5:40 PM

      he was trying to help someone with post traumatic stress.........

      .. that is what we are told. No discussion if he was equipped to "help". just rhetoric like he was a soldier and knows what a fellow soldier experiences, read the book nonsense.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous5:52 PM

      I hope the WBC shows up.

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    8. Anonymous7:29 PM

      3:28 PM

      I'll say their names for you because they are such disgusting grifters:

      TODD & SARAH PALIN

      Delete
    9. Anonymous7:36 PM

      The DoD is no doubt behind and/or encouraging a great media moment memorial service for someone they want to build up. There is no immediate new war to call young males to duty. They need ways to make it appealing to join the Army.

      You are not going to get anyone to sign up after what happened with Iraq and Afghanistan if the truth is told. Many kids today know people who were killed or injured. Do you think they want to believe they went to war based on lies and deceptions?

      No, we can't admit our mistakes or put the worst criminals in prison.

      The DoD loves services for their heroes.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous3:16 PM

    Part of the code of honor for special forces is that they were a TEAM and did their jobs and didn't need the ego boost of blowing their own horns. This self-promotion through a ghostwriter and participation on a TV reality show puts this Kyle character down with the Palins of this world.

    One thing is for goddam sure. Kyle is no Pat Tillman, who left his several million a year NFL job to enlist along with his brother to go to Afghanistan after 9/11. Then, after Tillman was killed in friendly fire, Rummie, Darth Vader & W tried to sell the lie that Tillman was ambushed trying to save lives of others as propaganda to further expand the war. But the Tillman family wouldn't allow the Bushies to play that game with Pat's life. He put himself in the line of fire, not for a fucking book deal, but because he loved his brother and his country. Shame on these chicken-hawks and grifters who try to cash in on the glory of just doing what do many have done and continue to do.

    Just do your damn job and go home. If you did well, at least let someone else brag on you. It's poor form to do it yourself, and it's unconscionable to gloat about your own success when you never would've made it home alive if it weren't for the efforts of the rest of your team.

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    1. Anonymous4:09 PM

      Nor would Jessica Lynch go for the military setting her up as a hero. This Kyle character is rot gut disgusting and the last thing young people need to be told is a heroic role model.

      Has anyone read more about what actually happened? Do we know that what the media reports on this is close to fact?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:57 PM

      One thing is for goddam sure. Kyle is no Pat Tillman, who left his several million a year NFL job to enlist along with his brother to go to Afghanistan after 9/11. Then, after Tillman was killed in friendly fire, Rummie, Darth Vader & W tried to sell the lie that Tillman was ambushed trying to save lives of others as propaganda to further expand the war. But the Tillman family wouldn't allow the Bushies to play that game with Pat's life. He put himself in the line of fire, not for a fucking book deal, but because he loved his brother and his country. Shame on these chicken-hawks and grifters who try to cash in on the glory of just doing what do many have done and continue to do.
      ************
      PAT TILLMAN AND HIS FAMILY ARE HERO'S!
      Pushing through the lies of the Millatary
      Jessica Lynch was a SNAFU not a ambush! I've read BOTH books on Pat Tillman and his moms is good but the other one REALLY TELLS it.
      Tells all the NeoCon lies and Pat was a Hero, he left aFootball job to fight for his country.
      Its still not clear if he was fragged.
      They know "Friendly fire" killed him.

      Now Pat Tillman is a HERO!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:04 PM

      Agree. But Pat didn't have to go on a fuckin' reality show to prove how much of a man he was and how courageous he was, ir even in what great shape he was in. He was the real fucking deal!

      And Pat would've told Sarah Palin to fuck off and would've told Todd to grow up and get a fucking job and to quit pimping out his daughters.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous3:27 PM

    I just saw more on the Kyle memorial service at Cowboy Stadium on the news-- wfaa.com They may have the clip up later. (My other statement said Littlefield was a Vet but that may be wrong.) Anyway, they were reporting how Cowboy Stadium seats 80,000. The reporter said it is still in the planning but they are expecting people from "all over", "dignataries", and are trying to line up speakers (You know what I am thinking on that one. I bet the Palins would/will love to jump in.) He said it's still very much in the planning stages.

    I don't mean to sound bad since someone is dead. But, this seems very crude. Also, Glenn Beck is raising money for the families.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:27 PM

      Are they trying to make Kyle a martyr/hero? What about all of the other 5000+ killed in the ME wars in the past decade? What about the tens of thousands that have had to suffer lost limbs and other debilitating injuries---physical AND psychological? I don't mean to sound crass, but what makes him special, because he was a minor celebrity who had a press agent and a ghostwriter that included many mistakes and non-facts on the text of his book in an attempt to promote his name? What about all of the other Navy Seals who served with honor, not all of whom got to come home and talk smack about what bad-asses they were in combat then and now?

      This hero-worship is unsettling. Jerry Jones needs events to pay the mortgage on his $1 Billion stadium in Dallas, so his motivation is obvious. But what are the motivations of the others in promoting this "memorial"?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:36 PM

      All this suck up to the troops seems lot like Nationalism you know like Nazi's did?

      Same thing. jaysus guns and all. They also loved their guns and loved to kill.
      They put people in ovens to kill they loved it so much. And before the Nazi trolls attack...
      I know someone (who is NOT Jewish BTW) they went after Italians, Polish anyone who didn't walk lockstep...and she was in the camps and her brother and father died there.
      Just advance to the trolls stfu.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:48 PM

      In a vulgar, perverted way, this worship of the military gun-goon is similar to the praise/support that many of the same crowd gave to George Zimmerman. I am not comparing Zimmerman and Kyle to one another per se , but my point is that the same element of paranoid, gun-worshiping, fake christian, the "better than the blahs and brown people" crowd of cowards supports both Zimmerman and Kyle without regard to the hard they cause with their actions.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous3:36 PM

    I am certainly not not suggesting that Chris Kyle deserved to be gunned down.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous4:00 PM

    No good can come from uncritical hero-worship. And yet our culture seems unable to learn.

    The motto of Kyle's company, Craft International, is

    "Despite what your momma told you...Violence does solve problems."

    This adds to the questionable picture painted by the quotes from his book.

    In a long, but thought-provoking interview, author Richard K. Morgan speaks of heroes, violence, and society and may have some explanations for men like Kyle. Morgan makes the case that violence, even sanctioned acts of violence, is never a solution.

    http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/morgan_interview/

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous4:10 PM

    It doesn't sound like "he was turned into a heartless assassin" by our country - it sounds more like he was an assassin who found his place in life. He liked killing people - the military gave him a place to do it with impunity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. fromthediagonal7:20 PM

      Anon@4:10... yours is the most concise and logical explanation for this man, and I thank you for saying it!

      Delete
  24. Anonymous4:24 PM

    Kyle's skills were impressive to watch on Stars Earn Stripes. He certainly didn't appear disabled. So how did his company qualify for a disabled veteran GSA contract?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:30 PM

      Please tell me you're just trolling and didn't really watch that crap on television. Friends shouldn't let friends drink that much and still hand them the tv remote.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous4:42 PM

    Wayne LaPierre said that the only thing that could stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. According to Todd and Sarah, Kyle was a really good guy, a friend to Todd during Todd's TV appearance, and a guard during the showing of Sarah's movie in Iowa. Kyle was a well trained sniper, and at the time he was killed, he was at a shooting range with a weapon-- and he could not stop the bad guy with a gun.

    There is a lesson in this story. People who think that being armed and dangerous is going to protect them against an intruder or the government had better remember that a well trained Navy Seal, a professional sniper, couldn't stop someone with a gun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:08 PM

      Sarah and Todd would know how good he is. They also know this was a God plan.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:14 PM

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_But23A9A0k&feature=endscreen&NR=1

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuhKCiY-lu0&NR=1&feature=endscreen

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epZod2qyyN4&feature=share

      Delete
  26. My simple thought on the matter was...karma.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous5:18 PM

    Glad he's dead.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous6:37 PM

    We will never know how it would have turned out regarding the case with Jessi Ventura and Chris Kyle. Apparently Ventura was suing him for saying that Chris hit him in a bar.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhjHWovwix4
    Check out the video of Chris bragging about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:49 PM

      Kyle was likely a sociopath or psychopath. He may have lied often, like Palin. Who knows what the true story was about the murders at the shooting range.

      The two dead men and the shooter were all former military.

      There are no standards for what is considered help for PTSD. Many crazy things could have been going on, many people may know but will not say. Kyle may have believed the cure for PTSD was to recreate the cause and play out some drama. If trauma was caused on a battleground, take the victim back and replay the pain where a leader like Kyle could control the results and cure the victim. Kyle may have thought he was a god.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:14 PM

      Yeah, sure he did.And the fact that he was getting his ass sued for slander by the person he allegedly sucker-punched and then ran from tells a different story. Even if Kyle did a punk thing like striking a 60 year-old Veteran Serviceman, a former Navy Basic Underwater Demolitions Specialist and then running away, who in their right mind would be proud enough to brag about it? That's bush-league stuff. Either way, Kyle looks pinkish and cowardly.

      But. by the same token, Sarah won the state chamionship for her basketball team in high school, according to every press release that she signed off on. Too bad the scorekeeper recorded that Sarah only scored one point, making one free throw out of two in the waning moments of the game, and the one point was a total non-factor in the outcome of the game.
      Zip. Nada. Her TEAM won that championship, not her, but she made every effort to position herself out front to soak in all of the glory, even 30 years later. lol

      Tough talking bullshit attempt at myth-creation. Both screaming, "Look over here at me.!!!"

      Delete
  29. Anita Winecooler6:54 PM

    Excellent post! This gun fetishism has to stop. Yeah, his dehumanization of his targets (Bugsplats, Really?!?WTH!!) shows his true character. I would venture to guess he wouldn't say the same of his buddies that didn't make it home. War is hell, his "kill for the sake of killing" mantra should disqualify him from "helping", because he sure as hell wasn't!!

    Who takes a mentally fragile person suffering from reliving the horrors of killing with guns to a gun range for "therapy"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:02 PM

      Apparently Chris Kyle would and did! What a better way to help a person suffering PTSD from war than to take him to a gun range and re-invent the horror all over again. Yeah that would be a smart thing to do. I'm sure every psychologist agrees with how Chris handled this. NOT! Kyle perhaps thought he was big enough and smart enough while sporting a massive ego to get this guy over his troubles. Apparently it backfired on him.
      It's very sad that you don't hear any word about the other guy that was shot and killed as well. Not much being said about him.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous7:08 PM

    The man was a sniper, a coward who hid and killed. Sociopaths are of the same character. I personally don't give a shit that he was killed, and I never felt he was a hero. I only wonder what kind of father and husband he could have been with a heart as cold as his must have been. Quite frankly, I'm glad he's dead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:49 AM

      What do you expect our soldiers to do? Run out in front of the enemy and let them shoot?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:53 AM

      "THE PEOPLE" the enemy? Bin Laden was all over Afghanistan? Saddam and his crew were the bad guy, not random Iraqis. The Bush Administration decided to send soldiers to invade under false pretense. They needed and used men like Kyle. Nothing about it was right. It is wrong not to prosecute the guilty for War Crimes. That is why it goes on and on. Why the Dept of Defense can turn men like Kyle into heroes when they are just over eager marauders.

      Delete
  31. This post has elicited some thoughtless comments. Kyle was a young man, perhaps an obnoxious man, probably not overly endowed with intelligence, but a human being nonetheless.

    My husband was a career infantry officer, airborne ranger, Vietnam vet, and although he killed only a fraction of the people Kyle claimed, he did indeed take many lives in the service of his country. His victims were probably much like the victims of Kyle--people fighting against invaders of their country. Some of them might even have been noncombatants.

    The military attracts a wide range of people, and a few of them are vicious by nature, especially in combat arms. Others are more humane, and are there only to do a job, but they also are indoctrinated to see the enemy as less than human. My husband was one of the best. He was a strong leader and a brave warrior who was awarded the Bronze Star with V for valor. In his personal life, he was no gun-lover, and he didn't speak much about his combat experiences except to his closest friends. He ensured that our sons did not enter the armed services. He would not so much as permit a gun in our home.

    For those who nod their heads at Kyle's death and think "karma," I'll share our karma with you. My husband developed brittle diabetes and vascular dementia from his exposure to Agent Orange. By the age of 57, this former member of Mensa was rendered incompetent. He was formerly ranked 7th in racquetball at Ft. Lewis, and now he can't walk a block. He can't find a number in a phone book, make himself a sandwich, or tell you what year it is.

    Agent Orange damaged his DNA to the extent that our second child was born with multiple birth defects--spina bifida, transposition of the great vessels, and patent ductus arteriosus. She died on the operating table a week after her birth.

    As a former English teacher and a civilian who has intimate personal knowledge of those who fight our wars and the enormous price they pay, I'm going to recommend a little reading for those who have made dismissive comments about this tragic story: "No Man is An Island," by John Donne.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:46 PM

      There are good, decent strong service members who do right. There are also Mai Lai's and cries for help from the Jeremy Morlocks, suicides everyday. War mentality brings out the best and the worst. Overall it is destruction. Including destruction of families and good men who return home scarred with a death sentence. Chris Kyle is in the Mai Lai league, twisted to fit today's wars. He spoke blunt and that is how people will speak of him. Except the publicity machine that works to make him into a role model and a hero to worship.

      Kyle is a commercial for how to be a somebody, join the military.


      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:41 AM

      I am without words other than to say "I'm sorry" and you are right "no man is an island." Would that we lived in a world where those in power did not ask others to fight their battles for them. Better yet, a world where those in power never wanted battles to be fought.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  32. Anonymous5:44 AM

    Thanks for this post. We are so conditioned to accept the conclusions of the media; the guy was a hero, that we forget to think for ourselves and actually learn the details of the situation.
    EVERY EX-SOLDIER IS NOT A HERO. These days even the slightest criticism of our military is heresy, everyone automatically grovels at the feet of the veteran.
    Thank you for your service, you are a hero, blah,blah, blah.
    While I appreciate the personal sacrifice so many of these people make, our cause and their behavior was and is not necessarily noble.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous5:52 AM

    There are rumbling amongst some of my Military cohorts that the story of Chris's demise might not be as cut & dry as it seems, There are those who are saying that Chris either snapped or became enraged at something the other dead soldier did or said and Chris turned his weapon on him and shot then was then shot himself before he could eliminate the only witness left. This " Theory " is being seriously considered .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:25 AM

      I don't know what went down. I do believe we are missing about 98% of the information. Will they be able to cover up the truth?

      Didn't Dick Chaney have a gun accident in Texas? They are tight when it comes to keeping secrets, also, too.

      Delete
  34. Randall7:53 AM

    I, too, am "certainly not suggesting that Chris Kyle deserved to be gunned down by a PTSD suffering fellow soldier"
    ...I'm just saying it's almost painfully ironic.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous5:34 PM

    It is interesting to read about Ventura and Kyle. The Ventura's claim Jesse Ventura never met him. There is much more to the story and Ventura believes what Kyle claims were used to discredit Ventura (he might run on the Libertarian ticket). Ventura wants to go on with the lawsuit.
    MUST READS:
    Chris Kyle interview and transcript
    http://www.texannews.net/exclusive-slain-sniper-chris-kyles-lasting-words/

    Family of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle releases first statement concerning Kyle’s death
    http://www.texannews.net/family-of-former-navy-seal-chris-kyle-releases-first-statement-concerning-kyles-death/

    Here’s the interview from the Opie and Anthony show on Wednesday. Chris Kyle explained the encounter with Jesse “the Body” Ventura.
    http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/01/05/what-caused-a-navy-seal-to-punch-jesse-ventura-in-the-face/

    Jesse Ventura lawsuit: He and Navy SEAL each claim the other is a liar
    http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_22187814/jesse-ventura-lawsuit-he-and-navy-seal-each

    Jesse Ventura Blasts Navy SEAL ‘Punch’ Hoax ; Exclusive
    http://www.truthmediatv.org/2012/01/jesse-ventura-blasts-navy-seal-punch.html

    Former Governor: Incident “never happened…someone is out to destroy my credibility”
    http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/index.php?topic=249015.0

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous3:51 AM

    Has there been any confirmation that the shooter was diagnosed with PTSB or are they just saying that?

    At first media reported a "gun range" now Rough Creek is upgraded to a luxury retreat for family vacations. There is a 2009 incident and a civil suit. Bill Zook is the attorney for the 17-year-old boy that was injured.
    ___ Zook has closely followed this month's tragedy. "I found it somewhat odd that they were down there by themselves in an isolated area and that there was nobody there around them," he said.
    "It's a highfalutin' place," Zook said. "It seems to be run OK from the outside. But you never know unless you are an insider."

    Rough Creek Lodge and Resort, a luxury getaway known for hosting corporate retreats and family vacations 90 miles southwest of Dallas. "upscale resort" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/chris-kyle-shooting-rough-creek-resort_n_2639112.html

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous6:57 AM

    — the commando also wrote, “I like war.” The problem, as Kyle would have known if he’d read his Carl von Clausewitz, is that the two aren’t separable; war, as Clauswitz wrote, is the continuation of politics by other means.

    But Routh also appears to have had other underlying mental health and substance abuse issues. He’d been hospitalized multiple times for threatening to kill both himself and family members. He may have had problems that pre-existed his service or that were exacerbated by it. Furthermore, there’s no indication that Routh was receiving any kind of psychotherapy or that Kyle and Littlefield had run the firing range idea past a therapist who was familiar with his case. Why should they?

    http://www.salon.com/2013/02/07/death_of_an_american_sniper/

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous2:52 PM

    You cant trust the anti-white regime and it`s media organs, the same people who push global white genocide:

    Africa for the Africans,Asia for the Asians,white countries for EVERYBODY!
    This is genocide according to international law
    Anti-racist is a codeword for anti-white.

    ReplyDelete

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