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SSDD

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This is terrible:

1st Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich, 27, of Walpole, Mass., died May 13 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat patrol operations in Salah Ad Din Province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

1st Lt. A.J. Bacevich is the son for retired Col. A. J. Bacevich, my old CO when I was stationed with the 11th Cav in Germany. Young AJ was, undoubtedly, one of the young 8-9 year olds running around the base when I was stationed there.

And now he is dead, dead in a war that has gone on for far too long for no real reason and with nothing to show for it. And he is one of many.

Much more here.

Reader Interactions

20Comments

  2. 2.

    Wilfred

    Col. Bacevich’s grief has to be respected. But I hope that just as he has has been a critic of this vile war and the creeping militarism that drives it, perhaps he will now become a louder voice against it. The right will have trouble trashing him, although they will no doubt try. What a fucking waste.

  4. 4.

    Mr Furious

    That’s a shame, John. This war has yet to claim a casualty that impacts me as directly as that. Sorry to hear it, and sorry for the Bacevich’s loss. This is happening to more than one family every fucking day. It’s too much.

    It’s long-past time for people to quit supporting this War on Terror stupid-ass occupation-of-a-civil-war-tinderbox-that-we-ignited.

  5. 5.

    Mr Furious

    It’s long-past time for people to quit supporting this War on Terror stupid-ass occupation-of-a-civil-war-tinderbox-that-we-ignited.

  11. 11.

    grumpy realist

    Resquiat in pace.

    And if all the armchair supporters of this “splendid little war” had their own offspring suited up and fighting “over there” they might understand why we DON’T want to waste our sons and daughters dying for what is nothing more than a politician’s ego.

  12. 12.

    empty

    Bacevich has been one of the most intellectually rigorous scholars of US foreign policy. His integrity and honesty makes one want to identify oneself with him – which makes this news feel so personal and tragic. For John, who has a personal connection, this must be truly horrible. God, what a waste!

  13. 13.

    lee

    very nice, zombie. great compassion.

    i’m struck with your hatred. i do hope and pray the family finds comfort. as a father, it must be difficult. it sounds as if their son believed in his cause. whether you do, or not, does not matter in their instance.
    rant on, lefties.

  14. 14.

    sglover

    Echoing ’empty’. Bacevich Sr. has long been one of the most sane and cogent foreign policy voices around. Even by the standards of the Iraq disaster, this news is very, very sad.

  17. 17.

    Tsulagi

    I have a son, but I can only imagine the grief Col. Bacevich and his wife would be feeling.

    Regardless of the merits of the Iraq war, that in no way diminishes the sacrifice made by 1LT Andrew Bacevich. He placed himself in a position to defend his country, its principles, and your everyday freedoms. Col. Bacevich has every reason to be very proud of his son for that and no doubt much more.

    What I am not proud of is a civilian leadership calling for that level of sacrifice based on a 1% possibility they may be correct. Then continuing to do so when even that 1% reasoning is proven false. This administration calls that strength. Patriotism even.

    1LT Bacevich deserved far, far better.

  18. 18.

    John Cole

    Let;s not overstate my personal connection.

    I knew his father, not the son. Col. Bacevich was a great CO and we all respected him. I really feel bad for him.

  19. 19.

    Krista

    Still…when you talked about the 8-9 year olds running around the base, I think it struck us all. My youngest nephew is that age. I look at his sweet face, with its echoes of babyhood still there, and the thought of him someday meeting the fate of A.J. Bacevich makes me feel physically ill.

    There are kids dying over there. In a war of choice whose justification has changed over and over and over again.

    Your First Lady, safe at home, knowing that her children will never see combat, claims that “nobody” suffers more than she and the President.

    And those on the right wonder why this administration drives people absolutely blind with rage. They have demonstrated time and time again that the men and women who are fighting and dying in Iraq are no more to them than chess pieces.

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