Shock and Awe

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1

(CLEARS THROAT)

Continuing today's

hearing on future VA funding...

the Senate Committee on

Veterans' Affairs...

is called back to order.

CHAIRMAN:
We'll hear from our

next witness.

Will you please stand

and raise your right hand?

My apologies.

Please raise your right hand.

Do you swear that the testimony

you're about to give...

this committee will be the

truth, the whole truth...

and nothing but the

truth, so help you God?

I do.

Please state your name.

Private First Class Adam Green,

United States Army, retired.

Mr. Green, I understand you've

prepared a statement?

I have, sir.

You may enter it into the record

at this time.

Mr. Chairman, members of the

Committee...

I want to thank you

for the opportunity...

to speak with you today.

I served in the military f...

I'm sorry, if I could just...

Sure, go ahead.

Thank you, sir.

I've always liked numbers.

Whenever I have a hard time

wrapping my head around...

something, I find that numbers

make things clearer for me.

They help me understand

decisions that are made...

and the impacts of those

decisions.

So, if it's all right...

I'd like the start with the

number 1.4 million.

That's the number of men

and women...

who are currently serving

in our military.

555...

that's how many days passed

before we invaded one country...

after having been attacked

by another.

19... is how old I was when

I enlisted.

Three is the number of hours

that passed from the time...

I arrived in Iraq to the time

our transport...

was destroyed by an I.E.D.

And then there's six.

That's the number of inches the

piece of shrapnel was...

that severed my spinal cord.

The only problems with numbers

is they can be impersonal.

A decision you made had a

life-changing impact on me...

and a lot of soldiers like me.

Now, I'm not a military expert.

I don't know a whole lot

about geopolitical affairs.

I'm just an ordinary American.

And I understand that you've

asked me here...

because you all have

some questions for me,

but if it's all right, I'd like

to ask all of you a question.

How the hell did this happen?

BUSH:
My fellow citizens,

at this hour...

American and coalition forces

are in the early stages...

of military operations

to disarm Iraq, to free...

its people and to defend

the world from grave danger.

BLITZER:
The start of the

campaign called Shock and Awe.

BROKAW:
Shock and Awe.

- RATHER:
Shock and Awe.

- MAN:
Shock and Awe, indeed.

REPORTER #1:
Air raid sirens

are going off in Baghdad...

REPORTER #2:
The massive

military operation...

to topple Saddam Hussein

is now in effect.

REPORTER #3:

Firing 600 Cruise missiles...

and every type of war plane

in the American arsenal.

BROKAW:
A fearsome display

of American military might.

REPORTER #4:

The scale of this attack...

is considerably higher than

anything we've seen before.

REPORTER #5:
We're taking out

whole buildings...

with these Cruise missiles.

RATHER:

U.S. war planes unleashed...

to promise massive bombardment

of Baghdad.

BLITZER:
3,000 Tomahawk

Cruise missiles...

satellite-guided precision

bombs, laser-guided bombs.

REPORTER #6:
I think the

citizens of Baghdad know...

exactly what the Pentagon

means by Shock and Awe.

REPORTER #7:
Just over the

Kuwait-Iraq border...

we watched as columns of troops

moved into the country.

RATHER:
They're well on their

way to Baghdad.

They have met resistance.

WOMAN:
We can't leave the

television...

every tank, every helicopter...

is that my son?

REPORTER #8:
Now Baghdad is

within striking distance...

just a few short miles away...

as U.S. troops make their final

push forward.

We want to slaughter

them all...

those invaders, their tombs

will be here in Iraq.

REPORTER #9:
If Saddam Hussein

is alive, he is quote...

"Not in control of his military

and of his government."

BUSH:
These are opening stages

of what will be a broad...

and concerted campaign.

Could be longer and more

difficult than some predict.

And helping Iraqis achieve

a united, stable...

and free country will require

our sustained commitment.

And you can know that our

forces will be coming home...

as soon as their work is done.

Keep moving! Keep moving!

Let's go!

- Where are they taking us?

- Shut up. Head down.

Keep your mouth shut or I'll

blow your f***ing head off.

- All right, all right.

- Are you a soldier?

- Journalist.

- Who do you work for?

- Knight Ridder.

- Never heard of it.

You should read more.

What is your name?

Jonathan Landay.

Goodbye, Jonathan Landay.

(TRIGGER CLICKS)

Exercise complete.

What you have just engaged in is

called The Gray Man Exercise.

And what you have just

witnessed...

is a colossal failure

of that exercise.

- If a journalist is captured...

- (PHONE RINGING)

terrorists may keep you alive...

in hopes of getting information

or exchanging you for a ransom.

But if you give them a reason

to kill you, they will.

The purpose of this exercise

is to teach you...

how to avoid drawing the

attention of your captors.

Hence the name, Gray Man.

Can you untie me?

This could save your life one

day, you understand?

I do, I've been in 11 war zones,

I've been shot at...

I've been held captive, I take

this very seriously.

But if you don't untie me right

now, I may lose my job.

And I'm fairly certain that

none of this training...

is going to be very useful...

when I'm mopping the floor

at Staples.

REPORTER:

Both of the twin towers...

the World Trade Center in New

York's lower Manhattan...

have been struck by planes this

morning within 20 minutes.

First, it was the North Tower

that was struck...

with a gaping hole left in two

sides of that building.

Good God.

20 minutes later, the second

building...

the second tower in that World

Trade Center complex...

I think we should keep Elizabeth

in school.

Yeah, no, I think that's

a good idea.

Why freak her out, huh?

And I'll call Ali and Jennifer

as soon as the phones open up.

- I love you.

- I love you.

Okay.

REPORTER:

We should tell you that...

we have gotten calls from

people...

who live and work around the

Pentagon who have told us...

that they have seen

something...

that they have described

as an explosion.

This is information we have not

been able to confirm.

Get up.

Sorry, Dad.

Monday Night Football went long.

Let's clean this place up.

COMMENTATOR:
Trade Center

here in New York...

have been hit by airplanes.

In Washington, there is a large

fire at the Pentagon.

The Pentagon has been

evacuated.

And there is, you can see,

perhaps, the second tower...

the front tower, the top

portion of which is collapsing.

Good Lord.

Lot of people going to need

a drink tonight.

Soldiers drink free.

REPORTER:

There are no words.

All federal office buildings

now...

all federal office buildings

in Washington, D.C.

are being evacuated as we speak

to you now.

We are in the middle of an

extraordinary catastrophe.

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