PS: So glad I'm not alone in this opinion, read the critique below who believe this movie to be nothing but a Neocon Crock!
Also a good question to ask... Should We Honor Service in an Unjust War?
thinkingblue
The Success of American Sniper is a Disgrace
by lawrencegoodman
I saw this movie this weekend. It's exactly what the right craves—a way to make us feel better about Iraq.
Chris Kyle is an American good guy—loving father, devoted parent, humble servant of his country, crackerjack soldier. The movie only makes passing glances at Kyle's trauma from serving in the war. We learn nothing about the more than 150 Iraqis he kills.
So there you have it. We may have lost the war, destroyed a country, and spent billions of dollars pointlessly, but the goodness of Chris Kyle makes it all worth it. Don't focus on those other things. Focus on the grit and integrity of the American soldier.
The movie is patriotic propaganda. Yet it's raking in the dough and being celebrated by critics.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/20/1358925/-
The-Success-of-American-Sniper-is-a-Disgrace
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Should We Honour Service in an Unjust War?
by LiberalCanuck
I have been following the debate regarding the movie "American Sniper" and have noted the split in opinion regarding this movie generally falls along the line of "how or should we honour someone who fought in an unjust war?"
This question takes me back to the Vietnam war, the conclusion of which I still vividly remember. At that time as well, many Americans both on the Right and Left argued whether Vietnam veterans should be honoured. On the Left the feeling was they had participated in an unjust war, committed war crimes and had prolonged the fighting by agreeing to go. On the Right the feeling was veterans had dishonoured America by fragging officers, disobeying orders, showing a lack of discipline and ultimately losing.
Only two decades later was it eventually decided that the returning veteran deserved to be honoured as a person who was simply doing his duty as best he could in a very ugly war. The Right eventually embraced the Vietnam vet as an honoured colleague and forgot entirely the abuse they showered on his head when he first returned home. The Left conceded that while the war was wrong, the veteran was more often than not a poor person drafted to fight against his will. So, very belatedly, the service of the Vietnam vet was recognized and honoured.
I admit, the question of how to honour – or even if we should honour – the veteran of an unjust war has been of some interest to me ever since. I am a military history buff and have read hundreds of war diaries from both sides of many wars. A common theme in many of these diaries is the demand that the service of those in "enemy" armies be recognized as honourable.
Read More Here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/20/1358994/-Should
-We-Honour-Service-in-an-Unjust-War