Facebook groups supporting troops grow; are troops being set up?

Commentary by Kay B. Day

Over the weekend I received a call about Capt. Carl Bjork, a U.S. Army infantry officer who is, according to the caller, being tried for murder in Iraq. There’s very little information online about the captain’s trial. There is a Facebook page—Support Carl Bjork. The group has 2,332 members at present and numbers increase by the hour.

According to a statement on the page, Capt. Bjork is “charged with premeditated double murder committed during our 2006-2007 deployment to Hit, Al Anbar Province…” Three “detained Iraqi insurgents” are allegedly the eye witnesses.

The statement on the page said the Army has been “investigating” Bjork for 3 years. “[T]he only evidence of this ‘crime’ the prosecution is bringing to trial is the testimony of those 3 arrested terrorists."

A Townhall blogger said Bjork is being represented by Victor Kelley whose firm has a division called the National Military Justice Group.

Elizabeth Kilbride, author of ‘Soul of American Warriors,’ posted this photo online after being embedded with the military in Iraq. Kilbride’s caption said, “When you are down and out, think about how our soldiers are living in a war zone, you will be grateful for what you have - a comfortable bed.” Watch for upcoming articles about Kilbride and her book at The US Report. [Photo used with permission of the author.]Considering news about Bjork is just beginning to trickle into the blogosphere (and consequently will possibly trickle into big branded media (BBM) thereafter), perhaps we should ask ourselves some questions.

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Global media roundup—no love for U.S. and a focus on Afghanistan

by Kay B. Day

Screen capture of cover page of Al Jazeera, predicting defeat for the U.S. in Afghanistan.

A header at Al Jazeera—the site in Arabic, not English—indicates the power of media in a world of people brought closer by technology. The header is straight to the point: ‘Western newspapers expects [sic] defeat in Afghanistan.’ The article is basically a roundup of media outlets publishing negative reports about the War on Terror—among others, the New York Times, predictably, is cited. Using Google’s translator feature you can read a direct translation, although there are the usual comical errors common in any translation that sticks to a verbatim rendering. An example: “British Times newspaper said - a review of the challenges facing foreign troops in Afghanistan - the time playing for the Taliban. “

I’ve noticed translations from Arabic and some other languages into English often omit the verb.

The Wall Street Journal is cited, but as usual, The Journal stands out from the pack, with Al Jazeera saying the paper focused on President Barack Obama “considering a plan to deploy more troops in Afghanistan.” Leftwing extremists who figure significantly in Dem Party policy will likely impede a troop increase. The same thing happened with Vietnam, resulting in a failed strategy and loss. The same thing happened with Cuba, handed over to the Communists. This comes as no surprise because no one viewed any Dem candidate as having strength on war issues.

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