Over at Slate, blogger, writer, and soon-to-be deployed soldier Phil Carter has a diary on his pre-Iraq training. It's really interesting stuff. Carter's flying to Kuwait tomorrow to begin his service, and I very much hope we'll be hearing more from him. I am not, however, confident in that. So enjoy what you're getting right now -- it's interesting stuff. And hope that the military abandons its policy of shutting down all soldier's voice within the war zone. The point of a democracy isn't to win wars, it's to make good decisions, including judgments on the winnability and desirability of wars. Hearing the opinions, impressions, and experiences of those with boots on the ground is one way for the populace to intelligently inform itself. So while I understand the military's instinct on this one, it doesn't sync with what should be the country's priorities.
