a placeless world

Does the Corps send all of its Marines into battle this unprepared?

Capt. Amy Malugani had no weapons, no ammunition, no defense and no means of escape when she was sent out to do her duty tonight.

Lucky for Malugani she's a public affairs spokeswoman and not a infantry officer.

Lucky for us all, really. I'd hate to see what would happen were she to lead a company of young grunts into a fire fight with that utterly absent I-can't-believe-I-signed-up-for-this-shit stare on her face.

What the hell was she doing up there in front of those cameras? In front of the world?

It would be reasonable to expect that a room full of reporters might be interested in having a few questions answered when the Marine Corps finally broke it silence on the capture of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun. The event was, after all, billed as a "briefing" on Hassoun's status.

Instead, the assembled journalists — and the world of concerned citizens they represent — were treated to one repeated phrase: "Sir, you'll have to contact headquarters Marine Corps for that."

How sad for Cpl. Hassoun. How sad for us all.

A flak of several years tenure at Camp Pendleton — one of the Corps' largest and most reported-on bases — Malugani should have known what she was walking into tonight. As such she deserves part of the blame for making a mockery of Hassoun's plight and those concerned for it.

But the majority of the blame should fall squarely on whatever high-ranking Leatherneck decided to send a completely unprepared officer — just a few years out of ROTC — to be the Marine's voice on such an important and delicate matter.

Hassoun's captors have threatened to behead their prisoner if the U.S. does not meet their demands by tomorrow, and all the Marines have to say about the matter is: "Sir, you'll have to contact the Department of Defense for that."

Perhaps, as Hassoun's family prays, the grace of Allah will save the young Marine.

If this evening's debacle is any clue, the Corps isn't going to.