Marine Seeks Assistance from Local Cabbie
“You know any insurgents? You don’t know any insurgents? Well, if you get where you’re going … right now it’s 1600 … just, uh, let the insurgents know Sierra Deuce is on Bug, and we’ll be here for about another hour if they want to come and shoot at us. All right?
(Marine holds up shotgun, points to himself in effort to convey message)
” … uh, Mujahideen? Shoot? Right there, OK? … So, I mean, they can come at us from either direction, we don’t care. Right now we just want to shoot at anything. But preferably, like, within an hour. Because we gotta go back and sleep and eat chow and shit like that.”
“Oh, you’re going to Baghdad? Oh, there’s a shitload of them there, dude. Just, like, drive around the town and, like, tell them. Sierra Deuce is on Bug. We’ll be here for an hour. We want to play. Tell them to quit being pussies and cowards, and come out and shoot at us. We haven’t had any action since we’ve been out here. It’s crazy.”
“I know. But we just want to shoot at something. All right? Wear your seatbelt, don’t run with scissors and drink milk. Have a nice day. Go ahead … yeah, go ahead. Yeah. Wear your seatbelt!”
Vid here. With thanks to Paul, my Vietnam Psyops vet/high-powered lawyer pal.
Meanwhile, a different kind of on-the-ground view, from altitude. via Castle Argghhh!!!, “I’m not surprised they are good pilots … they just flew in an air force owned by an a$$hole.”
Welcome, Small Dead Animals, etal. Always good to see you. Got some burning questions for you. Some people think we’re all great American hypocrites, but this one’s only mediocre. You know about the divorce penalty, right? Meanwhile, in pontifical affairs.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:22 am on Wednesday, April 16, 2008
3 Responses to “Marine Seeks Assistance from Local Cabbie”
Leave a Reply
Trackback URLYou must be logged in to post a comment.
April 16th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
The comments after that video are interesting (I hadn’t watched it before because it was billed as one of ours abusing a cabbie so I was putting it off).
Am I the only one who imagines that it was a positive interaction? Even if the cabbie understood four words out of 10 or 1 out of 10, the Marine’s tone of voice was not threatening at all. His voice was joking and friendly, even. The cabbie didn’t seem intimidated either.
And what’s the message if the cabbie understood most of it? The Marines are there with nothing to do. Can it get more positive that that? And the braggadocio was pretty much a matter of fact statement of just how (not) worried the Americans are about the insurgents. If the cabbie understood most of it, he’s most likely laughing with his buds and having a story to tell.
This is the interacting with the locals on a personal level that’s *working*.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I have seen the video before, and I still laugh at what the soldier is saying. I don’t think the cabbie understands any of it, except maybe the words “insurgent” and, of course, “mujahedeen”. It’s a good sign when soldiers over there are having to cope with boredom.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Yea… he’s a Marine…
Via Kate: Thanks to Jules Crittenden, who gives us the transcript:“You know any insurgents? You don’t know any insurgents? Well, if you get where you’re going … right now it’s 1600 … just, uh, let the insurgents know Sierra Deuce