I have the boxed set which I sent to my brother. Watching the series on history channel. It is actually not directed by Spielberg, but it has the same production values of Saving Private Ryan while in my opinion it is somewhat better because more based in reality and Spielberg, who I do like and respect, sometimes gets a bit obviously manipulative in his story telling.

I also am quite moved by the movie 'Full Metal Jacket' which is based on a short story called 'The Short Timers'. The author whose name escapes me at the moment, was a grunt in Vietnam, quite a good writer, but became a casualty of his own behavior some time after the war and about the time the movie was coming out. You can find his works published on the web.

I am a supporter of the current American actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, although I think that our current administration has been less than skillful in planning, executing, and above all EXPLAINING, why what we are doing is necessary. So I am not at peace, because HOW you do a thing is just as important as WHY you do it. I think that this is a rare time when we need great leadership and I am worried that our leaders don't have the right stuff. Nevertheless they're what we've got and I'm quite proud of the American troops in the field, and very respectful of the British efforts as well.

Another movie which has not been mentioned here, and in my opinion is an absolutely great flick about the realities of war in our time, is 'Blackhawk Down'. It is a faithful adaptation to the book by Mark Bowden, a journalist who laboriously assembled the facts of the matter, which had NOT been recorded or examined by the military, and turned it into a fascinating analysis of means and methods, and how a state-of-the-art military can be countered by a tribal alliance.

Whether one supports or condemns what our countries are doing right now, it is well to be up on the realities of what our men of arms are really up against.