SMASH vs. Code Pink

Lt. SMASH (an outstanding milblogger who should be on your daily reading list, and not just because he’s from San Diego) confronted a Code Pink group in front of Walter Reed Hospital recently. He also interviewed a couple of soldiers — wounded Iraq war veterans — who had done a little confronting of their own. “P.D.” and “Mason” are the vets in this excerpt (but don’t neglect to read the whole thing:

P.D.: We tried to explain to them that we were fighting for freedom. They said “no."

Mason: And then they basically told us that if we weren’t there, the terrorists wouldn’t be there. And that the terrorists, you know, even though the terrorists murder civilians, and children, that if we left it would all… stop. And I… I literally saw, with my own eyes, families be executed by ‘em. And I don’t think it would matter if we were there or not. The terrorists are terrorists. That’s what they do.

P.D.: It’d be a lot more people getting executed if we weren’t there.

SMASH: Did you try to express any of that to the folks down there?

Both: Yes, sir.

SMASH: And how was it received?

P.D.: It was received negatively. They were closed-minded. They have their beliefs, and they won’t even open their minds to what we believe.

SMASH: They weren’t interested in dialogue?

P.D.: Exactly.

Mason: The majority of ‘em, ninety-nine percent of ‘em, didn’t even look us in the eye. Wouldn’t even turn and acknowledge our presence.

P.D.: Yeah, they wouldn’t even turn around and look at us.

SMASH: Do you feel that they’re being sincere when they say they support the troops? Or do they think they’re sincere?

P.D.: I don’t feel they are.

Mason: One or two, maybe. But the majority, no. Not at all. I mean, if you really support the troops, as we said before, you’d turn around and talk to us. Acknowledge us. You know, all these people here (indicates the pro-troops rally), we walked out, and they said “thank you,” you know, “how are you feeling?” Those guys (indicates Code Pink) say, “Don’t talk to them.” That guy literally came out and said, “Don’t talk to them."

Lt. SMASH wonders if this is what Code Pink means by “supporting the troops.” Indeed. But then, we all know that the lying bastards are not, and never were, all about “supporting the troops"…