I shouldn't watch fictional representations on the Iraq war. Not after this.

The Ground Truth isn't a movie. It's not even a documentary. It's a clip show. It just so happens that just about all the clips are devastating.

The best sound bite, in terms of summarizing the despair of this whole goddamned thing, the reason why I and others like me oppose the war:

"I explained to [a VA psychologist that] we killed a lot of innocent civilians and that's my problem. That's what I'm having a problem dealing with. And she looked at me and she said, 'Staff Sergeant, I can't help you.' And I said, 'What do you mean you can't help me? You're a psychologist. That's what you're here for.' She goes, 'I don't deal with conscientious objectors.' And I lost it. I said, 'What? You're going to label me as a "conscientious objector" for not wanting to kill innocent civilians?'"
-Jimmy J. Massey, Staff Sgt., US Marine Corps

( There are more, and many just as devastating beneath this cut. )

Actually there's also this one that pretty awesomely bittersweet, too:

"I'm facing possibly being charged with conduct unbecoming because I've spoken out about this. Because I wrote a play about this that makes an anti-war statement. And...bring it on. I think the only conduct unbecoming for a noncommissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps is if I identified failed leadership, if I identified misguided policy that resulted in the loss of my marines' lives and I didn't speak out about it? That would be unbecoming."
-Sean Huze, Corporal, US Marine Corps