Colbert Shaves Head For Troops In Iraq

Comedian Brings Show To Camp Victory In Baghdad, Leaves Behind Hair

(AP)  It's official. Stephen Colbert has declared victory in the war in Iraq. But the top U.S. commander in the country says not so fast.

Colbert, wearing a camouflage suit and tie, brought "The Colbert Report" - Comedy Central's political satire in which he plays a conservative TV pundit - to hundreds of U.S. troops at Camp Victory, the U.S. military headquarters on the western edge of Baghdad.

He drew rousing applause from the uniformed audience when he poked fun at the fact that many of them have been deployed to Iraq multiple times and could end up in Afghanistan as soon as the U.S. effort there accelerates.

"It must be nice here in Iraq because I understand some of you keep coming back again and again," he said during the taping of the first show on Sunday. "You've earned so many frequent flyer miles, you've earned a free ticket to Afghanistan."

But the loudest roars came when his first guest, Gen. Ray Odierno, accepted a videotaped order from President Barack Obama to shave Colbert's head.

The towering, bald general started the job with an electric razor, although a stylist finished it off.

The back-and-forth was humorous, but it took on serious undertones as Colbert sought to cast a spotlight on the declining attention paid to the 6-year-old war in Iraq.

Colbert, who traveled to Iraq from Kuwait on Friday on board a military transport plane, has said he was spurred to make the trip when he noticed economic news coverage eclipsing reports from Baghdad.

The four shows, which were being taped in the domed marble hall at Saddam Hussein's former Al Faw Palace, will air Monday through Thursday next week at 11:30 p.m. EDT.

Claiming the war must be over because nobody's talking about it any more, Colbert invoked the power of cable television to "officially declare we won the Iraq war."

He offered a list of successes and commentary to bolster his point.

They included finding weapons of mass destruction, which was deemed "easier than we thought," and telling the troops that President Barack Obama should deploy them to the struggling General Motors.

However, his first guest, Odierno, disagreed the war has ended.

"We're not quite ready to declare victory," he said. "Things are moving forward but again, it's about bringing long-term stability."

Colbert, who sat at a desk propped up by sandbags painted to simulate an American flag, responded by asking Odierno if he can bring long-term stability to the United States when he's done in Iraq.

He also joked about the economic crisis, congratulating a soldier in the audience who recently got his college degree while serving in Iraq for being the lone 2009 graduate with a job.

Colbert has promoted the trip for weeks but because the military urged caution, he only trumpeted a vague trip to "the Persian Gulf."

He showed a clip claiming he himself didn't know his destination until he got off the plane and somebody threw a shoe at him. That was a reference to a December news conference at which an Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at then-President George W. Bush.

He also made fun of himself with a previously taped skit that showed him arriving at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in a stretch limousine for a "the full 10 hours" of basic training, which included him struggling to do push-ups and sit-ups.

Odierno later told him he had too much hair to be a soldier, prompting the crewcut.

"Definitely the highlight was seeing him sacrifice his hair," said Spc. Ryan MacLeod, 35, of Greenville, South Carolina.

Former Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain also made a surprise appearance in a videoclip in which he thanked the troops for their service and reminded them to clean their muskets.

Celebrities have frequently traveled to Iraq to entertain the troops. But the series of half-hour shows - dubbed "Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando" - mark the first time anyone has broadcast a taped show from Iraq from a tour intended to entertain U.S. troops.

USO senior official John Hanson said the production faced a major setback when a sandstorm grounded the crew on Saturday, forcing it to cancel plans for an outing.

Both the character Colbert (silent "t") and the real Colbert (pronounced "t"), a Catholic family man, are ardent supporters of the troops. He has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Yellow Ribbon Fund (a charity that assists injured service members and their families), and he's a board member of DonorsChoose.org, which is raising money for the education of children of parents in the military.

The trip came about when former Assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West suggested it after an interview last July on "The Colbert Report." The show sent about 30 production workers, about a third of the show's regular staff, to Iraq.

Troops in the audience said they enjoyed Colbert's equal opportunity humor.

"I especially appreciate the fact that he could make fun of both sides and you'd learn something and you'd laugh," said Chaplain Lt. Col. Barbara Sherer, 52, from Springfield, Missouri.

Comedy Central is owned by Viacom Inc.

[ToolMangler1]

It may be entertaining and funny, but the citizens elected a Commander in Chief, not a Clown in Chief. He should stop the shtick. He's not campaigning any more. He's wasting taxpayer money every time he does something like this. He's also diminishing the office. He can return to being a side show when he's not re-elected in 2012 and out of office. Remember the down to earth guy Bush was originally that was plain-spoken and friendly and the type of guy people wanted to drink a beer with? Are any of you old enough to remember this? Look how that one turned out. Same situation, just a different political party and of course, a media that desperately wants to be Obama's pal.
Posted by credibility2 at 1:05 PM : Jun 8, 2009




Yeah!!!!! I'm old enough. I have watched every President from F.D.R. til now. I have watched each one do his best to connect with the people any way they could. F.D.R. and Kennedy were great at it so was Reagan. But let a Black man try to be a regular guy and the fault-finders jump at every hint of something they might use for leverage against him.

[HolyVoice]

Remember the down to earth guy Bush was originally that was plain-spoken and friendly and the type of guy people wanted to drink a beer with?
Posted by credibility2 at 1:05 PM : Jun 8, 2009

Yeah, I miss him. He's a great guy, and if he didn't get weighed down with that Nixonian fixation on pre-emptive decision making he'd still be a hoot while having a beer. Something went wrong with his hearing, and for a while I couldn't get through to him. He didn't stop listening though, and I bless him.

Now he may have to have a cup of tea instead of a beer, but he's going to be alright--make no mistake about it.

[bpai99]

I trust Stephen Colbert more than any of the so-called "news anchors."

[jamesguy]

I completely disagree with Dennis Miller's take on the war, but I still think he's hilarious.

Colbert has protested the war through sarcasm since it started, and he's also done more than the vast majority of Americans to support the troops.

Stephen's shaved head will serve as a reminder that there are tens of thousands of men and women suffering in the summer heat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Count me in the number of the million plus people who watch Colbert 4 nights a week for thoughtful insight into what is going on in Iraq.

[stn_sage]

Only under an administration headed by a Democrat, would Stephen Colbert had been allowed to go to Iraq to entertain the troops! Obviously, Bush never allowed him to go!

While I personally do not enjoy much of Mr. Colbert's sense of humor, if it made the troops happy and provided them with some needed moments of diversion, then I think it's a good thing!

And hopefully, it did something for Mr. Colbert as well! That it will 'straighten him up' in certain ways---causing him not to make some stupid, off-handed comment about the war or veterans!

[gravyboat3000]

It may be entertaining and funny, but the citizens elected a Commander in Chief, not a Clown in Chief. He should stop the shtick. He's not campaigning any more. He's wasting taxpayer money every time he does something like this. He's also diminishing the office. He can return to being a side show when he's not re-elected in 2012 and out of office. Remember the down to earth guy Bush was originally that was plain-spoken and friendly and the type of guy people wanted to drink a beer with? Are any of you old enough to remember this? Look how that one turned out. Same situation, just a different political party and of course, a media that desperately wants to be Obama's pal.
Posted by credibility2

It's for the troops. And Colbert's donating money to charities that support the troops. You just hate that this President is showing he cares about the troops.

You like to think you own that distincition, but you don't.

hehehe

[gravyboat3000]

Actually they should have used a straight razor -- where his neck is...
Posted by warpmail

Said the American Taliban...

[PVperson2]

Hey credibility2, Ole John McCain buddied up too, or did that fact escape you also?

[dakotaclark]

Hmmm...

Why bother to write about this without showing the results of the haircut? !!
Now, THAT would be humor in uniform...EH?

[credibility2]

It may be entertaining and funny, but the citizens elected a Commander in Chief, not a Clown in Chief. He should stop the shtick. He's not campaigning any more. He's wasting taxpayer money every time he does something like this. He's also diminishing the office. He can return to being a side show when he's not re-elected in 2012 and out of office. Remember the down to earth guy Bush was originally that was plain-spoken and friendly and the type of guy people wanted to drink a beer with? Are any of you old enough to remember this? Look how that one turned out. Same situation, just a different political party and of course, a media that desperately wants to be Obama's pal.

[mollybee5]

It's called entertainment and it's funny

[ubrew12]

'[Colbert] didn't know his destination until he got off the plane and somebody threw a shoe at him."

Classic!!

[credibility2]

How cute! Our president taking a precious timeout to buddy-up to one of his panderers, Colbert. Let's see now, in recent weeks he's done videotapes involving Conin and now Colbert. And to think folks thought that Bush diminished the presidency.

[aChangeOfIdeas]

Apparently some people have nothing better to do than *hate*.

I don't care if you're left, right, or middle, Stephen Colbert is hilarious. If you don't think so, then you don't have to watch him.

I love this suit...and I'm glad he supports our troops!

[warpmail]

Actually they should have used a straight razor -- where his neck is...

[actornaught]

Posted by ralpherus at 10:53 AM : Jun 8, 2009

"I especially appreciate the fact that he could make fun of both sides..." said Chaplain Lt. Col. Barbara Sherer

So ralphie, how long have you hated our troops for appreciating entertainment?

I like the part where Kellie Pickler went to Iraq, doing a solo USO show tour. She has more guts than any 6 of us lame comment-posters....

[ralpherus]

so where is the picture of the tiny cranium shaved in full? Censored out of the story about him shaving his hair? What a load of crap the twerplet traitor jerk is scared of showing how tiny his skull is, because, inside a tiny skull is a tiny liberal brain- IF that.

[TyroneHoglegg]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/01/stephen-colbert-thrilled-_n_209713.html

Poll

[TyroneHoglegg]

Uh, actually this is funny because someone told me the other day, that in a survey of "conservatives, many (forgot the actual percentage) thought SC was actually a real conservative talk show host...I believe that says it all.....LOL...I'll see if I can show the poll is real....


Posted by mrs_trepidatious at 9:27 AM : Jun 8, 2009

You do realize that his ultra conservative stand on the issues is just a character created by Stephen right? It's hilarious... but not real.

[actornaught]

Cool suit, but is there a paisley version?
Posted by actornaught

Yes.
Posted by gravyboat3000 at 10:14 AM : Jun 8, 2009

Source?