ex-idaho

According to everything I have seen on this in the last few days there never was a gunfight. The entire story was false. The only bits of truth coming from the Pentagon was the soldiers name and that she was in an Iraqi hospital. Everything else was a lie.

tribalbeeyatch

:banghead:Yes, the TV movie or the book written by Lynch is certain to give you an accurate picture of what actually happened. After all, "Only Jessica knows what really happened"...Errr...except that she claims not to remember. And who cares "if our military went in [firing blanks in an unguarded hospital]? Despite the utter lack of resistance or threat, "It was heroic!" :banghead:

Laci

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So most of you believe everything you're heard or read in the last few weeks. Alot of it coming from BBC and CBC. I don't particularly trust our own media because they have exaggerating things; why would I trust some other country's.
You choose to believe what you want to believe? Don't you.

Call me what you will. I'll wait til I read her book hopefully or see a tv movie. I don't know what's the truth---but we'll find out.
If our soldiers went in and did take her away from that hospital. My hats off to them. Whether there was gunfire or not.
Maybe it was the media who made a mountain out of a mold hill. Wouldn't be the first time. Anyone hear remember the Vietnam War?

ex-idaho

I ususally try not to insult posters on this board but you have really left yourself wide open.

The CBC, BBC and other foriegn news agencies should be more objective. Thats not always the case but if you actually spent a little time researching the world and the events that occour around it you would find that the US media is often times severely lacking.

It wasn't the media that was "making a mountain our of a mold hill" it was the Pentagon that planted this story in the media and the Pentagon that has refused to release the unedited footage of the "rescue". It was the Pentagon that announced that Lynch was suffering from amnesia even after her family said she wasn't. Just as in Vietnam it wasn't the media that was pushing VIetnam it was the Johnson and Nixon administrations and the Pentagon planting false info in the media in order to advance a agenda and in an attempt to sway public opinion.

This is one case where while the media is not innocent because they did not do their homework and check the facts the Bush admin is at fault for not being honest and attempting to force the American people to support a war that is looking more and more like an illegal action.

theyeti

Laci, why would you believe a made for TV movie over a newspaper article? You may be right in saying that one should be skeptical of newspaper reports -- be they from home or abroad (though a confluence of various sources usually indicates reliability) -- but that being the case, you should be a thousand times more skeptical of made for TV movies. Look at the kind of crap that usually gets made into a TV movie: Tonya Harding, Amy Fisher, the thing about the Kennedy cousin, the baby trapped in a well, etc. In other words, gossipy tripe that is of little or no importance. These things are known for their ratings-grabing sensationalism, not for accuracy. (I think all three networks made the Amy Fisher story; they all had conflicting accounts.) Made for TV movies are not intended to be a historical record.

As for her book, I have to agree with those who've pointed out that it's hard to write a book with amnesia. Is the whole thing gonig to be blank? There is an unfortunate tendancy for people who get lucrative book deals to "remember" a lot of things that didn't happen, especially gossipy details about former presidents and the like (not applicable here of course). I'm not sure I'd put a lot of stock in her book either. I would actually compare the book to the published newspaper reports to gauge the book's accuracy, since those reports involve extensive research and interviews with the people involved, which is more that Lynch could possibly have had access to. (Though you never know, maybe she'll do a ton of research and write the whole thing 3rd person.)

I don't think anyone's criticizing the soldiers -- even if the whole thing was a farce, they were just following orders. If the thing was staged, the question is who did it, and how high did it go. All the way to Rove? And if it wasn't staged (at this point I think it probably just overzealousness rather than fakery) then why was it blown way out of proportion? I certainly wouldn't blame the soliders. If anything, they were needlessly endangered for what amounted to an exercise in propaganda.

Well, I think that's kind of the point. But it's not just the media, it's the government's aiding and abetting the spread of a false story. At least during Vietnam, the media was critical of the government. Now they just bend over and spread 'em.

theyeti

Evangelion

How would you even know what I've heard or read in the last few weeks, let alone where it came from? You're in no position to make such a judgement.

Because it has been repeatedly demonstrated that many other countries have a good track record for getting it right, while the American media has an equally good track record for getting it wrong.

Sure, but only after I've examined the evidence for both sides. You've already said that you refuse to do this.

Why would that be more reliable than any alternative source? Don't you realise that under the present circumstances, this is more likely to be the least reliable source?

You can't possibly fail to know the truth. It's all over the place. It's well documented.

OK, I expect you to raise your hat the next time I visit one of my friends in hospital. (How heroic of me!)

Of course they did! And they did it because (a) the Bush Administration wanted them to, and (b) American nationalism has an alarming tendency to preclude rational thought. :banghead:

Yep.

You lost.

Artemus

I don't think the raid was either staged or overzealous. There was no telling what they might have encountered and it is only prudent to be prepared for the worst. People are trying to kill each other, afterall. The publicity given to it, on the other hand....

One other thing, saying the Jessica Lynch is just the victim of a car crash is not really fair. The CNN story (and several others I've seen) says that the Humvee she was in was hit by a rocket grenade, and that knocked it out of control. It also says that it was a 90 minute fire fight. Not the heroics that the intitial hype made it out to be, but I still hate to think what those poor people went through. Frankly, I don't see anything wrong at all for her to cash in on it if the American people are willing to pay.

Laci

I don't think it was staged. Why do you think that?
I believe they (our soldiers) got wind of her being in this hospital and in maybe in critical condition and they did what brave soldiers are taught to do. Period. The end. Why couldn't that have happened?

Maybe she was tortured. MAYBE. Or maybe she wasn't.

Of course, I'd prefer Jessica writing in her own words what happened. I'm not saying I'm totally right. But you shouldn't be thinking you're totally right. And it was all a staged event. In the middle of war - how ridiculous.

We were in the middle of war. Why the cameras were on when they took her away on a stretcher is a question I'm wondering. That's why I question the media. They're the ones who usually enjoy "reporting it first." They're well known for that.

Let's see & wait.

I know I'm in the minority here but who cares.

In the Vietnam war, we had sooo many in the media hanging around in Vietnam looking for a good story. Much more than ever needed. Reporting what they really knew so little about. I'll never believe the media again. And that's my perogative.

ex-idaho

Yea, they "got wind" from the Iraqis who told them where to look. The guy who told them has since been given citizenship for him and his family here in the US and will not speak to reporters about the incident.

Hace you considered that fact that as the only surviving member of her group she could easily lie in any book ar statement she makes! She is also a soldier and could be under orders not to disclose any info regarding her capture, treatment or rescue for fear of court martial.

There is only one answer to that question. The cameras were operated by soldiers not the media and the only reason for such a move would be as a source of propaganda. If that were not the case the Pentagon would have been willing to release the unedited footage shot by the soldiers involved. If you don't believe this could happen look up the Gulf of Tonkin, the USS Maine or the Mexican American War. All three were staged events 2 of which by our government (the USS Maine explosion was staged to start a war by a newspaper magnate).

Laci

That's right. That one doctor and his wife, a nurse, got word to us that she was there. Yes, and they're living in the USA. That's what they really wanted. As opposed to staying in Iraq.

It's very possible she's not allowed to discuss what really happened or was ordered to.

It's also possible when the camermen got wind of this heroic deed to be taking place, and that they did shoot it. I know you all think it was for propaganda. I don't. I'm sure it was too a an event to not shoot.

I only hope as a soldier she can be counted on to tell us the truth. OUR media made such a big thing about it with her coming home and going into hospital in Washington DC. IF she told anyone the whole story it would be the ranks above her in the military. And they should be the ony ones to know the whole story.

Let's not jump to conclusions that it was all staged yet. Let's read her book first.