May 28, 200521 yr Marine tank's biblical name draws hefty criticism By Jennifer Harper THE WASHINGTON TIMES "New Testament": It's a mighty name for a 70-ton battle tank. The biblical words are neatly printed on the main gun of an M1A1 Abrams tank rolling along somewhere near Haditha, Iraq. To the Marines of the 4th Tank Battalion, "New Testament" is a fierce beacon and impervious to insurgent mortar fire. But some critics grumble that an official photo of the tank accompanies a Marine Corps press release about the company's mission with a caption that reads, "The 'New Testament' ... prepares to lead the way during a recent mission." The name of the tank is not mentioned in the story. The Marine Corps declined to comment yesterday. Not so the pundits. "When our own military seems to be advertizing an explicitly Christian identity in Iraq, then it's time [President Bush] took action. Whoever in the marines allowed this tank to be defaced in this way needs to be removed from his post. It's an outrage -- to both the New Testament and to our mission in Iraq," Andrew Sullivan, senior editor at the New Republic, wrote Tuesday at his own Web site (www.andrewsullivan.com). Filmmaker Michael Moore cited the story, posting the photo online (www.michaelmoore.com) with the Marine directive, "This image has been cleared for release." "What bothers me is that no one put a stop to this display of ignorance and disrespect before it was included on the official website for the Marine Corps," noted an entry at the Web log Evangelical Outpost (www.evangelicaloutpost.com). Others called the outrage an overreaction. "Sometimes all you have left is faith on the battlefield," said the Rev. Charles Nalls, a former military officer and vicar of the Parish of Christ the King in the District. "On the one hand, given the volatility in the region, perhaps there might have been a better name. But this is not obscene or vile. There's a long history of soldiers, sailors and airmen naming weapons of war, or using helmet art. This is probably nothing more than that. They wanted a name and that was the one they chose," he said. Names have proved a challenge in the war on terror. In 2001, Islamic groups faulted the Defense Department for giving the U.S. military response to September 11 the name Operation Infinite Justice. The Defense Department instead opted for Operation Enduring Freedom. An uproar was created in 2003 when photos of bombs humorously addressed to Saddam Hussein, some with expletives, were published and broadcast. A Marine spokesman could not cite regulations governing the names of battlefield vehicles. Naming policies apparently vary. Classes of U.S. Navy ships are named after rivers, cities, towns, American battles and presidents, according to the U.S. Naval Historical Society. Aerospace vehicles must "characterize the mission" and not violate commercial trademarks, the Defense Department said. The Army has a similar policy. New Testament is a badass name for a main battle tank, and i'm not even christian. This has nothing to do with religion and the press trying to find negativity in everything is blowing this way out of proportion. If they had added "King James Version" I could possibly see a problem but "New Testament" doesn't have a religious connotation, just a badass connotation. I think that some folks ought to: 1) find better things to do with their lives and 2) lighten up.
May 28, 200521 yr What's irrational is the right-wing "he's after me" approach to dissecting the media. Want to take a guess as to why this is a story? Maybe because a high-ranking officer among others framed this war as a fight against Satan? Is this naming of this tank an extension of that framing? I believe so and that's the reason this story is in the news.
May 29, 200521 yr Author What's irrational is the right-wing "he's after me" approach to dissecting the media. Want to take a guess as to why this is a story? Maybe because a high-ranking officer among others framed this war as a fight against Satan? Is this naming of this tank an extension of that framing? I believe so and that's the reason this story is in the news. 787003[/snapback] This type of stuff has been going on since the beginning of time. It has been customary in every single war to give inflammatory names to big pieces of artillery, tanks, large bombs, planes, etc. This is nothing new and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the name. This is ONE TANK. The 4 man tank crew gave their tank the name New Testament and there's nothing wrong with that. Period. This is absolutely nothing to do with right wing, left wing, conservatives, liberals or whether you're for or against the war. This is a 4 man tank crew giving their M1A1 Abrams a nick name, and a pretty badass one at that, there is nothing more to this. During WW2, nobody ever had any problem with the Sherman tank being nicknamed "The Kraut Killer." People need to realize that this is war and some things need to just be left alone and to stop crying about political correctness over every little thing so trivial as a nickname by a crew for their vehicle.
May 29, 200521 yr WWII is a terrible analogy and you know that. Listen, I'm not defending the outrage, which is probably partly contrived for political gain, but part of it is legit. It's public relations really. In the global society we live in media from parts of the world that hate us can exploit this as "crusading" mindset. And I think you have to lend credence to that fear because I hear a lot talk from the right in those terms.
May 29, 200521 yr Shamrock, the people you hear talking about that are not real Republicans, they're crazy.
May 29, 200521 yr You won't win many hearts in Iraq with the name "The New Testament", but it's a pretty cool name nonetheless.
May 30, 200521 yr How does "New Testament" have a badass connotation? Sounds like a big book to me. Wait'll we rename the Blackhawk helicopter to the "Book of Mormon" helicopter, that'll send 'em running.
June 1, 200521 yr This again is a whocares issue. Its just a tank. Whats offensive is these 'pundits' always critcizing even the most minor things to continue theyre anti-christian agenda. I understand arguments against placing religious articles in govt buildings and the such, but this is just a bunch of guys naming a tank. Would you have preferred "Terrorist Killer" or somehting down those lines? Would you be complaining if these men named their tank "The torah" or "the Koran"?
June 1, 200521 yr This again is a whocares issue. Its just a tank. Whats offensive is these 'pundits' always critcizing even the most minor things to continue theyre anti-christian agenda. I understand arguments against placing religious articles in govt buildings and the such, but this is just a bunch of guys naming a tank. Would you have preferred "Terrorist Killer" or somehting down those lines? Would you be complaining if these men named their tank "The torah" or "the Koran"? 791323[/snapback] Dont be so quick to jump on the "its anti Christian" bandwagon. It was criticized by Christian groups too: "What bothers me is that no one put a stop to this display of ignorance and disrespect before it was included on the official website for the Marine Corps," noted an entry at the Web log Evangelical Outpost (www.evangelicaloutpost.com). And frankly, I would expect people of religion to complain. I wouldnt want my God endorsing a weapon designed to kill, whether for right reasons or not.
June 1, 200521 yr This again is a whocares issue. Its just a tank. Whats offensive is these 'pundits' always critcizing even the most minor things to continue theyre anti-christian agenda. I understand arguments against placing religious articles in govt buildings and the such, but this is just a bunch of guys naming a tank. Would you have preferred "Terrorist Killer" or somehting down those lines? Would you be complaining if these men named their tank "The torah" or "the Koran"? 791323[/snapback] Dont be so quick to jump on the "its anti Christian" bandwagon. It was criticized by Christian groups too: "What bothers me is that no one put a stop to this display of ignorance and disrespect before it was included on the official website for the Marine Corps," noted an entry at the Web log Evangelical Outpost (www.evangelicaloutpost.com). And frankly, I would expect people of religion to complain. I wouldnt want my God endorsing a weapon designed to kill, whether for right reasons or not. 791366[/snapback] My mistake i misread that piece, but that does not change the fact that its another 'whocares' issue. A couple of guys named their tank, end of story. Forcing them to get rid of the name or change it would be terrible for morale
June 1, 200521 yr Author This again is a whocares issue. Its just a tank. Whats offensive is these 'pundits' always critcizing even the most minor things to continue theyre anti-christian agenda. I understand arguments against placing religious articles in govt buildings and the such, but this is just a bunch of guys naming a tank. Would you have preferred "Terrorist Killer" or somehting down those lines? Would you be complaining if these men named their tank "The torah" or "the Koran"? 791323[/snapback] Dont be so quick to jump on the "its anti Christian" bandwagon. It was criticized by Christian groups too: "What bothers me is that no one put a stop to this display of ignorance and disrespect before it was included on the official website for the Marine Corps," noted an entry at the Web log Evangelical Outpost (www.evangelicaloutpost.com). And frankly, I would expect people of religion to complain. I wouldnt want my God endorsing a weapon designed to kill, whether for right reasons or not. 791366[/snapback] My mistake i misread that piece, but that does not change the fact that its another 'whocares' issue. A couple of guys named their tank, end of story. Forcing them to get rid of the name or change it would be terrible for morale 791397[/snapback] Who cares about morale? All that matters is we keep the insurgents happy and make sure we don't insult them! :plain But yeah, there is nothing wrong with the name. I was watching this documentary last night about the push to Baghdad and there was this M1A1 Abrams that was nicknamed "The Saddamizer" :lol :lol
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