As something of an aviation buff, I watched each night's PBS presentation of the documentary "Carrier," which ended Thursday night. I enjoyed it a lot, but at the same time had quite a few quibbles with the program.
-- When the show ended, there was no crawl at the end to tell us what became of the sailors and Marines who were so intimately profiled. The show was taped on a 2005 deployment for God's sakes. So what's happened to them since? I did discover some partial answers on pbs.org.
-- I'm amazed that the Navy allowed it's personnel to be exploited so much. By the end of the show, I thought such a line had been crossed. Some of it had become too uncomfortable to watch, and many of the players did not come out looking good. In the same vein, there was far too much time spent on youngsters who were troubled and too little display of those who really had their acts together.
-- Practically an entire hour-long episode on a racist sailor? What a waste of time on a complete jerk. The fact that an aircraft carrier is a melting pot is interesting. That guy was not.
-- Some of the sailors didn't agree with the war in Iraq. There's a shock. By the end of the first episode, we had the idea. Still being fed those lines at the end was overkill. What was interesting was that so many of the opinions given by those in the junior ranks showed they had no idea what the war is about. Maybe those were just the only lines that the producers included. But if rank-and-file sailors don't have a real understanding of why they're being sent into harm's way, the Navy has to change the way it communicates. The sailors might still disagree with the war, who knows, but at least they will express their opinions with some degree of knowledge.
-- Do you mean to tell me there wasn't a sailor on that ship that knew that when they signed up for the Navy -- volunteering for service -- that they'd be sent on six-month deployments, and that this would cost them precious time with family? God knows, the separation is difficult, but this is what they signed up to do. The Navy is not about staying on shore your whole career while your ship is tied up to a dock in San Diego. And, for those who watched, the ordinance man's relationship with that messed-up pregnant girl did not end because he was deployed. It ended because of her. If he'd stayed home, they would have broken up and he'd be crying because he missed the deployment.
Anyway, good show, but there were things about it that I had to get off my chest. There was very little flag-waving patriotism -- which was good -- but you still got the impression that there were a lot of people who are willing to put up with difficult conditions in order to protect our freedom.
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The narrative about the Iraqi military operation in Basra over the past month has been that it was a disastrous defeat marked by the desertions of numerous government soldiers.
That's now questionable with news this week that Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric who leads the militant Mahdi Army, is trying to sue for peace. Those who are winning in battle don't seek peace unless they're offering to let their opponents surrender. That's not what is happening here.
Coupled with the Basra operation has been a major U.S.-Iraqi offensive in Sadr City, the Shiite-dominated slum in Baghdad. Reports from there indicate that progress has been slow but steady. Muqtada al-Sadr must be hurting, or else he would not be offering to lay down arms.
The alternative explanation is that Iran, which ultimately controls al-Sadr and his fighters, has concluded that the continued fighting is no longer in its best interests.
Whatever the reason, the narrative is changing.
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Weird story of the week: actress Mia Farrow reportedly goes to Hong Kong to deliver a speech opposing China's relations with Sudan. She's stopped and questioned at the airport while higher officials decide whether to let her enter the island territory.
The background here is that the Olympic torch is scheduled to be in Hong Kong at the same time, and China has demanded that Hong Kong officials ensure that there will be no demonstrations over Tibet during that leg of the run. Complying with China's wishes, some pro-Tibet people were recently deported.
Mia Farrow's entry into the country was looked upon as a test of how free Hong Kong would be during the torch relay, according to a wire service report. Denying her entry would have released "a firestorm of criticism," the article read. She was eventually allowed in after she promised not to disrupt the torch relay.
Yay! Everything's just fine in Hong Kong, just great with China! The famous Hollywood actress got in to say her piece about Sudan. As for the pro-Tibet people. Uh, who?
