Hollywood tries agian

Here we go again with an anti Iraq war movie. Stop Loss, starring Ryan Phillipe. The plot synopsis-

Decorated Iraq war hero Sgt. Brandon King makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty. He tries to resume the life he left behind. Then, against Brandon’s will, the Army orders him back to duty in Iraq, which upends his world. The conflict tests everything he believes in: the bond of family, the loyalty of friendship, the limits of love and the value of honor.

According to the official movie site, stop loss is defined thus-

The retention of soldiers in the service beyond their expected term. Using a loophole in soldier's military contracts to prohibit servicemen and women from retiring once their term of service is complete. Also widely know as a "Back Door Draft".

Widely known among Code Pinko's, that is.

Stop Loss, for all you civilians out there, is a simple clause in every military contract that says in time of national emergency (i.e. war) the military may keep you in uniform as needed for the good of the country. The actual verbage is very plain, direct, and easy for anyone to understand, yet the media loves to play dumb. Here's what Wiki has to say on it. But let's go to the source.

From my initial enlistment contract, dated June the 2nd, 1992-

Section 9, paragraph C-
In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months until after the war ends, unless my enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States.

Has anyone declared the war on terror to be over? Maybe contracts are soon to be a thing of the past, in light of the push to forgive homeowners from mortgages they couldn't afford. But until then, an enlistment in the US military is a legally binding contract.

Stop loss is used today to keep units together as functioning entities. In a unit being deployed to Iraq, for instance, everyone in that unit is kept in uniform until the deployment is over. Does anyone want to go back to the bad old days of the Vietnam war when new squad and platoon leaders were thrust into combat units and expected to lead combat missions right away?

But back to the movie. Unlike the past slate of issue films disguised as war movies, this one doesn't even make the pretense of being based on true events. In the Valley of Elah, Rendition, and Redacted all claimed to be at least loosely based on actual events. All three bombed at the box office. No End in Sight, a 'documentary' couldn't even bring in the indie crowd.

The reason? Americans don't want to go see a movie that tells them that they are stupid because they are Americans. Consider it the smell test. If John Wayne wouldn't agree to be in your movie, it's not really a war flick.