Coming in the Nov 2007 American Spectator: The Exclusive Story of Heroism and Loss against Impossible Odds in Samarra, Iraq
By Jeff Emanuel Posted in embedded reporting | Heroism | Iraq | War — Comments (13) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The November issue of The American Spectator magazine will feature as its cover story the exclusive recounting of a chilling tale of heroism, courage, and loss one morning in Iraq -- an article by yours truly, which was only made possible by the fact that I was there at the front lines in Iraq (thanks in large part to your help) to cover it.
Here's the skinny:
Six weeks ago in Samarra, as a small American sniper team was set upon by dozens of al Qaeda terrorists who had but one goal in mind: to humiliate America in front of the world, only days before General Petraeus's internationally televised testimony before Congress, by kidnapping and slaughtering these American soldiers.
Four U.S. paratroopers faced impossible odds, against dozens of dedicated enemy fighters.
Not all would survive -- but all would become heroes.
Read on . . .
Excerpts from this exclusive cover story will be released regularly until the magazine is released at the beginning of November. (The excerpts can be seen at my site; those that have been released to date can be found here: 1 | 2 | 3)
This is the type of heroic story that has been missing from the mainstream media's coverage of the War on Terror -- and it is precisely the type of story that the American people need to hear. Having interviewed all participants -- repeatedly -- and having been through the situation that they faced, in the place that they faced it, so as to better understand those events, there is no doubt in my mind that the young men featured herein are deserving of the highest award that their country can possibly offer them: the Medal of Honor. As it is, though - due to the military's built-in bias against the awarding of high honors to junior enlisted soldiers, and against awarding te Medal of Honor in any other way than posthumously - they were put in for Distinguished Serivce Crosses (the second highest award that the military offers) -- and they may not even get those, due again to the military's bias against junior enlisted awards. It is not only important that this story be seen by everybody that it can possibly be spread to -- it is also, in my opinion (again, as the person who has been there with the people in question), of the utmost importance that those who, upon reading the story, agree with me that these young men deserve the highest honor their nation can give them, call their Representatives and tell them that.
The American Spectator can be found at your local Borders, Barnes & Noble, or other magazine-carrying bookseller. The issue comes out at the end of this week or the beginning of next, and the story will also be posted at my website upon the magazine's release.
Jeff's front-line embed mission is 100% funded by reader donations. If you would like to help continue to make this reporting possible, please consider going to JeffEmanuel.com, clicking the PayPal link on the right sidebar, and making a contribution. You can email Jeff at InsideTheSurge@Gmail.com.
Forgive me, But I never understood this fever pitched fear in the American culture. I grew up in the heat of the cold war, where total destruction was less than 30 minutes away. When did men of steel become mice, and how did this happen?
I really cannot understand this unfounded fear of a bunch of idiots in primitive land where the State of Israel has created more high tech than the Arab and Persian States combined? Now we are fretting over Iran, essentially a Banana Republic compared to the old Soviet Union.
What happened to us? A man who fears will soon find himself enslaved.
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"Who can endure a doctrine which would allow only dentists to say whether our teeth were aching, only cobblers to say whether our shoes hurt us, and only governments to tell us whether we were being well governed?" - C.S. Lewis
Perhaps that ignoring it did not make it go away ?
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
armed by rogue states, with weapons that can kill thousands of people, spreading out across the world? Or, for that matter, when those same Islamists are threatening governments in at least a dozen countries around the world -- countries that are NOT fighting in Iraq, or populated by Americans. Oh, I know, they don't have huge armies that drive tanks and planes (at least not their own planes), but they seek a worldwide Caliphate. UNLIKE the US, which has not shown ANY desire to create an EMPIRE, these people, many of whom control a vital world resource, do!
In the cold war, although the USSR sought a world empire, they leaders knew that we could destroy them -- they could destroy them -- and they were rational enough to want to live. NOW, there is a leader over there in Iran, and several spiritual leaders throughout the region that would LOVE to bring on Armaggedon, because they believe it is their destiny to bring about the end of the world.
Had we not defeated Nazi Germany, we might well have faced just such a madman 50 years ago, with the same dream of world conquest, and the same insane unconcern with the consequences. Interestingly enough, the writings of that madman, is the number one bestseller even today in those countries that threaten us today. Go figure!
I think they will take us over. What I am prudently fearful about is that they get hold of a few nukes and kill many millions of people. I think that is something to be concerned about.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
Yay! Congratulations, Jeff. I'm glad your writing will get some needed exposure.
In celebration, you deserve...the BADGER SONG!!
(No, I'm not going to link...you know where it is).
Are the Bavarians in control of the post office yet ?
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
They're busy finishing the neutering of American males using a chemical that makes our chocolate taste so different from theirs.
They've passed postal controls to their secret weapon for now:
absentee
______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777