March 29, 2006

• "The Unit"

  No, this has nothing to do with Martin Chuzzlewit's "organ"..... 

  Article Launched: 3/26/2006 12:06 AM

  'Unit's' military expert has fighting words for Bush

  By David Kronke, TV Critic

  U-Entertainment

  Eric Haney, a retired command sergeant major of the U.S. Army,

  was a founding member of Delta Force, the military's elite

  covert counter-terrorist unit. He culled his experiences for

  "Inside Delta Force" (Delta; $14), a memoir rich with

  harrowing stories, though in an interview, Haney declines with

  a shrug to estimate the number of times he was almost killed.

  (Perhaps the most high-profile incident that almost claimed

  his life was the 1980 failed rescue of the hostages in Iran.)

  Today, he's doing nothing nearly as dangerous: He serves as an

  executive producer and technical adviser for "The Unit," CBS'

  new hit drama based on his book, developed by playwright David

  Mamet. Even up against "American Idol," "The Unit" shows

  muscle, drawing 18 million viewers in its first two airings.

  Since he has devoted his life to protecting his country in

  some of the world's most dangerous hot spots, you might assume

  Haney is sympathetic to the Bush administration's current

  plight in Iraq (the laudatory cover blurb on his book comes

  from none other than Fox's News' Bill O'Reilly). But he's also

  someone with close ties to the Pentagon, so he's privy to

  information denied the rest of us.

  We recently spoke to Haney, an amiable, soft-spoken Southern

  gentleman, on the set of "The Unit."

  Q: What's your assessment of the war in Iraq?

  A: Utter debacle. But it had to be from the very first. The

  reasons were wrong. The reasons of this administration for

  taking this nation to war were not what they stated. (Army

  Gen.) Tommy Franks was brow-beaten and ... pursued warfare

  that he knew strategically was wrong in the long term. That's

  why he retired immediately afterward. His own staff could tell

  him what was going to happen afterward.

  We have fomented civil war in Iraq. We have probably fomented

  internecine war in the Muslim world between the Shias and the

  Sunnis, and I think Bush may well have started the third world

  war, all for their own personal policies.

  Q: What is the cost to our country?

  A: For the first thing, our credibility is utterly zero. So we

  destroyed whatever credibility we had. ... And I say "we,"

  because the American public went along with this. They voted

  for a second Bush administration out of fear, so fear is what

  they're going to have from now on.

  Our military is completely consumed, so were there a real

  threat - thankfully, there is no real threat to the U.S. in

  the world, but were there one, we couldn't confront it. Right

  now, that may not be a bad thing, because that keeps Bush from

  trying something with Iran or with Venezuela.

  The harm that has been done is irreparable. There are more

  than 2,000 American kids that have been killed. Tens of

  thousands of innocent Iraqis have been killed - which no one

  in the U.S. really cares about those people, do they? I never

  hear anybody lament that fact. It has been a horror, and this

  administration has worked overtime to divert the American

  public's attention from it. Their lies are coming home to

  roost now, and it's gonna fall apart. But somebody's gonna

  have to clear up the aftermath and the harm that it's done

  just to what America stands for. It may be two or three

  generations in repairing.

  Q: What do you make of the torture debate? Cheney ...

  A: (Interrupting) That's Cheney's pursuit. The only reason

  anyone tortures is because they like to do it. It's about

  vengeance, it's about revenge, or it's about cover-up. You

  don't gain intelligence that way. Everyone in the world knows

  that. It's worse than small-minded, and look what it does.

  I've argued this on Bill O'Reilly and other Fox News shows. I

  ask, who would you want to pay to be a torturer? Do you want

  someone that the American public pays to torture? He's an

  employee of yours. It's worse than ridiculous. It's criminal;

  it's utterly criminal. This administration has been masters of

  diverting attention away from real issues and debating the

  silly. Debating what constitutes torture: Mistreatment of

  helpless people in your power is torture, period. And (I'm

  saying this as) a man who has been involved in the most

  pointed of our activities. I know it, and all of my mates know

  it. You don't do it. It's an act of cowardice. I hear

  apologists for torture say, "Well, they do it to us." Which is

  a ludicrous argument. ... The Saddam Husseins of the world are

  not our teachers. Christ almighty, we wrote a Constitution

  saying what's legal and what we believed in. Now we're going

  to throw it away.

  Q: As someone who repeatedly put your life on the line, did

  some of the most hair-raising things to protect your country,

  and to see your country behave this way, that must be ...

  A: It's pretty galling. But ultimately I believe in the good

  and the decency of the American people, and they're starting

  to see what's happening and the lies that have been told.

  We're seeing this current house of cards start to flutter

  away. The American people come around. They always do.

  THE UNIT

  What: Action-adventure about special-ops unit.

  Where: CBS (Channel 2).

  When: 9 p.m. Tuesdays.

  ---

  David Kronke (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com

  • 9:20 am
  • 16 Comments