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...

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