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Posts Tagged ‘Green Berets’

Michael Yon

High Stakes in the Philippines: ‘The Village’

by Michael Yon
Some of the Navy folks talked about bringing out a veterinarian.

Some of the Navy folks talked about bringing out a veterinarian.

08 July 2009

(Filed from Afghanistan)

The fight in the southern Philippines varies in intensity and technique. Commanders in the AFP (Armed Forces Philippines) will say that the fight consists of about 80% carrot and 20% stick. The relationship between U.S. and AFP forces seems good but there are differences of opinion. Our folks fully understand the 80% part, but on the 20% we often know the whereabouts of the enemy and would like to see faster action. Nevertheless, my gut instinct after having a tour about the place is that progress is being made. A guerrilla commander told me that he had been fighting since 1976, but came out of the jungles with 34 fighters on 20 April this year. Publicly it’s called a “surrender,” but on the ground it seemed more like a mutual agreement to stop fighting and do something constructive. (more…)

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Posted Jul 9th 2009 at 12:53 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military, Politics | 18 Comments

S.T. Karnick

John Wayne: America’s Greatest Movie Star

by S.T. Karnick

The centenary of John Wayne’s birth passed in 2007 with hardly any attention from the U.S. media, which shows both how out of touch the critical community is and how much more astute audiences are than the great majority of those who would presume to guide them. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the death of the greatest movie star of all time, John Wayne, and his films still remain immensely popular on television and video, while critics grossly underestimate both his talent and his cultural significance.

Wayne surely wasn’t the most skilled actor ever, but he played a much wider variety of roles than is commonly acknowledged, and he brought his characters vividly to life with a force of personality very few, if any, other performers have even approached. A tall, powerfully built, former college football player, Wayne was a huge presence in the motion picture industry, and a superb actor whose skills were consistently underrated by the critics and still are.

Audiences, however, knew just how great he was, and they made his movies nearly automatic successes at the box office. (more…)

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Posted Jun 13th 2009 at 7:03 am in Entertainment, Featured Story | 3 Comments