Rhinocrisy

For some reason, terrorist cells’ rosters, complete with Social Security numbers, never seem to show up on stolen hard-drives for sale at the local flea market. Nor do their troop assignments, target lists, or memos that could prove embarrassing to governments that help them out. Why do I mention this? Because it happens to the committed, security-conscious “best fighting force in the world.” Oops!

A reporter recently obtained several drives at the bazaar that contained documents marked “Secret.” The contents included documents that were potentially embarrassing to Pakistan, a U.S. ally, presentations that named suspected militants targeted for “kill or capture” and discussions of U.S. efforts to “remove” or “marginalize” Afghan government officials whom the military considered “problem makers.”

And here I thought one of the lessons of Vietnam was that you can’t beat people who care more about their fight than you care about yours.

Oh, I’m sorry, did I say “lessons of Vietnam?” Did I imply that humans are capable of learning from experience, the divine ability that differentiates us from pit bulls and phytoplankton? Sorry, I misspoke. Those who want to feel different will have to satisfy themelves by staring in differentiated awe at their opposable thumbs.

If you are in San Francisco or the East Bay this week and you have 2 hours to enrich your life, turn off the computer and get thyself to a movie house. From the moviemakers:

Sir! No Sir! tells the story of one of the most vibrant and widespread upheavals of the 1960’s-one that had a profound impact on American society, yet has been virtually obliterated from the collective memory of that time. Like the Vietnam War itself, the GI Antiwar Movement started small and within a few years exploded into a force that altered history. Between 1966 and 1975, groups of soldiers emerged to challenge the war and racism in the military. Group action and individual defiance, from the 500,000 GIs who deserted over the course of the war to the untold numbers who wore peace signs, defied military discipline and avoided combat, created a “Fuck the Army” counter-culture that threatened the entire military culture of the time and changed the course of the war. Sir! No Sir! chronicles the GI Antiwar Movement using vividly told stories from individual participants and never-before-seen Super-8 and 16mm film footage of events that capture the mood, politics and culture of an increasingly polarized America during wartime. (83m)

(emphasis mine) The film will open nationwide next week. The filmmakers said they are more like to get wider distribution if their opening weeks do well here in the coastal enclaves, so get out there and get you some learning. As someone who has read a fair bit about the Vietnam War and activism against it, this was still almost all new. Who knew that there was a prison riot at the Presidio of San Francisco stockade followed by a mutiny trial for 27 anti-war soldiers? Not me! (He knows lots of things.)

The film opens in New York April 17 and in Denver and Madison on the 28th.