Congressman Zinke Has A Unique Perspective On “American Sniper” But He Misstates A Key Fact About Iraq Withdrawl
Newly minted U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, knew Chris Kyle... the sniper who's Iraq War exploits are the subject of the blockbuster "American Sniper". In a recent interview Zinke talks about the toll exacted on soldiers who serve several tours of duty and how "normal" becomes serving in a war zone and not being here at home. While most of us get the concept that our warriors are profoundly changed by their experiences we can never truly understand how they react to perceived threats once stateside and congressman Zinke give the readers some insight into what that might be like. Of course, those of us who've never served in the military, try as we might, can never truly understand but we can be compassionate.
Unfortunately the interview meandered from Zinke's insight on what our soldiers go through on to the political. Agree or disagree with Zinke, while we thank him for his exemplary service, we cannot not ignore misstatements whether told for effect or out of ignorance. In the interview, as you'll read in the passage in the photo above, Zinke states that we left Iraq without a "Status Of Forces" agreement. That is false. A Status of Forces Agreement between Iraq and the United States was signed by President George W. Bush in 2008. It established that U.S. combat forces would withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and all U.S. forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011.
One could argue that the Obama Administration didn't do enough to convince the Iraqi government to agree to permanent U.S. bases in Iraq to keep the peace but the agreement to pull out in full had already been signed by his predecessor.
Congressman Zinke, thank you for your service, as a nation we owe you a debt of grattitude but as they say, while you're welcome to your own opinion, you're not welcome to your own facts.