Kos on CNN: "I Served During the First Gulf War" (...But Not in the Gulf)

Liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas ("Daily Kos") appeared on CNN's Reliable Sources yesterday (Sunday, June 18, 2006). Host Howard Kurtz asked Kos about a comment he made on his blog a couple of years back. In April 2004, in a thread about the coverage of the brutal murders of four Americans in Fallujah, Kos posted a comment in which he wrote (bold mine), "I feel nothing over the death of merceneries. They aren't in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them."

In part, here's how Kos responded to Kurtz. Video is at Expose the Left.

KOS: ... [I]n a way it’s funny that they have not updated their talking points in two years. And so they want to keep resurrecting an old quote. There’s nothing I can do about it. What I can do is I can say the fact is the reason, the context for that quote, was solidarity with my brothers and sisters in arms, Marines and soldiers. I wore combat boots. I served during the first Gulf war. And people are making a choice between private armies and mercenaries. I make my choice. I stand behind our men and women in uniform, and I’m not going to apologize for that. But they’re going to keep resurrecting that, and that’s fine. That’s what they do ...

Kos' remarks that "I wore combat boots" and "I served during the first Gulf war" may have led some viewers to believe that he was sent to the Middle East during the conflict. He was not. His period of service occurred during the same time as the first Gulf war, but Kos himself stated in an article earlier this year that he "missed deploying to the Gulf War by a hair." Moulitsas proudly served in the Army from 1989 to 1992, and his service and sacrifice should be commended.

Hopefully this post will be helpful to those CNN viewers who may have misinterpreted Kos' words.