From Americablog:

Jessica Lynch: I don't understand why Bush & Pentagon lied about me being a hero

And in related news, an American soldier says he was ordered to cover-up the circumstances surrounding Pat Tillman's death - another hero created by the Bush administration out of thin air, and they knew it. From AP:

An Army Ranger who was with Pat Tillman when he died by friendly fire said Tuesday he was told by a higher-up to conceal that information from Tillman's family.

"I was ordered not to tell them," U.S. Army Specialist Bryan O'Neal told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

It's possible to be a patriot and believe the war is illegal. Look at Pat Tillman. IMHO the main reason dissident voices on the left may sound Anti-American tone is that bigoted nationalists wrap themselves in the flag and use false patriotism as a ruse to dupe the public. How is it supporting the troops to rush them in with less training? How are we prosecuting the real struggle with Islamic terrorism when we sought to overthrow Saddam Hussein?

Far better if we had succesfully completed the war in Afghanistan, found bin Laden, and bargained with Iran from a position of strength. We would still have the goodwill of the world on our side which acts as a force multiplier. We would be pressuing Pakistan to quell its own radical elements and we would have the military capacity to offer a credible deterrent to Iran, or to more forcefully fight the serious elements of Islamic Terrorism in Northern Africa. YES, I know Al Qaeda is in Iraq but we are also fighting sectarian groups and in addition to the sheer wrongness of it, it's also a diversion of necessary resources.

It's possible to think this administration is completely incompetent without being Pollyanna. Conservatives pride themselves on their hard-headed pragmatism, but they refuse to admit that this situation is a fiasco of our own making.

"The emphasis on realism is just amazing,
yet it never gets in the way of having a good time."

Will there be a Pat Tillman scenario?
Can't get much more realistic than that.
Good times.

This "friendly fire" incident was buried by the government.
Pat Tillman's "friendly fire" incident was twisted by the government.

What is truly a "pity", Sylvester, is everyone's willingness to forget personal responsibility in war time. People who throw up their hands and say "war is hell" every time there's an atrocity are the truly pitiable ones.