Captain Josh Rushing

[MSgt213]

In the terrific documentary Control Room about the Al-Jazeera network, one of the most appealing figures was Marines spokesman Captain Josh Rushing. With the possible exception of Ken Pollack’s The Threatening Storm, I don’t think that I saw or read a more persuasive spokesman for the war in Iraq. He engaged often-critical Al Jazeera journalists in a fair-minded way, without giving up a point. He simultaneously radiated candor and a deeply-felt belief in the righteousness of the cause. My fiancee said that she wished she could hire him.

He’s recently left the Marines, and he’s given his first interview to Fresh Air today on NPR. You can listen to it online. I haven’t heard it yet, but I suspect that most people who saw Control Room would be interested in what he has to say.

UPDATE: That was really something. He’s deeply pro-military, but critical of the way the war has been conducted. If the election wasn’t days away, I suspect that he’d be in for the full-strength “slime and defend” treatment. More below.

http://www.crookedtimber.org/archives/002773.html

[idiosyncratic]

1. I heard that interview yesterday. It was very interesting.

Terry Gross has these interviews available in her archives for anyone who missed it.

http://freshair.npr.org/

And, while you are at it. Look up her interview with Bill O'Lielly. He actually walked out of the studio and left "dead air."

Very professional of him!! What a crybaby!!

[klook]

2. Sounds like a great guy

I heard Terry Gross's interview with Rushing. He was very reasonable, intelligent, thoughtful, and open in his discussion with her. A guy like that could do wonders for the military's image. Too bad they squelched him and frustrated him to the point that he felt he had to quit after 14 years in the Marine Corps he loved.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

4. He couldn't believe he was made a spokesman to Al Jazeera.

He characterized his own knowledge about Iraq coming from a book called 'An Idiot's Guide to Iraq' that he read on the flight over there.

Rushing said this poor judgement in communicating with the Arab world through Al Jazeera indicated how out of touch with reality the command structure was on a human level.

I wasn't surprised that Rushing expected better from the US military.
Tsk, what was he thinking?
Oh yeah. Propaganda works. It sure did on him for a while and he's obviously capable of discerning shit from Shinola.

[klook]

6. Yeah, that was astounding

that after reading "Iraq for Dummies" all the other military communications personnel in Iraq considered him an expert! That sounds like a dumb joke, but it was the truth.

Who is running this circus?

[Longhorn]

3. I also heard the interview yesterday.

My husband and I were extremely impressed and in many ways relieved to know that there are Marines of the caliber of Josh Rushing serving with our son.

I immediately ordered a copy of "Control Room" from amazon.com.

[Logansquare]

5. A thoughtful, reflective man in a place where rationality isn't rewarded

I hope he will consider going into mainstream media or politics as a career. His wife sounded like a firecracker--she was very angry with the way the military treated her husband after Control Room, and she spoke out to the press about it.

[girl gone mad]

7. I heard the interview last night.

I tiold my husband he represents the kind of person we need in the military, but sadly he's the kind of person that will be less likely to join now that Bush has politicized the military and started the foolish Iraq war.

There was also a good interview with a former Marine on today's "This American Life". He voted for Bush in 2000 because he thought Bush had a great idea to withdraw troops from foreign countries (the ME) and send large numbers of young Peace Corps workers into those countries to help in humanitarian ways and counteract the image of America as a militant empire. He said Bush has been a letdown, because he has governed to the opposite of that campaign promise.