I was an American sniper, and Chris Kyle’s war was not my war

Don’t make the mistake of thinking the hit movie captures the truth of the Iraq conflict. I should know. I lived it

Garett Reppenhagen

http://www.salon.com/2015/02/01/i_was_an_american_sniper_and_chris_kyle%E2%80%99s_war_was_not_my_war/

I spent nights in Iraq lying prone and looking through a 12-power sniper scope. You only see a limited view between the reticles. That’s why it’s necessary to keep both eyes open. This way you have some ability to track targets and establish 360 degrees of awareness. I rotated with my spotter and an additional security team member to maintain vigilance and see the whole battlefield. I scrutinized every target in my scope to determine if they were a threat.

In a way, it’s an analogy for keeping the whole Iraq mission in perspective and fully understanding the experiences of the U.S. war fighters during Operation Iraqi Freedom. No single service member has the monopoly on the war narrative. It will change depending on where you serve, when you were there, what your role was, and a few thousand other random elements.

For the past 10 days, “American Sniper” has rallied crowds and broken box office records, but if you want to understand the war, the film is like peering into a sniper scope — it offers a very limited view.

The movie tells the story of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, said to have 160 confirmed kills, which would make him the most lethal American military member in history. He first shared his story in a memoir, which became the basis for Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation. Kyle views the occupation of Iraq as necessary to stop terrorists from coming to the mainland and attacking the U.S.; he sees the Iraqis as “savages” and attacks any critical thought about the overall mission and the military’s ability to accomplish it.

This portrayal is not unrealistic. My unit had plenty of soldiers who thought like that. When you are sacrificing so much, it’s tempting to believe so strongly in the “noble cause,” a belief that gets hardened by the fatigue of multiple tours and whatever is going on at home. But viewing the war only through his eyes gives us too narrow a frame.

During my combat tour I never saw the Iraqis as “savages.” They were a friendly culture who believed in hospitality, and were sometimes positive to a fault. The people are proud of their history, education system and national identity. I have listened to children share old-soul wisdom, and I have watched adults laugh and play with the naiveté of schoolboys. I met some incredible Iraqis during and after my deployment, and it is shameful to know that the movie has furthered ignorance that might put them in danger.

Unlike Chris Kyle, who claimed his PTSD came from the inability to save more service members, most of the damage to my mental health was what I call “moral injury,” which is becoming a popular term in many veteran circles.

As a sniper I was not usually the victim of a traumatic event, but the perpetrator of violence and death. My actions in combat would have been more acceptable to me if I could cloak myself in the belief that the whole mission was for a greater good. Instead, I watched as the purpose of the mission slowly unraveled.

I served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005. During that time, we started to realize there were no weapons of mass destruction, the 9/11 commission report determined that Iraq was not involved in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, false sovereignty was given to Iraq by Paul Bremer, the atrocities at Abu Ghraib were exposed, and the Battle of Fallujah was waged.

The destruction I took part in suddenly intersected with news that our reasons for waging war were untrue. The despicable conduct of those at Abu Ghraib was made more unforgivable by the honorable interactions I had with Iraqi civilians, and, together, it fueled the post-traumatic stress I struggle with today.

My war was completely different than Chris Kyle’s war. That doesn’t mean his war is wrong, and mine was right. But it does mean that no one experience is definitive.

The movie depicts compounded action scenes with very little political and regional context. It was a conscious decision by Clint Eastwood, apparently, to leave out the cause of the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. It was a conscious decision, apparently, for multiple characters to describe the Iraqis as “savages” and never show any alternative. When I heard of the bigoted reaction some Americans had after watching the film, I was disgusted, but not surprised. Audience members are mistaking Chris Kyle’s view of the war as “the” story about the war. No wonder someone tweeted that the movie made them “want to go kill some ragheads.” It’s sad that such a nearsighted portrayal of Iraqis has caused more people to fear Arabs and glorify violence against them.

It would be refreshing if a big Hollywood movie would take on the task of creating a less dramatized, more nuanced version of warfare. There are some incredible documentaries on the subject. “Occupation: Dreamland” and “Restrepo” capture the life of a service member in a modern deployment without sugarcoating the hard political environment that is a backdrop to the conflicts.

The responsibility to make a picture that takes into account all of the political and social dynamics might not rest on any individual filmmaker. After all, it is just a movie. But that means the public should treat it like that, and educate themselves before jumping to a conclusion that the whole war was just like that. Especially if they support the democratic ideals that Chis Kyle, me and every veteran who put on a uniform swore an oath to defend with our lives.

If you really want to be a patriotic American, keep both eyes open and maintain 360 degrees of awareness. Don’t simply watch “American Sniper.” Read other sources, watch other films about the conflict. Talk to as many veterans as you can, get a full perspective on the war experience and the consequences. Ensure the perceived enemy in your vision is what it seems.

Mike Sando, ESPN.com @SandoESPN

5th time since ‘01 a tm down 4-8 pts had 2nd/GL from 1 w/20-40 sec left and 1 timeout. 2 ran and fell short. 2 threw TDs. SEA threw INT.

Mike Sando, ESPN.com @SandoESPN

#NFL teams this season threw 66 TD passes with 1 INT on passes from the 1-yard line. That 1 INT was … well … tonight.

Mike Sando, ESPN.com @SandoESPN

Dead horse alert: While I would have called RB run, #Seahawks since ’12 rank 31st in RB TD pct from 1YL at 37.5% (16 att, 0 yds, 6 TD)

Mike Sando, ESPN.com @SandoESPN

335 plays from 1 YL this season. 223 rushes (0.35 YPC with 129 TDs – includes 4 scrambles, all TDs). 67-109 pass with 66 TDs, 3 sacks, 1 INT

Rams-related Super Bowl takeaways

By Nick Wagoner | ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/

EARTH CITY, Mo. — After one of the most exciting Super Bowls in league history, the New England Patriots emerged with the Lombardi Trophy after a dramatic late interception at the goal line.

For fans of the St. Louis Rams, that was only one of a handful of unfortunate takeaways from the game that brought up some bad memories.

With football over until the fall, let’s take a quick spin around some of the game’s events before fully moving into the offseason: •

Warner

There is no doubt that Rams fans probably would have liked to see Sunday’s game end in a scoreless tie. The Seattle Seahawks are an NFC West division rival and the New England Patriots are still despised in these parts for winning the 2002 Super Bowl under a cloud of suspicion that still exists here from the Spygate incident. So when beloved former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner presented the trophy to the Patriots after the game, it didn’t go over too well in Rams nation. I asked my Twitter followers for thoughts on that as it was happening. I’d post a tweet or two here, but we have to keep it family friendly. It was that bad.

•Obviously, the final Seattle play call will draw attention from all corners of cyberspace and beyond. I heard multiple analysts call it “the worst call in NFL history” given the situation and the stakes. I’ll leave such discussions to others, but here is what surprised me about it: Seattle’s M.O. is playing stout defense and relying on the power running of back Marshawn Lynch on offense. It’s their identity and it isn’t fancy. Even on defense, there is nothing special about what they do schematically, they just do what they do, and they do it very well. So for them to abandon that philosophy with the world championship at stake was jarring to see. And it also probably brought up some painful memories for the Rams and their fans.

Wilson

Russell Wilson’s interception was the only one thrown from the 1-yard line this season on 111 drop backs around the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Though it was the only interception thrown from the opponent’s 1, it wasn’t the only one thrown in close with the game at stake. Against San Diego on Nov. 23, Rams quarterback Shaun Hill threw an interception to Chargers defensive back Marcus Gilchrist from San Diego’s 4-yard line. That play also came on second down, with enough time for the Rams to run and with a timeout remaining. A touchdown likely would’ve given the Rams a 31-27 win. Instead, they lost 27-24. Then-Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer took heat for that call, but Hill had an open receiver in running back Benny Cunningham and simply never saw Gilchrist. The Seahawks had Lynch and a power run ability unmatched by most teams around the league, which makes their call far more head scratching than the one the Rams went with in a similar setting. But, like with Hill, all of the blame shouldn’t go to Seattle’s coaching staff. Wilson made a bad decision and throw similar to Hill. The call was for a pick play, and Wilson has to be sure that his receiver comes clean before letting it go. And to New England’s credit, young defensive back Malcolm Butler made a great play.

•Two former Rams played for the Patriots in the game, but three will walk away with championship rings. Receiver Danny Amendola, who not so long ago was the Rams’ best wideout, came up big for New England with five catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui also played for the Patriots, coming up with a catch for 4 yards. One player not on the 53-man roster but who also had a cup of coffee with the Rams is quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who was on New England’s practice squad.

•It doesn’t mean anything but in the postgame, Patriots receiver Julian Edelman began by saying “St. Louis” is a wonderful team before quickly correcting himself to Seattle.

•That will do it for the actual games this season, which means we can now transition into the silly season. The Rams still need to hire an offensive coordinator, but the NFL scouting combine starts in just 16 days.

It was an empty backfield, and I have no problem with that–it put a linebacker on Cunningham, and Cunningham beat him. As I understand it, the advantages of an empty backfield in that situation are twofold–one is, by sending out a back and then lining him up wide, the defense which has to honor the presence of a back with their personnel grouping, suddenly is caught in a mismatch. Usually of course a back can beat most LBs. Then if the defense honored the run personnel, they are lining up 2 CBs plus safeties and LBs against 5 receivers. That’s going to leave 3 guys with single coverage. Some say you lose the element of deception you get with a back in the backfield, but to me that’s 6 of one half of dozen of the other–deception or mismatch on the line. The 2nd advantage is that once you line up with 5 WRs the defense has to declare its coverage by how it lines up to counter, so you get a very useful pre-snap read.

Hill locked on to Britt, is the problem. He didn’t wait half a beat for Cunningham, who did spring free quickly.

Ten Takeaways from Super Bowl XLIX

By Randy Karraker

http://www.101sports.com/2015/02/02/ten-takeaways-super-bowl-xlix/

The New England Patriots came back from a 24-14 deficit in Super Bowl XLIX, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers with their fourth title, training only the Pittsburgh Steelers with six and the San Francisco 49ers with five. It was one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever. Here are my ten takeaways…

1) Malcolm Butler’s interception with :20 left in the game provided another classic ending provided by a previously relative unknown, turning that guy into a hero. Like Mike Jones of the Rams making The Tackle in Super Bowl XXXIV, or defensive MVP’s such as Dallas’ Larry Brown, Tampa’s Dexter Jackson or Malcolm Smith of the Seahawks last year, Butler has etched his name into Super Bowl lore with one play to win a Super Bowl.

2) I found it amazing that Danny Amendola and Michael Hoomanawanui would play in a Super Bowl together for any team. They were both always hurt for the Rams, but were durable and somewhat productive for New England in 2014. And Amendola was actually productive in the game, grabbing five balls for 48 yards and a touchdown.

3) Like Timmy Smith of the Redskins in 1988, Seattle’s Chris Matthews turned into a star on the Super Bowl stage. During the ’87 season, the rookie Smith carried the ball in four games, totaling 29 carries for 129 yards. In the Super Bowl, Smith carried 22 times for a Super Bowl record 204 yards. Matthews, who had never caught an NFL pass, made that amazing catch to set up Seattle’s first touchdown, and the caught the tying touchdown right before halftime. He finished with four catches for 109 yards and that score. How can the Seahawks find a guy like him working at a Foot Locker store, and have five undrafted receivers in the Super Bowl, yet the Rams fail to get as much production out of drafted receivers Mardy Gilyard, Austin Pettis, Greg Salas, Brian Quick, Chris Givens, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey?

4) I thought Seattle dodged a bullet when the Patriots didn’t really utilize their big X-factor, Rob Gronkowski, in the first half. Aside from his 22 yard touchdown catch, he had only two other first half catches for a total of six yards, and six for 68 overall. He did have huge twenty and thirteen yard catches in New England’s game winning drive, but they could have used him much more effectively than they did.

5) I told the people I was with that after Gronkowski’s late first half touchdown that the Patriots had left too much time for Russell Wilson. I figured he’d drive them into field goal range, but he did better than that. As the Packers learned, he has a remarkable ability to put together late drives. Sure enough, he turned in a five play, 80 yard touchdown drive that took just 29 seconds. And what a gutsy call by the Seahawks to run the play with just six seconds on the clock. It was perfect, because if even if it had been incomplete, there were still two second left to try a field goal.

6) What is Tom Brady doing throwing key interceptions? The pick by Jeremy Lane in the end zone on New England’s first possession was a cruncher. New England could have won in a blowout if not for that. The Pats used up more than half a quarter…7:41…and got nothing out of it. And then the Bobby Wagner interception midway through the third quarter to set up Seattle’s third touchdown and make it 24-14 put the Patriots behind the eight ball.

7) I loved the way the officials let the teams play. We saw early on that they weren’t going to call the ticky-tack illegal contact and interference penalties. This is the way the sport was about ten years ago. There are just too many rules in the NFL. It was nice to see a game with some flow that wasn’t consistently interrupted by the zebras.

8) Back in the Patriots run of Super Bowl wins in the early 2000’s, two of the most underrated parts of the team were running back Kevin Faulk and wide receiver Troy Brown. It seemed that whenever New England needed a first down, Brady would find one of those two. It’s the same way now with Shane Vereen and Julian Edelman. While they brought in Brandon LaFell and Amendola, it’s the home grown guys that the Patriots go to in crunch time. Vereen had eleven catches for 64 yards and added four runs for thirteen. Edelman had nine catches for 109 and the lead touchdown just before the two minute warning.

9) Jermaine Kearse’s fourth quarter catch provided shades of the heroic David Tyree in the same stadium in 2008. What an amazing, athletic catch that was, that should have provided Seattle the opportunity to win. But the Seahawks didn’t take advantage of their great fortune. Like the Rams in San Diego this season, there was no good reason to throw the ball in the middle of the field when they had Marshawn Lynch, who led the NFL with seventeen touchdowns this season, from the one yard line and a time out left. Like Rams QB Shaun Hill, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw an incredibly inopportune interception into the end zone. So Kearse’s miracle was wasted and New England won the Super Bowl for the first time in a decade. Nine of Lynch’s seventeen scores this season were runs of six or fewer yards, with five of those being three or less. And the ‘Hawks decided to throw the ball on 2nd and goal from the one.

10) During the week leading up to the game, former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner was asked about Bill Belichick’s cheating ways on KJR Radio in Seattle and said “I don’t want to believe that there was anything outside of his team beat our team. That’s what I want to believe. There’s a sliver of a doubt because I think, as a human, you can’t help it.”

“To know that if you were a part of that process at that time, was there any advantage they gained in any game, not just our Super Bowl game, but maybe a game before that to get to the Super Bowl? I mean, all those things enter your mind.”

With that thought, Warner had to deliver the Lombardi Trophy to the victorious Patriots. It must have been a walk of mixed emotions to that podium.

And so New England has their fourth Lombardi Trophy.

We’ll find out soon enough if the NFL chooses to punish them for have deflated footballs in their game against Indianapolis. But with authentic footballs and plenty of safeguards in place to prevent another Spygate episode, they have to feel good about winning a Super Bowl in a legitimate manner.

Aaron Donald Wins DROY

Congratulations to defensive tackle Aaron Donald on being named the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.

http://www.stlouisrams.com/videos/videos/Aaron-Donald-Wins-DROY/323f2d45-703e-4a02-8099-d947e0cc28e8

“Donald also had 17 tackles for loss, the most by a rookie defensive lineman in league history.”