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David Simon’s new miniseries Generation Kill will premiere on July 13 and continue for six Sundays on HBO. It’s based on the book by Rolling Stone contributor Evan Wright.

“At the start of the second Gulf War, Evan Wright, a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine, was embedded with the Marines of the First Recon Battalion. While other units made a westerly swing along a major highway into Baghdad, the Devil Dogs of First Recon stormed through a narrow stretch of back roads, guns blazing. Along the way, they fought against the hardest resistance Saddam had to offer.”

Interestingly, the Devil Dogs were sent on missions to weed out the enemy and essentially be a human shield for the platoons coming in after them. But this was not to their knowledge. Sounds fascinating.

Also to be kept an eye on will be the reception of this series. Movies and television shows centered around the War in Iraq have had an icy reception in the past from both viewers and the media. David Simon, creator of The Wire, is a media darling and rightfully so. Will people be turned off or on by this new show?

I’m guessing the former since the media conveniently found their balls once President Bush became a lame duck (though they’re still giving John “I’m computer illiterate” McCain a relative free pass).