More on the made-up atrocities
One word, three syllables: Pa-The-Tic.
By Jeff Emanuel Posted in War — Comments (15) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Update: Attention TNR - see the bottom of this post for an offer you can't refuse!
Courtesy of Michael Goldfarb at the Worldwide Standard, we have another statement from MAJ Kirk Luedeke, the Public Affairs Officer for the 4th IBCT at FOB Falcon near Baghdad (a location where I was on my last embed, and where I will be again on this embed). The text of his email is below the fold; as always, he is direct, to the point, and very, very believable.
As I said when addressing this yesterday, American soldiers are human. They make mistakes, they do things wrong, and, as is true with the rest of the population, there will always be some very bad apples within the group. However, if there's a population who more deserves (a) the benefit of the doubt, and (b) freedom from allegation and made-up atrocities in the absence of absolute proof and necessity, then I can't think of it.
Further, FOB Falcon, where this is alleged to have taken place, is constantly populated with journalists; the 4th IBCT is as great a destination for reporters as MNF-I offers. Embeds like myself and my good friends Michael Yon, JD Johannes, and David Beriain, among many, many others, have passed through there, and none of us have ever seen the soldiers there act even remotely in such a way - and you can rest assured that we would be the first to report it if we did.
Read on . . .
MAJ Luedeke's email is as follows:
I've been watching the events on the New Republic's "Scott Thomas" piece with interest.
As the 4th IBCT Public Affairs Officer- I can tell you unequivocally: there was NO mass grave discovered in this area of operations in conjunction with the building of a coalition outpost anytime in the past 12 months. None. Zero. Zip. And Frank Foer's assertions to the contrary, there is no way that his mystery soldier "Scott Thomas" can prove it. Foer can produce all of the alleged "eyewitnesses" he wants- unless these individuals are willing to back up their claims with real evidence, it's just so much garbage on a computer screen. Some people seem to forget that the burden of proof should be on the New Republic to back up his unsubstantiated claims and not the other way around.
If the story *is* true, then "Scott" and whomever else is purporting to back up his assertions should come forward, identify themselves and submit their report through official channels. We are not in the business of suppressing his right to free speech...on the contrary- he's free to submit whatever he wants, so long as it doesn't put others at risk for operational security (OPSEC). Of course- by putting his name on such outlandish claims, he then has to account for what is clearly a series of false statements. So- obviously- it is left to reasonable people to decide who is telling the truth here.
I invite Mr. Foer and the New Republic to actually give us something to go on. Proof. Any kind will do- and something more than one anonymous soldier's claims and a nebulous "we've heard from others who can corroborate it," kinds of responses he provided Howard Kurtz. It's kind of hard to take these allegations seriously, when you're hiding behind the cloak of anonymity. Just about every Soldier these days has his or her own digital camera or video camera. Talk to anyone here- every unit down to squad level in our brigade is *required* to have a camera on every mission. It's all part of being prepared for such a discovery. Surely- there would be photos of the skulls and mass grave if it truly existed, would there not? The reason there isn't any photos, is because simply- the story isn't true.
There may be small grains of truth to what Scott Thomas has written. But, I can tell you that at least one event he's described as "fact" could not have occurred. To claim that an entire chain of command was complicit in keeping quiet such a grisly and important discovery of such magnitude stretches the realm of believability and is a grave insult to the professionalism and dedication of so many fine Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines serving here.
I know that if my organization claimed to have unearthed a sizeable cache of hundreds of explosives, rockets, nitric acid and other key components to make roadside bombs, otherwise known here in these parts as a "good news story," media outlets would rightfully demand some kind of proof to subtantiate our claims. That's why we take pictures of such things and provide them along with our press releases. The inability of the New Republic and Scott Thomas to provide any kind of photographic evidence whatsoever, and the fact that "Scott" isn't willing to come forward and identify himself, pretty much says it all, doesn't it?
If he is in fact speaking the truth- he should have no problem putting his real name next to it. It's called integrity, and it's one of the seven Army Values. That neither he nor the New Republic want to do that, and then hide behind the need to protect him from "retribution" (when I would add that he *is* in fact breaking a DoD directive with his actions) merely underscores the dubious nature of this whole story.
I invite Scott Thomas to come by the Dragon PAO shop at FOB Falcon- Bldg 301, Rm 119, and I'd be happy to share the DoD media policy with him. While he's here, I'd love to discuss with him the mass graves, Bradley IFV dog hunting and IED burn victim he's so intent on stating is fact. If he can provide the evidence, I will gladly retract every word I've posted on the subject. If he's not willing to do that, then it kind of makes you wonder about his credibility, and that of the New Republic's doesn't it?
Best regards,
Major Kirk Luedeke
Public Affairs Officer
4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division DRAGONS FOB Falcon
(Emphasis added) Like I said, the soldiers are human. They will make mistakes, and those mistakes - especially when malicious - are fair game for journalists to, for lack of a better word, exploit. So why the rush to hang them with suspect info from a pseudonymous, uncorroborated source? It just smacks - very loudly - of a very, very strong desire to portray them as being horrible, horrible people, regardless of the facts (not to mention a desperate lack of patience; could somebody be worried that (a) they won't get the scoop if they take time to verify, or (b) a real atrocity just might not come along if the effort is made to check the facts on every report?)
Either way, that is, in a word, Pathetic.
Look, here's an offer for The New Republic: I'll be back at FOB Falcon in about six weeks. I'd be more than happy to do whatever investigative work is necessary to either corroborate or debunk the story (or stories) provided to you by "Scott Thomas." Just let me know via the contact tool on this site.
Deal?
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provide dates for the incidents. They wouldn't even have to give up "Thomas" real name, just provide the dates.
This stinks to high heaven. I really with the Army could sue TNR for libel or slander or breathing.
____
CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
...CBS's "fake, but accurate," we have TNR's "mythical, but accurate." Actually, TNR's story borders on (if not crosses over to) "impossible, but accurate."
Join the Win the War campaign, joshlevy@yahoo.com, www.win-the-war.com.
Our leaders waver, but we can give them the courage they need.
With support like this who needs opposition. The Major's point about different standards of proof, or the absence thereof, is potent. An achievement has to be backed up comprehensively, a slander against our troops need only be asserted. Maybe this is what is meant by media objectivity.
The eager willingness to destroy and degrade American soldiers, the attitude of guilty until proven innocent, and maybe still guilty anyway, is unknown in American history. But then the contemptible species of current American leftist is also unknown or less virulent in that history.
Eloquence fails, the word scum is all that comes to mind.
Support the troops, sure !
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville
I agree with johnt's opinion that standards of proof are very different for claims of achievement and rumors of horrific behavior.
This is not, unhappily, unknown in American history. I remember the hatred that many people felt for American soldiers who served in Vietnam. "Baby-killer" was one of the milder epithets employed.
What surprises me, in fact, is how relatively little has been done to demonize American soldiers in this conflict.
The policy now seems to be to portray them as simple-minded dupes, forced into a military career by an economy which allows them no other choice.
No, I don't believe that: I'm just repeating what I hear.
However, and you knew I was too much a snark-a-holic not to throw in a however, I'm thinking Franklin Foer will respectfully, or not so respectfully, decline your genuine and decent offer of assistance. Then again, maybe I'm just cynical.
"Scott Thomas" - The New Republic's Winter Soldier
It's gotta be torture for TNR! Wait-torture! Where's Andrew Sullivan?
...Stephen Glass had enlisted and was serving in Iraq?
--furious
"I find your lack of faith disturbing." -- Darth Vader
So, I don't know anyone that served or exists at FOB Falcon. That unfortunately appears to put me in the company of this stories originators (or is it tale-tellers-oh heck, darn semantics).
But I do have a friend that served in Iraq with the 82nd who has a friend in SOPS that passed through Falcon several times. Now he advised the guys at Falcon drink beer by pouring it in their eyeballs and can urinate into a Coke bottle from 25 feet away. Jeff will back him up on this... No, really!
By the way, I contacted a family member that actually drove M2A3's for years. Now besides sideswiping the S4's brand new M998 the man has a pretty spotless record. He wants to meet the guy who can play "pin the tail on the doggie" with a 32 ton vehicle. Besides being curious how he avoided disciplinary action, he wants to sponsor him for the Dakar Rally race.
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"
Contributor to The Minority Report
That apparently everything they know about the military came from watching Full Metal Jacket.
If they see your post they will probably start writing articles about drinking games in Iraq and soldiers racing government vehicles.
______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
there is nothing they need learn. Rather they seek to lift the veil of ignorance from our blind eyes and whisper the wisdom of liberal truth in our deaf and waxy ears.
I remember a seriously overweight female, [ how cruel of me ], on CNN, their military correspondent no less and perched on the mantle of designated expertise, excitedly reporting a US aircraft carrier heading for a trouble spot.
In a display of knowledge appreciated by all of us living in darkness she informed us that the carrier was staffed with a crew of 5,000 soldiers,again, soldiers.
What the hell, they all look the same and are probably equally bloodthirsty.
Their grasp of political theory, economics, history, law, and morals, I can say with confidence, equal their knowledge of things military, and are held in the same disdain.
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville
and using this comment by MT as their "near-certain" confirmation, a "knowledgeable source with experience in-theater who must remain anonymous for fear of retribution".
It's war -- so when can we start shooting back at the enemy Democrats?
Sorry: I gotta say this.
Back in the Old Days, a cover of Mad Magazine featured Alfred E. Newman saying "What, Mei Lai?"
Several decades later, It looks like the majority party are still in Vietnam.
Unhappily, "quagmire" seems to have dropped out of favor. I'd been hoping that some great thinker would warn us about the horrors of American soldiers dying in the rice paddies of Iraq.
them being unclean and all that.
"Who will stand/On either hand/And guard this bridge with me?" (Macaulay)