Oliver Stone and World Trade Center

What's past is prologue, what to come, in yours and my discharge. -- Shakespeare

The Oliver Stone film World Trade Center created a flurry of powerful emotions that can't easily be captured by words. I pride myself on being able to depict complex emotional landscapes with my writing, but after seeing this film on its opening weekend in Korea, I am almost unable to talk or write about the incredible wellspring of emotions. I couldn't speak for about ten minutes after the film. As I decended the stairs from the the cinema, I had to actively concentrate on the mundane to keep from breaking out into tears.

Oliver Stone ripped my soul from my very person and forced me to confront demons that have haunted me for too long. The depiction of the struggle of two Port Authority policemen to survive being buried alive within the rubble of the towers' collapse and the associated struggle of their families was almost too much for me to handle. I've been in some rough places and trying times -- for a movie to push me to the brink is spectacular. I kept thinking about my life thus far and the joy of families and how alone I sometimes feel. I kept thinking about my friends from the military and how I might have been a better soldier. I kept thinking about things like honor, courage and commitment. I kept thinking about the things I could do better, the contributions I haven't made, the stories I haven't told.

I felt like a coward. I feel like a coward. I feel like I have something to prove to myself. I feel like I owe my country and those around me more than I've given. I feel like I've failed as a person. I have failed.

Now, quite simply I have a renewed obligation. To do something. Perhaps it will be through writing -- perhaps it's time to create a visceral gut punch of my own.
A good movie is a mirror. Sometimes you don't like what is revealed, but the truth is true and the reflections of oneself represent the reality of one's failings and successes, without predudice.

Now go. Do something. Stop sitting there.

War Crimes, Journalists and Marines

When I entered the military in 2002, I had previously worked as a contract photojournalist for Reuters News in Texas. The military maintains a love-hate relationship with journalists and even after I was commissioned a Lieutenant, I endured occassional snide remarks from fellow soldiers about my former employment. The comments were rarely directed at me personally, however the bulk of the remarks concerned shooting journalists (usually in a joking manner) or keeping them off the battlefield.

War journalism has a long and important history in modern democracies. The famous image of Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima served as an important motivator for the war effort at home. The photos and film from the Nazi camps served to galvanize the public against the threat of future atrocities. Images from the conflict in the former Yugoslavia created an outcry of such significance as to affect US foreign policy. War correspondents serve an important function in free societies as they allow the citizens to see the results of their votes and the policies of their governments.

I don't agree with the angles presented by many journalists, especially regarding the Arab-Israeli crisis and the Iraq war, however a free press allows for counter-reports that allow educated people to make informed choices concerning their leadership.

A British inquest ruled today that US Marines intentionally targeted and shot British journalist Terry Lloyd during the opening days of the Iraq invasion. Based on my own investigation and a careful analysis of the different reports, I must conclude that some rogue Marines probably did intend to kill the journalist. I have served with members from each of the US Armed Forces and I know the "party-line" and I also know the attitudes involved. For me, a former Army officer to suggest that the US Marines are guilty of a war crime in this instance is difficult. I served with soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that exhibited extremely high standards in their professional and personal lives. However, I also served with troops that were essentially ignorant, Bud Light-drinking rednecks or crack dealer ghetto thugs.

The responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of the US military to prosecute the Marines in question and strip them of their right to call themselves Marines. If one wants to wear the uniform, they must adhere to the highest standard. In Officer Candidate School, our motto was, "Standards, No Compromise." It's time that we stop compromising and start demanding honor from anyone who would wear the uniform.