poster44ny -- Iraq had done nothing to us and represented no threat to us, had had nothing to do with 9/11, and dubya&co damned well knew that -- dubya&co lied us into invading Iraq; dubya&co's invasion of Iraq was a war crime of the highest order -- not that they'll ever get it, but dubya, Halliburton-boy and Rummy, for starters, deserve and all along have deserved, at the least, imprisonment for the rest of their lives for that war crime
given and in that context, every Iraqi killed by U.S. forces in the course of the commission of that war crime was murdered, was a murder victim -- and comments such as Moore's, well, at least at some level they're more than fair enough
and as to the great (. . .) Chris Kyle specifically, consider e.g. the following -- which clearly indicates that Kyle himself was nothing other or more than a raging psychopath:
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Here’s the faith in the ‘American Sniper’ you won’t see in the film
Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ drama “American Sniper.” Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle and Sienna Miller as Taya in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ drama “American Sniper.” Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
“American Sniper” movie poster. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Sarah Pulliam Bailey January 14, 2015
(RNS) Chris Kyle, often described as the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history, wrote in his autobiography that he prioritized his life in the following order: God, country, family.
Both stories focus on the dramatic stories of warriors who died before the movie versions of their lives came out. Both “American Sniper” and “Unbroken” include an early scene of their families sitting in church. Both men struggle with substance abuse after returning from war.
And both films largely skirt the faith that Kyle and Zamperini said were key to their identity — and their survival.
As a Navy SEAL, Kyle reportedly recorded 160 kill shots during his four tours in Iraq. His story drew national attention after the release of his 2012 autobiography “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History,” which enjoyed a 37-week run on The New York Times’ best-seller [ http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2013-07-07/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/list.html ] list.
The Clint Eastwood-directed biopic starring Bradley Cooper debuted with a limited release on Christmas Day, the same day “Unbroken” opened nationwide.
Kyle opened his book by probing the ethics of combat as he wrote about his first sniper shot, when he had to kill an Iraqi woman holding a grenade.
“My shots saved several Americans, whose lives were clearly worth more than that woman’s twisted soul,” he wrote. “I can stand before God with a clear conscience about doing my job. But I truly, deeply hated the evil that woman possessed. I hate it to this day.”
In the film adaptation, Kyle is visibly moved by his first shot and later mentions meeting his maker and justifying each shot he took. He writes that he spent a lot of time praying during difficult times.
In 2013, Kyle was shot and killed at a Texas shooting range; Eddie Ray Routh, a fellow Iraq veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, was charged in Kyle’s death and is scheduled to stand trial in February. Former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, sparked a backlash after he tweeted [ http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/02/ron-paul-clarifies-by-the-sword-tweet-on-snipers-death/ ] a biblical reference: “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.”
Kyle was no straight-laced Christian. His book is filled with profanities and stories of his family struggles. But faith is nonetheless woven throughout the book.
“I was raised with, and still believe in, the Christian faith. If I had to order my priorities, they would be God, Country, Family,” Kyle wrote. “There might be some debate on where those last two fall — these days I’ve come around to believe that Family may, under some circumstances, outrank Country. But it’s a close race.”
The God, country, family line is mentioned in passing in the film after another soldier asks Kyle if he believes in God. “There’s evil,” Cooper says. “We’ve seen it.”
In the film, Kyle is shown putting his Bible in the pocket of his uniform.
“I’m not the kind of person who makes a big show out of religion,” Kyle writes in the book. “I believe, but I don’t necessarily get down on my knees or sing real loud in church. But I find some comfort in faith, and I found it in those days after my friends had been shot up. Ever since I had gone through BUD/S (SEAL training), I’d carried a Bible with me. I hadn’t read it all that much, but it had always been with me. Now I opened it and read some of the passages. I skipped around, read a bit, skipped around some more. With all hell breaking loose around me, it felt better to know I was part of something bigger.”
In his book, Kyle wrote about how his family shaped his faith during his upbringing.
“My family had a deep faith in God. My dad was a deacon, and my mom taught Sunday school,” Kyle wrote. “I remember a stretch when I was young when we would go to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday evening. Still we didn’t consider ourselves overly religious, just good people who believed in God and were involved in our church. Truth is, back then, I didn’t like going a lot of the time.”
Islam is mentioned a few times in his book, though the faith doesn’t have a starring role in the film except when Kyle is asked to defend a shot after a wife claimed the victim was carrying a Quran. In his book, Kyle writes that he told an Army colonel: “I don’t shoot people with Korans. I’d like to, but I don’t.” The Muslim call to prayer appears twice in the film, but it doesn’t probe the differences between Sunnis and Shiites the way Kyle does in his book.
“I hated the damn savages I’d been fighting,” Kyle wrote. “I never once fought for the Iraqis. I could give a flying f**k about them.”
A 2013 New Yorker profile [ http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/03/in-the-crosshairs ] mentions Kyle’s faith as a deep motivator in his work: “Like many soldiers, Kyle was deeply religious and saw the Iraq War through that prism,” journalist Nicholas Schmidle wrote. “He tattooed one of his arms with a red crusader’s cross, wanting ‘everyone to know I was a Christian.’”
Stories of Kyle’s shootings earned him the nickname “Legend.”
“I don’t spend a lot of time philosophizing about killing people. I have a clear conscience about my role in the war. I am a strong Christian. Not a perfect one — not close. But I strongly believe in God, Jesus, and the Bible. When I die, God is going to hold me accountable for everything I’ve done on earth. He may hold me back until last and run everybody else through the line, because it will take so long to go over all my sins.”
Kyle also wrote that he didn’t know what would happen on Judgment Day.
“But what I lean toward is that you know all of your sins, and God knows them all, and shame comes over you at the reality that He knows. I believe the fact that I’ve accepted Jesus as my savior will be my salvation,” he wrote. “But in that backroom or whatever it is when God confronts me with my sins, I do not believe any of the kills I had during the war will be among them. Everyone I shot was evil. I had good cause on every shot. They all deserved to die.”
The only thing fat boy slams is about 5 big macs at once! Gotta love hearing from the dying leftist in America! Go Squaw Warren for president! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhA
Poster... As a Texan I am proud of Chris Kyle's service, I think his death was a tragedy, and I plan on watching the movie... but... this article may tell us "the rest of the story."
Michael Moore defends record on veterans, telling Fox News ‘quit making sh*t up about me’
Filmmaker Michael Moore went on offense on Facebook today, pushing back at the attacks upon him over a comment he made on Twitter about military snipers by listing the multitude of ways he has supported veterans, before calling on Fox News to “quit making sh*t up about me.”
Moore has become the target of conservative fans of the film American Sniper who have claimed he attacked the subject of the film, Chris Kyle, when he tweeted: “My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren’t heroes. And invaders r worse.”
Since that time Fox News hosts, television commentators Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, and other celebrities have hammered Moore, calling him “Un-American,” while pointing out that he never served in the military.
On Facebook, Moore detailed his extensive history of support for veterans, saying those who supported sending the troops into a “senseless war Iraq in the first place,” are the ones who should be apologizing.
“I would like to address this one insane mantra that the right-wing has twisted my tweet into: ‘Michael Moore hates the troops,’ ” Moore wrote. “Well, who would know better about hating our troops than those who supported sending them into a senseless war Iraq in the first place? And, for 4,482 of them, a senseless, unnecessary and regrettable death.”
He continued, “Republicans and Democrats who backed this war, then you are the ones who have some ‘splainin’ to do. Not me. You.”
Moore went on to explain that the U.S. propped up Saddam Hussein in the years prior to the invasion and that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
He wrote “… only “haters” of our brave young men and women would recklessly send them into harm’s way for something that had absolutely nothing to do with defending the United States of America.”
Moore then called out Fox News specifically, writing, “I’M the one who has supported these troops – much more than the bloviators on Fox News,” before listing support he has extended to veterans through the years; pushing businesses to hire veterans like he has done, raising money for wounded veterans, offering free admission to veterans and their families at the theaters he owns in Michigan, and allowing his theaters to be used free of charge to veterans groups counseling those suffering from PTSD.
Moore also noted that he is showing American Sniper at one of his theaters, writing, “I am currently showing “American Sniper” at my theater that I helped restore and that I program and help run in Manistee, MI. Not because I like it, but because, unlike the other side, I’m not a censor. I trust smart people and people of good heart will know what to do. ”
He then concluded by calling Fox News and other media outlets “cowards” hiding behind “falsehoods.”
“So, Fox News and the other lazy media — quit making shit up about me! You look ridiculous. If you want to have a debate with me about the ISSUES and the POLICIES, then let’s have it. If you want to debate a movie that’s trying to rewrite history, then let’s have that,” he wrote. “But when you hide behind falsehoods and then use them to try and manipulate the public, then all you are is afraid. Afraid of me, an unarmed American, and the truth I bring along as my sidekick. Only cowards have to lie.”
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