Roger Ebert hates Cap'n Bruce

The following was a letter written to Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun Times.
It's in response to Roger's article on Taxi to the Dark Side. Remember - the whole point is that Roger wrote, "what's the other side?"

"Taxi" and torture: You tell me

By Roger Ebert

Letter to Roger from CPT Bruce, U.S. Army, El Paso, TX:

Roger Ebert writes: "Yet I know I will get the usual e-mails accusing me of partisanship, bias, only telling one side, etc. What is the other side? See this movie, and you tell me."

1. I am a Military Intelligence officer in the Army and a combat veteran of the Iraq Conflict.

2. I have personal experience with detainees and cases of detainee abuse.

3. I have served with and performed combat patrols with Army Interrogators.

4. I have the upmost respect for our intelligence Soldiers and Officers.

5. In all my time in the Army I have not once witnessed something immoral, unjust, or unlawful on behalf of an Army Interrogator.

6. I say this having the experience of working in a tightly controlled environment where I worked hand-in-hand with Interrogators who processed well over 400 detainees during a 12-month tour in Iraq.

Those are the facts, Roger.

What personal experience do you have with Army Interrogators in combat?

You cry for the weak and pity these terrorists as if you were their brother in arms. I'm not going to lecture you on bias, partisanship, or any other political matter, because it is evident that you are a liberal (you admitted it in your review on Gore's Documentary) and an apologist.

What I am going to tell you is that "the other side" of this story is entirely contradictory to the events you see in this movie. This is the same type of smear campaign presented by the NYT in their "War Torn" series, merely attacking veterans and Soldiers among other things. And you buy right into it.

I'll tell you what the "other side is." The other side is you putting on a vest of armor and seeing our Soldiers in action. Until then, you don't have the credibility to talk about what happens over there in Iraq/Afghanistan. You call on your critcs to "see this movie."

Well, Mr. Ebert, I call on you to get on over to the real thing: put your money where your mouth is, and stop preaching from the couch.

Thought I'd share that with you to generate some comments this Monday morning.