By MARC McDONALD
Clint Eastwood's blockbuster film, American Sniper purports to tell the story of real-life U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. But this is nonsense. The movie character actually has little in common with the real-life Kyle, who was a twisted, bigoted, dishonest person who (in his 2012 memoir) wrote that killing Iraqis was "fun."
What kind of person says that killing people is "fun"? (Well, outside of Jack the Ripper-type sociopaths?)
People like this aren't heroes. They certainly shouldn't have a place in our nation's military.
As the U.K. Guardian noted, Kyle had nothing but contempt for Iraqis. "I hate the damn savages," he wrote. "I couldn't give a flying fuck about the Iraqis."
But just who were the real "savages"?
After all, it was Bush's thugs who operated sinister CIA "black sites" where people were tortured. People who'd never been tried or convicted of anything faced horrific abuse.
When the Iraqis took up arms against the invading U.S. forces, it took the Bush team by surprise. After all the Bush people had claimed we'd be "greeted as liberators." The NeoCons also claimed the war would be over only in a matter of weeks.
Instead, as the war began to drag on and on and a vicious Iraqi insurgency arose, the NeoCons were stunned. But they really shouldn't have been.
As it turns out, the Iraqis were a proud people. Sure, many of them hated Saddam. But they hated occupying foreign armies even more.
And the Iraqis saw what was really going on (even if the typical Fox "News" viewing idiot didn't). That is, the real point of the war had nothing to do with the non-existent WMD. And it had even less to do with the Bush team's lofty talk about "freedom" and "democracy."
Instead, it was clear that the war was really all about stealing Iraq's oil for Dick Cheney's billionaire cronies.
Even if misinformed Americans didn't grasp this truth, the rest of the world did (not least the Iraqi people).
After all, the Iraqis knew that Bush's WMD claims were bullshit. The Iraqis saw first-hand how when the invading U.S. forces entered Baghdad, they raced to the Iraqi oil ministry building. The massive building was immediately put under round-the-clock surveillance by troops and was surrounded by 50 tanks, while sharpshooters were positioned on the roof and windows.
Meanwhile, in the growing chaos, Iraq's museums, banks, hotels and libraries were ransacked (or burned). Priceless ancient Iraqi manuscripts went up in flames. But the oil ministry remained secure.
Thus, it was clear to any Iraqi with eyes what the real point of the war was.
None of this seemed to bother Chris Kyle, though. To him, the Iraqis were savages and had no right to fight back against an invading army. To Kyle, shooting Iraqis with a sniper's rifle from a rooftop was like one big PlayStation video game. It was "fun."
In this respect, Kyle was actually quite a bit like George W. Bush. Both men were incurious types. Both men often went with their guts. Both men were absolutely 100 percent convinced of how right they were. (One recalls the memorable press conference where Bush was astonishingly unable to recall any mistakes that he'd made after 9/11).
Kyle and Bush also had one other big thing in common. They were both liars.
Kyle made all kinds of grand claims that never held up to scrutiny. For example, he made unlikely claims about killing looters during Hurricane Katrina that were never substantiated. He also made claims against Navy veteran Jesse Ventura that turned out to be bullshit. (Ventura later won a hefty defamation lawsuit against Kyle).
Ventura continues to slam Kyle's memoir as untrue. "The book is not a true story," Ventura said in a recent podcast. "The book had fabrication and fiction written into it."
Kyle remains a hero to millions of people (mostly Bush-loving wingnuts who continue to still insist the Iraq War was a righteous enterprise). Frankly, a lot of these people scare me. If you read the recent hate-filled, bigoted comments of people who've criticized Kyle (like Michael Moore) it's clear that a lot of these people are as twisted as their hero.
Kyle may be a hero to some. But to me, he's not. People who claim that killing people is "fun" have no fucking place in the U.S. military.
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The most interesting part of this story to me is the obvious increasing dementia of Eastwood.
On public display as he talked to an empty chair during the 2012 Republican National Convention, and now in full flower.
Great reporting.
Love you!
Hi Cirze, thanks for your comment, and for stopping by.
Yes, that spectacle of Eastwood talking to an empty chair was indeed bizarre. (It was also deeply unfair to Obama, who had no chance to respond to Eastwood's idiotic charges). By contrast, the Dixie Chicks got death threats, and saw their career badly damaged, over some very mild comments about Bush.
One thing that never really has gotten the MSM attention it deserves over the years has been Eastwood's appalling treatment of the women in his life. Just about every woman he's ever dated has come forward with tales of what a sociopathic bastard he is.
But then, he's a Republican.
I'm partial to Clint Eastwood. I think it's clear he hates war. He also clearly believes war/combat breaks men. However, he never used to be shy of showing men as evil warmongers in his films.
Chris Kyle was a Butcher and a liar. By all accounts he loved killing and thought every problem could be solved by guns. Thus, he lived by the sword and died by the sword... And the world is better off without him.
Hi Gene, thanks for your comment.
re:
>>I think it's clear he hates war
Yes, he has said he hates war. And maybe he really does, deep down.
But then, he turns around and supports GOP candidates that he knows full well are going to get us involved in more wars.
So I wonder if his anti-war views are really sincere.
I was just reminded of a line from High Fidelity, "I've been listening to my gut since I was 14 years old, and frankly speaking, I've come to the conclusion that my guts have shit for brains."
I'm always amazed that conservatives so love the military and the police, even though these are the institutions that are traditionally used to suppress freedom. But in the conservative mind, it is taxes used to pay for public libraries that are the real freedom killers.
As for Chris Kyle, well, I think you laid it out perfectly.
Hi Frank, thanks for your comment.
I've never seen "High Fidelity." I've heard good things about that film; I will need to check it out.
re:
>>I'm always amazed that conservatives
>>so love the military and the police
Good point. And equally baffling is the fact that people in the military tend to vote GOP (yes, the same party that turns around and sends them into pointless, illegal, immoral wars).
Supposedly, Bush was popular with many of the troops. It's bizarre how they would support a cowardly chickenhawk who was responsible for getting thousands of soldiers killed, simply so Dick Cheney's oil billionaire buddies could steal Iraq's oil.
Remember when Bush said, "Bring 'em on"? I wonder how many of our troops died as a result of that one idiotic remark (as the Iraqi insurgents were happy to take Bush up on his challenge).
Well first and foremost, have always been conservative. since I was very young. I have views that people are equal. remember getting very upset when my 5th grade history teacher started talking about how white men were the problem of modern society and then explained to her after class that my family and everyone I knew did not feel the way she led the class to believe that white men are the problem of every failure of the black race. she liked me and actually listened to what I had to say. I believe that people should marry who they want. I believe in our constitution and every word written in it. I also know about the modern thinking of the men in black behind our government using us, the American people as scapegoats. how the police can be manipulated to do what the government wants and how the military can be used to hurt when not really needed. I agreed with president Bush and was not reactionary after 9-11 that we should kill em all. I believed we needed to kick their asses and prove to the world we are a nation of peace. always have been since our founding. But.... I honestly need to say with out anger towards "progressives", wonder if you all realize that you are all turning into socialists or strait up marxists. first I need to ask, do you all really know how dangerous socialism or Marxism is.. Socialism leads to communism. just ask any soviet Russian immigrant and they will tell you the horrors of everyday live they lived thru when their government did not operate by a represented body, which is or should be the people. In your specially created fine crafted world of hate and bitterness which I can understand a little where socialistic people come from, which modern liberalism is central to, can say beggars can be choosers because that's what you get when you take using government, what the one man has earned and give it to someone who hasn't worked for or deserves it. its this mentality that kills free societies by inflicting such a vial hatred for classes of people. Ronald Regan who is so hated was the greatest president you will ever know besides nafta which I didn't like... if you knew that our economy is not a full capitalistic society then you would not be saying capitalism could die. capitalism needs 3 things to work. borders language and culture.. soverign nations do much better than no nations. in fact capitalism is the only economic collection of ideas that actually works and can stand on its own given you don't have a overzealous governing body operating outside its constitutionally intended purposes wreaking havoc with over regulations laws and taxes. I love you all but you are freaks of nature. against the American dream because you are failures in large part, to see what the American dream really is. no one can tell you its what you work for and settle for in life. every person on this earth is an individual first and foremost. the yearning fact that man longs to be free is from our earliest beginnings. given that, wouldn't you say that every man woman and child deserve the right to decide how they live and that they enjoy freedom.
Ladies and Gents, freedom from oppression under a binding constitution like ours, which is through man, a work of the almighty himself,is the ultimate answer.. we have to be honest with ourselves and REALLY be open with ideas. liberalism is rarely honest with itself in my opinion.. I cant even get the whole story from our national news media when Obama screws something up. he always succeeds in everything he does and every thing he starts. there are only a dozen wars going on and the middle east is in flames and Russia thinks he is a puss. putin is protecting his own borders and will fight if the men in black from obamas corner invades. believe me. the Russians have grit. something our little liberal men don't. bunch of drug infested meth heads.
I am a conservative and will duke you out if you dare to ask me. Ill pepper you with lower taxes with a touch of freedom my little blog man. come on give it your best little socialistic expealadotious shot. ha
Hi Anon. I must say, your long, rambling piece reminded me of an episode of the Rush Limbaugh show. I know how you types love Saint Ronnie. It'd be nice if you could at least learn how to spell his name.
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