Does anyone love war more than Richard Engel?

[malaise]

Asking for a friend

[leftieNanner]

1. Maybe Dick Cheney?

I used to have deep respect for Engel. His reports from the front lines in the Middle East were remarkable.

But I think you are right - he's in it for the rush.

[milestogo]

2. All Republicans.

[MontanaMama]

4. He does get quite excited and breathless when

he's on the front lines...Engel also had a big sad when President Biden pulled the US out of Afghanistan.

[Kid Berwyn]

5. "Money trumps peace." -- George w Bush

[malaise]

6. I remember that

could be the slogan for

the NRA

[Kid Berwyn]

20. Feb. 14, 2007, WH press conference...

… also can be official slogan of War, Inc.

[hlthe2b]

7. A classic adrenaline junkie except he "spikes" most when death is all around him.

He's now like a heroine junkie in need of a fix.

[whathehell]

24. Do you KNOW him, personally?

Because if you don't, you're unprofessional "analysis" is just an uneducated guess that means nothing.

[hlthe2b]

30. This is a discussion forum and all here are welcome to have an opinion. Your incivility toward

others expressing one with which you do not agree is noted, however.

And, yes, I have considerable knowledge of the phenomenon and outcome of so-called "adrenaline junkies."

[whathehell]

33. How are my.posts "uncivil" rather than just expressive of an opinion?

Can you answer that?

All I'm trying to point out, is that if a " discussion", is
be substantive, and merit respect, it must be BASED on something more than just the desire to vent ones
spleen, you know, actual KNOWLEDGE. of the person, and/or the situation?

Otherwise, one's inot "discussing", one is just running their mouth..

[hlthe2b]

34. Back at you

Rude as hell. Your-- as YOU yourself term it-- "running your mouth"--not worth my time. Welcome to ignore.

[whathehell]

35. Huh?..I asked you to explain your accusation of me

It seems you can't explain the accusation, so instead, you're accusing me of something else?

Asking someone to explain an accusations, be it of me, or Richard Engel, is hardly "rude," What's "rude as hell" is MAKING those accusations while being unable to back them up.

[RKP5637]

8. Pays well ... I guess. n/t

[GoCubsGo]

9. Richard misses the luxurious party houses.

Some time last year, Malcolm Nance pointed out that wealthy individuals in Afghanistan would open their fancy villas to the correspondents who were covering the situation there. Engel and his ilk had tons of time to kill, with few interesting ways to do it, so their hosts threw frequent, lavish parties. That's what Richard Engel, Martha Raddatz, and the others who screeched endlessly about the war's end were really complaining about.

[malaise]

10. I believe you

These are parasites

[GoCubsGo]

14. Yep, and I think he said it on Michael Cohen's "Mea Culpa" podcast.

I was going along with the conventional wisdom that they maybe they were just upset about their Afghan friends. But, when I heard that interview, the light bulb went off...

[whathehell]

29. So war correspondents are "parasites"?!?

or just those who had the nerve to voice any criticism of President Biden?

[whathehell]

27. Oh, really?

He confided that to you?

P.S. You don't know Engel and don't know WHAT, if anything, he "misses".

[Mr.Bill]

11. My wife and I were just talking about him.

When we left Afghanistan he acted like he was laid off from his job.

[malaise]

13. I saw hi on M$NBComcast a few minutes ago

He was breathless thinking about a new war.
And he was laid off from the good life

[Mr.Bill]

19. We saw that, too. That's why

we were talking about him.

[Ocelot II]

17. In a way, he was. I think he's been a war correspondent for so long

that he's become addicted to danger - that adrenaline rush is probably quite a high.

[kairos12]

12. He's a blood sucking War Vampire. I turn him off the instant I see him.

[Greybnk48]

15. I was just saying that to my husband when he came on MSNBC.

War is his bread and butter. I haven't forgiven him for the two to three week tantrum he threw against Biden when President Biden got us out of the 20 years long unwinnable war in Afghanistan.

I don't trust him anymore.

[FakeNoose]

16. Richard Engel speaks Arabic fluently, and he's one of the few American journalists who do

For that reason he has been assigned to Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. because he can actually communicate with the natives without an interpreter. Also it seems to me that many of the Arabic-speaking people take kindly to him because they think he understands their problems. He responds to the danger and death because he relates to it all personally.

Yeah maybe he's become a junkie, I don't know. But he was smart to learn Arabic as a young man.

[BlackSkimmer]

18. Thank you. Amazed to read such ugly comments about a man who is certainly braver than any key

board warrior here.

Engel has a special needs child for whom I’m sure he needs the best care. Doing his job earns him money.

I don’t get these threads against war correspondents. “Oh he was breathless.” Seriously? I’m gonna bet anybody’d be breathless too if things were exploding around you nonstop.

[whathehell]

23. Me too...Covering war is part of journalism and it's important

It's also dangerous. Choosing (or being chosen) to be one doesn't mean you "love war".

[BlackSkimmer]

32. I agree. There's been a lot of hate for the CNN woman correspondent that was on the ground

during the exit. Can’t remember her name, but she’s got ovaries of steel.

Lots of men here putting her down at the time, who i imagine would be crying like babies in her situation. Takes a lot of damn guts to do that job.

[Hekate]

22. Thx for the reality check. He's a war correspondent; it's a specialty job few can or want to do...

Do these people want desk jockeys out in a minefield, unable to speak the local language, going “ick eww” — or would they like to find out what’s actually going on and why?

[hlthe2b]

36. It is his adrenaline addiction that makes him so fearless and effective.

It is a trait that propels many an Olympic athlete or others succeeding against odds. It can cause problems with perspective or excess risk to the individual, however—including coping when settings change. That isn’t “mean,” it is merely the truth.

[CTyankee]

37. There was a time when our country revered foreign correspondents. I have liked Engel because of his

willingness to jump in and cover a story that is dangerous for him. I have never found him to be objectionable. I just think we wouldn't have the whole story without people willing to do that.

[Hekate]

41. Agreed

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

21. Sometimes I think "correspondent" is a cover for his real job, ...

... and there's a three-letter agency involved.

He seems to cross strange borders at will.

Tell "your friend" not to ask too many questions about Richard Engel. It's safer to ask questions about Geraldo Rivera.

[malaise]

25. I agree

[scarletlib]

28. The guy on ABC is very similar.

Refer to Chris Hedges book: War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning. He was a war correspondent during the Yogoslavian wars. He said you are never so alive as when so close to death. You could say it is addictive.

[malaise]

43. Sure is addictive

Engel lost me with his biased coverage of the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq

[Hekate]

45. I thought that line was a quote from one of the survivors, someone who had fought for their country

…for long terrible years, and then could never quite readjust or get that sense of purpose back.

I didn’t read the book, but a review that I recall as quite deep and moving. The title definitely stuck with me.

[scarletlib]

49. It was a great book. Read it many years ago.

He may have been quoting someone in the book. I honestly don’t remember. It also applied to himself.

[myohmy2]

38. according...

...to Popular Bio he's worth $1.5 million which isn't much for someone in the public eye...

https://popularbio.com/richard-engel/#Richard_Engel_Net_Worth

...maybe he needs the money, the extra hazard pay a war zone brings?

...I worked 2nd shift for the shift premium and loved it...

...

[tenderfoot]

39. I guess the US should have stayed in Afghanistan another 20 years...

accomplishing absolutely nothing.

[Tom Rinaldo]

40. Your observation clicked for me with another one about how our government is designed to work.

Richard Engel has a very specialized expertise as a war correspondent. In order to cover a war effectively he has to embed himself inside of it. While doing so, in order to gain real insight into the individual perspective of the combatants and victims of a war, he loses perspective of the larger context which often supersedes the perspective of the immediate direct participants. He gains and shares what is to us often unique perspectives on war, but often he does so at the cost of the bigger picture.

That, in essence, is why civilian control of the military is such a bedrock part of the foundation of American democracy. The final decisions of war and peace can't be left in the hands of military leaders, who by necessity live with a high degree of tunnel vision. They do not, and can not, get the final word on policy. In a way it should be the same with someone like Richard Engel. His reporting can help provide otherwise hard to obtain insights, but it inherently is unbalanced. It should never stand on its own without others putting it properly in context.

[malaise]

42. A very thoughtful post

Thanks

[iemanja]

44. war correspondents get hooked on the adrenaline

of covering the war. It goes with the territory. Most of us wouldn't dream of doing such a job.

[pwb]

46. All the cable talkers are mad at Joe.

He took away their war.

[BannonsLiver]

47. And their Trump, who was an ad revenue cash cow.

[pwb]

48. They are as they say in disarray.

It feels good. A P is trying to pick a war all over the world. War mongers have a sad on.