[Peace-discuss] The war on TV

[C. G. Estabrook]

[We all recognize that TV shows are an important part of the
"manufacture of consent."  But there seem to be a number of
contradictions in this one.  --CGE]

  Article Launched: 3/26/2006 12:06 AM
  'Unit's' military expert has fighting words for Bush
  By David Kronke, TV Critic
  U-Entertainment

Eric Haney, a retired command sergeant major of the U.S. Army,
was a founding member of Delta Force, the military's elite
covert counter-terrorist unit. He culled his experiences for
"Inside Delta Force" (Delta; $14), a memoir rich with
harrowing stories, though in an interview, Haney declines with
a shrug to estimate the number of times he was almost killed.
(Perhaps the most high-profile incident that almost claimed
his life was the 1980 failed rescue of the hostages in Iran.)
Today, he's doing nothing nearly as dangerous: He serves as an
executive producer and technical adviser for "The Unit," CBS'
new hit drama based on his book, developed by playwright David
Mamet. Even up against "American Idol," "The Unit" shows
muscle, drawing 18 million viewers in its first two airings.

Since he has devoted his life to protecting his country in
some of the world's most dangerous hot spots, you might assume
Haney is sympathetic to the Bush administration's current
plight in Iraq (the laudatory cover blurb on his book comes
from none other than Fox's News' Bill O'Reilly). But he's also
someone with close ties to the Pentagon, so he's privy to
information denied the rest of us.

We recently spoke to Haney, an amiable, soft-spoken Southern
gentleman, on the set of "The Unit."

Q: What's your assessment of the war in Iraq?

A: Utter debacle. But it had to be from the very first. The
reasons were wrong. The reasons of this administration for
taking this nation to war were not what they stated. (Army
Gen.) Tommy Franks was brow-beaten and ... pursued warfare
that he knew strategically was wrong in the long term. That's
why he retired immediately afterward. His own staff could tell
him what was going to happen afterward.

We have fomented civil war in Iraq. We have probably fomented
internecine war in the Muslim world between the Shias and the
Sunnis, and I think Bush may well have started the third world
war, all for their own personal policies.

Q: What is the cost to our country?

A: For the first thing, our credibility is utterly zero. So we
destroyed whatever credibility we had. ... And I say "we,"
because the American public went along with this. They voted
for a second Bush administration out of fear, so fear is what
they're going to have from now on.

Our military is completely consumed, so were there a real
threat - thankfully, there is no real threat to the U.S. in
the world, but were there one, we couldn't confront it. Right
now, that may not be a bad thing, because that keeps Bush from
trying something with Iran or with Venezuela.

The harm that has been done is irreparable. There are more
than 2,000 American kids that have been killed. Tens of
thousands of innocent Iraqis have been killed ñ which no one
in the U.S. really cares about those people, do they? I never
hear anybody lament that fact. It has been a horror, and this
administration has worked overtime to divert the American
public's attention from it. Their lies are coming home to
roost now, and it's gonna fall apart. But somebody's gonna
have to clear up the aftermath and the harm that it's done
just to what America stands for. It may be two or three
generations in repairing.

Q: What do you make of the torture debate? Cheney ...

A: (Interrupting) That's Cheney's pursuit. The only reason
anyone tortures is because they like to do it. It's about
vengeance, it's about revenge, or it's about cover-up. You
don't gain intelligence that way. Everyone in the world knows
that. It's worse than small-minded, and look what it does.

I've argued this on Bill O'Reilly and other Fox News shows. I
ask, who would you want to pay to be a torturer? Do you want
someone that the American public pays to torture? He's an
employee of yours. It's worse than ridiculous. It's criminal;
it's utterly criminal. This administration has been masters of
diverting attention away from real issues and debating the
silly. Debating what constitutes torture: Mistreatment of
helpless people in your power is torture, period. And (I'm
saying this as) a man who has been involved in the most
pointed of our activities. I know it, and all of my mates know
it. You don't do it. It's an act of cowardice. I hear
apologists for torture say, "Well, they do it to us." Which is
a ludicrous argument. ... The Saddam Husseins of the world are
not our teachers. Christ almighty, we wrote a Constitution
saying what's legal and what we believed in. Now we're going
to throw it away.

Q: As someone who repeatedly put your life on the line, did
some of the most hair-raising things to protect your country,
and to see your country behave this way, that must be ...

A: It's pretty galling. But ultimately I believe in the good
and the decency of the American people, and they're starting
to see what's happening and the lies that have been told.
We're seeing this current house of cards start to flutter
away. The American people come around. They always do.

THE UNIT

What: Action-adventure about special-ops unit.
Where: CBS (Channel 2).
When: 9 p.m. Tuesdays.

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David Kronke (818) 713-3638 david.kronke at dailynews.com