We can hold out hope that the first report is almost always wrong, but it's held up for a couple hours now: After a firefight, two U.S. Soldiers are missing in Iraq.
Just today I read about Colonel James Coffman Jr.'s heroic stand against an insurgent onslaught in Iraq (for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross).
Standing in the blood of his Iraqi counterparts, back to the wall with just four bullets and a “folding flip knife” to defend against onrushing insurgents, Col. James Coffman Jr. had just one thought going through his head.It reminded me of what I've read and been told--that while it is by no means official orders, the consensus among the combat soldiers in Iraq is that one does not allow himself to be taken alive. They know what awaits a captured American soldier: horrific torture, use as a devastating propaganda tool, and ultimately death by beheading.
“I was not going to be on TV with them cutting my damn head off,” the Special Forces officer said. “I would eat a grenade first. I was going to go down fighting.”
For both the anguish of those involved and the propaganda impact, I have hoped we would never see this day. Like I said, maybe it's an erroneous report. But in the meantime, pray for the two soldiers and for our country. This could be very, very bad.
