Ferocious Reaction

Fox News

Defense commentator William Arkin — whose work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post — has provoked a ferocious reaction with a column on the post's Web site. Arkin — who been associated with such groups as Human Rights Watch and Greenpeace — was reacting to a report about soldiers in Iraq being frustrated by lack of support back home.

He writes, "We pay the soldiers a decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social support systems and ship obscene amenities into the war zone for them, we support them in every possible way, and their attitude is that we should in addition roll over and play dead, defer to the military and the generals and let them fight their war, and give up our rights and responsibilities to speak up because they are above society?"

The blog prompted hundreds of responses — nearly all negative. In one of the milder ones, a North Carolina man invited Arkin to dinner at his house. "We shall feast." he said, "and you will enjoy our Southern hospitality. However, please note that as soon as the eatin's done, I gonna stomp your sorry ass into a greasy spot."