Quote Originally Posted by pjmunson View Post
This guy, Peters, is pure garbage and should have been recognized as such long ago. One statement made me wonder though, "as I'll tell you, as any 11B infantryman will tell you..." Was he ever an 11B?
According to Wikipedia, he was a Military Intelligence officer. However, prior to that--between 1976 and 1980--he was enlisted. Don’t know what his MOS was at the time.

Quote Originally Posted by Schmedlap View Post
But really, who cares? This is just more stuff on cable news. It's about as important as whatever is on the front page of the tabloids at the supermarket checkout.
The problem is that Us Weekly and People Magazine actually influence how the public feels about Jon and Kate and their dozens of children or whatever. Fortunately, thank God, public opinion in this realm has little effect on public policy. But cable news has the same effect--only on a different audience. You’d be surprised at how closely political offices (mostly the staffers who write the talking points) follow the news talk shows. And the things said on those shows actually do work their way into the conventional political wisdom. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, but that’s the way it works.

Typically for something like that to happen, however, there has to be not only a grain of truth to what’s being said on TV, but there has to already be a propensity for the viewer to already feel that way. The talking heads just solidify it. So when Ralph Peters goes on TV and says this kid is a deserter (which many people suspected--rightly or wrongly) and that he should be killed by the Taliban, then it has to be knocked down quickly by others in the media--which, fortunately, it was. Otherwise, you run the risk of the sentiment taking hold. My point is that you can’t just say, “Ahh, who cares?” Because Ralph Peters--the “strategic analyst” that he is--just told a million viewers right then what they should think. And many will go right along. That type of media market is too large to ignore.

And while we’re on the topic of this guy, I think it’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time Peters has come unhinged. I wrote this yesterday:

Such proclamations aren’t unusual for Peters, however. He actually has a bizarre penchant for executions. Recently, Peters stated his lusty desire to see the U.S. government execute all prisoners at Guantanamo Bay--without regard for their legal rights, and in spite of the fact that, in his own words, “there will be miscarriages of justice.” And in another instance in May of this year, Peters also called for “military attacks on the partisan media.”

Ralph just wants to see some executions. Doesn’t matter who. Soldier, terrorist, just anybody. Somebody needs to die. Now.
The guy is a real nutbar and I think he finally just pissed away what was left of his credibility.