War only can be used as entertainment in two ways by two groups of people: those who treat it as a game played by choice—a deadly game but one that can be left and rejoined—and those who know only war. The most important difference is that the former have never been the victims of a war, only the warriors. They didn't learn to kill by feeling pain. As I said, that's why I found Swofford so offensive.

There is, of course, a third kind of group: an audience who don't understand the stakes and are watching the whole thing as a sort of grand parade. The show on ABC tonight is a performance by a mixture of all three groups for an audience made up entirely of the third. By it's nature it's both barbaric and purposefully uncomprehending; fascism is the true esthetic of the proudly mediocre.

Profiles [archive.org]

"The Pentagon and Department of Defense lent their full support and cooperation to this unique production by Jerry Bruckheimer and Bertram van Munster, which will feature compelling personal stories of America's military men and women and the elite U.S. Special Operations Forces."

"As America prepares for a possible war with Iraq, the country continues to wage a perilous war on terrorism. ABC will transport viewers to actual battlefields in central Asia with a six-episode series that will feature actual footage of the elite U.S. Special Operations forces apprehending possible terrorists, as well as compelling, personal stories of the U.S. military men and women who bear the burden and risks of this fighting. This new, one-hour primetime reality series will bring home the danger faced every day by America's bravest in the war on terrorism."

To paraphrase D.H Lawrence, writing on another illusion of this country: you can't idealize brute violence, without being undone as an idealist.