I totally agree that our possibly exhausted colonel does have an extremely demanding job. Just one mistake by a public affairs officer and that can be the last because the mistake is so public and most commanders are going to find any scapegoat to keep their job.

I think Boylan may have a fair amount of security because of his relationship with Petraeus because both have been in the “line of fire” together for some time. That may explain why his arrogance is getting out of line. Since arrogance is not something that develops over night, when less fatigued, I suspect the colonel keeps it hidden except with his underlings. Whether short or long term, his arrogance is unprofessional and inexcusable and he should be held to account.

Further, it appears from some postings today, that the colonel has been on the side of propaganda and psychological operations. That, during my time, would kill any relationship that had developed with real journalists. And if you weren’t working for leaders who had crossed over to the political side, would mean a loss of a job and any chance for promotion. With the politicization that has permeated our military today, he probably will be promoted to general.

He is nothing but a commissar, in the mold of the Red Army Bolshevik commissars. He is nothing more than a political officer whose main role is to dispense regime propaganda and make sure that all ranks don't step out of the political line boundary. Like many Bolshevik commissars, he seems to have been chosen for this position because he's a punk.

http://tinyurl.com/2mnbb4

http://tinyurl.com/2knmsa

"(c) the forms sent to me [at Col. Boylan's request (though not at mine)] for a Media Embed Credentials form."

Glenn, he's offering you a chance to go visit Iraq. Why not go?

Boylan requested forms for you to fill out and get a credential. Take him up on it, Glenn.

Why won't you go to Iraq, Glenn? Any journalist would jump at the chance to go for a familiarization tour at least. So it's a dog and pony show. So what? You'd still learn a lot.

And you'd get to meet Boylan face to face. Don't worry, I don't think he'd twist your head off like a chicken. He'd probably just stare you down. It could provide you with a wealth of columns stretching far into the future.

Go Glenn. Go to Iraq before Boylan starts chanting: "Hell No, Glenn won't go, hell no, Glenn won't go!

Neither pic surprises me. Did you notice the style of mustache? Seems like some other historical figure had one that looked like that.

I know what happens when you let bored, frustrated, office Dilberts waste time on the internetz - unfunny jokes, YouTube videos of sleepy kittens and car crashes, and porn.

Now we know what military wankers do when they're responsible for real lives and devastation in Iraq.

Just another day at the officers' club...your Commander-in-Chief must be so proud.

Both banal and frightening.

If you were to cut a wide “swatch” (I had one of those watches) among colonels in the United States military, you would be hard pressed to engage “with” one who is dumber than Col. Boylan.

Actually, I have a theory that some of the smartest guys in the military are colonels who do not get promoted above that rank because they lack the ability to conceal their exceptional intellect from their “superiors”:

For example, Col. Larry Wilkerson, Woodrow Wilson’s confidant Colonel House and essayist Col. Harry Summers (with whom I seldom agree, but I would never dispute his intelligence).

Here's a pic of the Col's Cousin Charlie.

http://tinyurl.com/32ck5v

What a sensual mouth he's got. And a little Hitler mustache for added pleasure. Glenn, really! I think he wants you.

Boylan or his bosses would most likely arrange for a fragging or some other "unfortunate hostile enemy incident". I would trust those guys about as much as I would a black mamba crawling up my leg. I hope that Glenn never falls for that trap.

'Click here to arbitrarily boost the read counter'? Somehow I think your posting of these weird emails is no more mature that the screwloose who wrote them.

Chalabi "is an important part of the process," said Col. Steven Boylan, Petraeus' spokesman. "He has a lot of energy."

---

H/T to Atrios.

I'd be glad to go to Iraq with a Salon press credential and file a few stories. Chow at the Officer's Mess ain't all that bad. I really do miss the sound of outgoing, and even the sound of incoming when it's not too close. They might even let me fire some .50 cal. That was my all-time favorite gun. But mostly, I just want to meet Christiane Amanpour and have a chat over a glass of wine while listening to the crump of mortar fire landing just outside the wire.

You don't know what you're missing, Glenn. Make the trip!

I hope that Glenn never falls for that trap.

-- pantanal

Besides, note what Robert Fisk said in his interview with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. The link to it was posted on an early page in this thread. He said of Boylan, guys like him never really see Iraq. They have this itty-bitty-teeny window from the Greenzone to look out onto the struggling masses. Fisk, by the way, has spent years in the thick of 'the struggling masses' in Iraq.

Is anybody else incredibly frustrated by the fact that, out of respect for GG, this bein' his place and all, one can't really tee off on some of the more despicable trolls?

"the screwloose who wrote them."

-- (~~~~)

Can't add anything to that. It's the classic, "Nuff said".

one can't really tee off on some of the more despicable trolls?

-- bamage

...on what you mean by teeing off. I think I've been pretty well teeing off on them.

talking about them is a lot more fun than talking to them.