Right this minute, the USA has about 200,000 military people on active battlefields around the world, but you'd never know that by the way the press and some in the military itself are behaving. The American media and some Hollywood pinheads delight in reporting bad things like Abu Ghraib, Haditha, and other stories that reflect poorly on the U.S. military.
We know those stores have to be covered, but they don't have to be celebrated. And they don't have to be made into movies that could get Americans killed.
Now I have to tell you about a very disturbing situation. At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, two Green Berets, Captain Dave Staffel and Master Sergeant Troy Anderson have been accused of murder. On October 13, 2006, the soldiers were in Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan. Sergeant Anderson is a sniper. And his gun was trained on a terrorist named Nawab Buntangyar, a bomb maker who was on a terrorist top 10 most wanted list.
At Captain Staffel's order, Sergeant Anderson shot and killed Buntangyar. An investigation by the Army's criminal investigation command concluded the shooting was justifiable because the terrorist was a killer.
However, Lieutenant General Francis Kearney ordered murder charges against the two Green Berets, saying the man, the terrorist should have been captured, not killed.
Now "The Factor" has been investigating. And at this point, we believe the Green Berets are getting the "shaft". I could be wrong, I wasn't there, but this looks like another case where a sergeant followed a captain's order and the order was justifiable.
This story hasn't gotten much publicity. The New York Times is covering. And so far, the paper's been fair. But all Americans should zero in on this. The USA is fighting a brutal war against terrorists, who don't wear uniforms and delight in killing women and children.
There's no question Buntangyar was a terrorist, a bomber. And he was on an active battlefield. Thus, he was a legitimate target. If you read the best-selling book "Lone Survivor" written by a Navy Seal who just barely escaped the Afghan battlefield with his life, you'll learn that American forces have rules of engagement that are almost impossible. The three Seals who were killed in the "Lone Survivor" operation died because they allowed two Afghan civilians to live. And those civilians then told Al Qaeda where the Seals were.
Again, "Talking Points" wants all military crimes to be prosecuted, but sanity must prevail. Unless there's evidence we don't know anything about, those two Green Berets should be set free tomorrow and promoted. All of us need to wise up. The American military is protecting our lives. And if there is a doubt, you give the military the benefit of it. We'll have more on this story in just a few moments. And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads and Patriots
Yesterday, we reported on college student Andrew Meyer getting tasered for disrupting John Kerry's forum at the University of Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW MEYER, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDENT: Don't tase me, bro. Don't tase me! I didn't do anything! Ow! Ow! Ow!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Well, thanks to Andrew, we now have a new promotion. Anyone buying anything on BillOReilly.com will receive a "Don't taze me, bro!" bumper sticker. And you know you want one. Everybody wants one.
Since revenue from BillOReilly.com enables us to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity, everybody wins. So because of the charity angle, we have to make him Andrew Meyer a patriot, at least for a day.
"Don't taze me, bro." We've got those bumper stickers going on.
Now, on the pinhead front, actor James Brolin, married of course, to Barbra Streisand, apparently needs an intervention after this radio appearance on 9/11:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAZ, CO-HOST, WPLR RADIO: All right, something we've been talking about a lot today on the show, for obvious reason, the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
JAMES BROLIN, ACTOR: Right. Oh yeah. Oh, Happy 9/11.
CHAZ, CO-HOST, WPLR RADIO: Well, that's kind of a weird thing to say.
BROLIN: I hear silence.
CHAZ, CO-HOST, WPLR RADIO: Yeah. Well, we're right outside of New York. I mean, I know people...
BROLIN: Well...
CHAZ, CO-HOST, WPLR RADIO: Well, we're right outside of New York. I mean, I know people...
AJ, CO-HOST, WPLR RADIO: Right.
CHAZ, CO-HOST, WPLR RADIO: ... who lost family members. So, I don't know. We don't say, "Happy 9/11" around here.
BROLIN: Celebrate the day, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Wrong, you pinhead. Is Brolin unbelievable or what? I mean, hard to believe.
—You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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