60 Minutes Glorifies War with Green Beret Segment

Green BeretOn Sunday, 60 Minutes aired an episode with a segment about the Green Berets that was in effect a Marine Recruiting advertisement to entice young men (and high school boys) to join the military in order to risk life an limb for one of the two wars the US is currently fighting.

The segment featured a young, female reporter interviewing a well-spoken, bearded Green Beret casually chatting about how great it is to be a Green Beret. Strangely enough, it was almost as if CBS and the Green Berets had coordinated the interview for the sole purpose of demonstrating that the military is not what we think: it is actually more exciting than we know, it is a place where casual attire and beards are welcomed, and the best option for any young guy wanting to kick some ass ala GI Joe.

The reporter tried to act as if the story was more than a mouthpiece for the military, but failed miserably. She did, however, mention that the war in Afghanistan was unpopular. (Really? I didn’t know) and  I will also give the producers credit for recognizing that Afghani civilians and children are often hurt during the war. The main problem with the piece was the glorification of war with no mention of the possibility that American soliders  could be killed or injured. Nor did they report anything about the near 1,000 casualties that the United States has already suffered in Afghanistan alone.

The Green Beret mentioned that he was shot at, but gave it the importance of a paint ball battle. Mostly, he looked really happy to see the reporter, smiled the entire time, and glossed over the actual fact that being in a war is not that much fun and that it is really, really hard for the average Joe to become a Green Beret. At one point in the interview, he went so far as to say that he felt that he shouldn’t be running towards gunfire, but that he couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

I’m thinking that he is probably not the best role model for the American youth.

The article on the 60 Minutes web site is also quick to give the solider’s height, weight, and bench-pressing ability because hey, that’s what joining the military is all about, right?

An earlier interview in 2008 by the same reporter who asked the Green Berets to describe an ambush by the hands of the Taliban tells the tale of outnumbered Green Berets winning a battle, comparing the battle to Black Hawk Down.

Nothing is ever said about the fact that we are losing the war.