Blitzkrieg Bop

"As the bullets began to fly, the blood sprayed from between her eyes, and then I laughed maniacally. Then I hid behind the TV and I locked and loaded my M-16; I blew those little fuckers to eternity . . . They should have known they were fucking with the Marines."



Hoo haw. Makes Clint Black and Toby Keith sound like tin-eared unwashed French cabaret fops. And Ted Nugent? He only shoots animals. Let's see him do the "kill it and grill it" bit in Baghdad. Might give his sound the edge it lost long ago, if he doesn't piss his pants first.

Marine Cpl. Joshua Belile has it all over those and other poseurs. His online hit, "Hadji Girl," packs a more serious punch because Belile actually served in Iraq. This of course thrills numerous stateside Arab-haters and nativist jingoes who cain't git e'nuf sand nigger jokes and related murderous rhetoric. I toured a few of the nastier (and dumber -- is basic composition taught anymore?) sites this morn, and Belile is quite the celebrated balladeer, while the treasonous, pro-jihadist mainstream media is to blame for taking Belile's lyrics out of context and setting him up for rebuke and ridicule. Belile had to apologize and promise never again to perform the tune that brought him to our attention in the first place. Showbiz is one tough bitch, I tell you.

No matter. Numerous American racists and military fetishists will keep "Hadji Girl" in their patriotic hearts and swirling heads, and the suppressed song will no doubt inspire other melodic odes to slaughtering ragheads and anyone else who gets in our way. Indeed, far from being a curious anomaly, Belile's composition is very much part of an ongoing military musical tradition where the Enemy Of The Moment is dehumanized and torn to shreds in song. Here's one from the late-80s, a toe-tapper from the 77th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the USAF based in England:

Phantom flyers in the sky,
Persian-pukes prepare to die,
Rolling in with snake and nape,
Allah creates but we cremate.

North of Tehran, we did go,
When the FAC said from below,
"Hit my smoke and you will find,
The Arabs there are in a bind."

Not as stirring as "Hadji Girl," but the sentiment is in the right place. And where did I find these lyrics? From "For The Sake Of Argument" by a certain Mr. C. Hitchens. Back then, our stout warrior scribe was somewhat offended by the above, and worried about whether this would coarsen young military minds and further feed racist notions about Arabs and others targeted for elimination. Flipping through that section of the book, you'll see actual introspection and humanitarian concern, as well as anti-imperial analysis and cultural critiques that are more pertinent than ever. Of course, this was before Hitch saw the flesh-splattered light and found new meaning in mass murder and the exhilaration of calling for Death From Above. Perhaps as a follow-up to that massive pro-Danish rally he pulled together months ago, Hitch will organize a pro-war hootenanny in support of Cpl. Belile -- for if you can't sing about killing hadjis, then what is the purpose of our glorious crusade? And besides, I want to hear Hitch belt out "Hadji Girl" to a crowd of giggling Freepers as they toss American flag panties at his feet. A neocon Tom Jones rockin' the Casbah.