Breaking the Code of Silence

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“If any reporter needs to understand how we feel about the war, all they need to do is come to Iraq and read what’s on the walls of the outhouses.”

The national conversation about the war largely has taken place absent those who are fighting it. The military makes it hard for its members to speak independently. In a culture that prizes obedience, loyalty and duty, no one is rewarded for breaking rank. Further, the Bush administration over the past three years has sent the message that dissent is un-American.

From "In These Times" ...

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