Freethought & Rationalism Archive

theyeti · 06-19-2003, 07:32 AM

Two days ago, the Washington Post printed a front-page story finally debunking their original reporting. (The Post is the one who broke the original hyped story.) Here are some good excerpts:

Quote:

As the world would remember, Lynch and her Army maintenance unit were ambushed in southern Iraq on the morning of March 23. Eleven of her fellow soldiers were killed; five others were taken captive and later freed. Blond and waiflike, Lynch was taken prisoner and held separately for nine days before a dramatic nighttime rescue from her hospital bed by a covert U.S. Special Operations unit, Task Force 20.

Initial news reports, including those in The Washington Post, which cited unnamed U.S. officials with access to intelligence reports, described Lynch emptying her M-16 into Iraqi soldiers. The intelligence reports from intercepts and Iraqi informants said that Lynch fought fiercely, was stabbed and shot multiple times, and that she killed several of her assailants.

"She was fighting to the death," one of the officials was quoted as saying. "She did not want to be taken alive."

It became the story of the war, boosting morale at home and among the troops. It was irresistible and cinematic, the maintenance clerk turned woman-warrior from the hollows of West Virginia who just wouldn't quit. Hollywood promised to make a movie and the media, too, were hungry for heroes.

Lynch's story is far more complex and different than those initial reports. Much of the story remains shrouded in mystery, in large part because of official Army secrecy, concerns for Lynch's privacy and her limited memory.

The Post's initial coverage attracted widespread criticism because many of the sources were unnamed and because the accounts were soon contradicted by other military officials. In an effort to document more fully what had actually happened to Lynch, The Post interviewed dozens of people, including associates of Lynch's family in West Virginia; Iraqi doctors, nurses and civilian witnesses in Nasiriyah; and U.S. intelligence and military officials in Washington, three of whom have knowledge of a weeks-long Army investigation into the matter.

The result is a second, more thorough but inconclusive cut at history. While much more is revealed about her ordeal, most U.S. officials still insisted that their names be withheld from this account.

Lynch tried to fire her weapon, but it jammed, according to military officials familiar with the Army investigation. She did not kill any Iraqis. She was neither shot nor stabbed, they said.

Lynch's unit, the 507th Maintenance Company, was ambushed outside Nasiriyah after taking several wrong turns. Army investigators believe this happened in part because superiors never passed on word that the long 3rd Infantry Division column that the convoy was following had been rerouted. At times, the 507th was 12 hours behind the main column and frequently out of radio contact.

Lynch was riding in a Humvee when it plowed into a jackknifed U.S. truck. She suffered major injuries, including multiple fractures and compression to her spine, that knocked her unconscious, military sources said. The collision killed or gravely injured the Humvee's four other passengers.

Two U.S. officials with knowledge of the Army investigation said Lynch was mistreated by her captors. They would not elaborate.

Tipped that Lynch was inside Saddam Hussein General Hospital in Nasiriyah, the CIA, fearing a trap, sent an agent into the facility with a hidden camera to confirm she was there, intelligence sources said.

The Special Operations unit's full-scale rescue of the private, while justified given the uncertainty confronting U.S. forces as they entered the compound, ultimately was proven unnecessary. Iraqi combatants had left the hospital almost a day earlier, leaving Lynch in the hands of doctors and nurses who said they were eager to turn her over to Americans.

Neither the Pentagon nor the White House publicly dispelled the more romanticized initial version of her capture, helping to foster the myth surrounding Lynch and fuel accusations that the Bush administration stage-managed parts of Lynch's story.

That should be the end of it. But it won't.

theyeti

paul30 · 06-19-2003, 08:37 AM

The deal, like the very convenient amnesia, is to shut her up.

You will know the lies, and the lies will make Bush free with your money.

DarkBronzePlant · 06-19-2003, 08:49 AM

It makes me wonder if some day, a few years from now, we'll read a tiny news story describing how Jessica Lynch could no londer deal with the guilt over the sudden attention she's received, and the branding of "hero" due to events that didn't actually happen, and did herself in. ..

06-19-2003, 08:57 AM

Yes, you're right. I'll believe what I want to believe.

However, why would a tv network put on a story about Jessica Lynch if it's a boring story of a car accident?

When I saw her laying in the stretcher, she could barely lift her head. I believe she had broken bones. Since this is THEIR favorite Iraqi torture. She may have been hung upside down. She may have been raped.

I'll never believe anything someone from the mideast tells us.
I'll wait and see what her movie is like.

[B]

Jimmy Higgins · 06-19-2003, 09:00 AM

As happy as I am that she is safe and alive, I've always wondered how POW's in war like the one in Iraq, can somehow be heros. Isn't the point of war not to be captured? And furthermore, it sounds like the conditions of her captivity were not even closely like those of Vietnam.

I mean, why weren't the American Soldiers who crashed in China early on in Bush's administration treated like Lynch? They were heralded, but not nearly as much and for as long.

slh · 06-19-2003, 09:15 AM

What the hell then? You mean the network is just gonna spoon feed the lie to us regardless of the truth?

A major newspaper corrects itself and reveals that the truth is not quite so gallant....but we dont care?

Why this? Why her? Why now? There are many recent wars where the accounts of individual combatants are or can be shrouded in mystery either via by being classified, or selective amnesia, or whatever. They could hype any of those stories up for primetime consumption.

If this is the stuff of ratings and big money for media outlets, why not take it to the hilt. Every network could fabricate their own heros for sweeps week and make billions. We'll watch it. I promise.

On a side note, I was watching the Daily Show, and while they did see fit to lampoon the business deal itself, strangely the truth of the 'hero' thing itself was left out of Stewarts commentary. Or maybe I missed that part.

MortalWombat · 06-19-2003, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Laci
I'll never believe anything someone from the mideast tells us.

You misspelled "White House."

06-19-2003, 11:27 AM

All I'm saying is I'll wait to see the tv movie before I believe the various stories that are going around. Actually I'd really rather read a book she'd write. The tv tends to dramatize everything.

Only Jessica knows what really happened. And so what if no one was watching her at the hospital. Maybe she was so in pain with broken bones & neck, that she couldn't get herself to even stand up and run away. And so what if our military went in and put her on a stretcher and it all looked heroic. It was heroic! There's alot of emotion that goes into that type situation.

But as far as what actually happened to her or what the Iraqi's did to her, I want to hear from her herself.
I'm actually hoping alot of what we heard is not truel

By the way, a person in an extremely stressful situation (overhwlmed) by an event, will forget the worse part of the episode. As any woman who went thru childhood sex abuse.
It's very common for them to "just not remember." That's why it takes months to maybe a year to get her to bring back those awful memories. I can attest to that, believe me.

Evangelion · 06-19-2003, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Yes, you're right. I'll believe what I want to believe.

However, why would a tv network put on a story about Jessica Lynch if it's a boring story of a car accident?

When I saw her laying in the stretcher, she could barely lift her head. I believe she had broken bones. Since this is THEIR favorite Iraqi torture. She may have been hung upside down. She may have been raped.

I'll never believe anything someone from the mideast tells us.
I'll wait and see what her movie is like.

You're my favourite kind of American, Laci; the type that justifies every single one of my prejudices. The perfect blend of rabid nationalism and wanton ignorance.

Absolutely glorious.

Jimmy Higgins · 06-19-2003, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Laci
By the way, a person in an extremely stressful situation (overhwlmed) by an event, will forget the worse part of the episode. As any woman who went thru childhood sex abuse.
It's very common for them to "just not remember." That's why it takes months to maybe a year to get her to bring back those awful memories. I can attest to that, believe me.

Problem is, the gunfight would have been what would have been blocked out. From the sounds of it, her hospital stay was anything but traumatic.

06-19-2003, 08:57 AM	#14
Laci Guest Posts: n/a	I don't believe it Yes, you're right. I'll believe what I want to believe. However, why would a tv network put on a story about Jessica Lynch if it's a boring story of a car accident? When I saw her laying in the stretcher, she could barely lift her head. I believe she had broken bones. Since this is THEIR favorite Iraqi torture. She may have been hung upside down. She may have been raped. I'll never believe anything someone from the mideast tells us. I'll wait and see what her movie is like. [B]

06-19-2003, 11:27 AM	#18
Laci Guest Posts: n/a	reply All I'm saying is I'll wait to see the tv movie before I believe the various stories that are going around. Actually I'd really rather read a book she'd write. The tv tends to dramatize everything. Only Jessica knows what really happened. And so what if no one was watching her at the hospital. Maybe she was so in pain with broken bones & neck, that she couldn't get herself to even stand up and run away. And so what if our military went in and put her on a stretcher and it all looked heroic. It was heroic! There's alot of emotion that goes into that type situation. But as far as what actually happened to her or what the Iraqi's did to her, I want to hear from her herself. I'm actually hoping alot of what we heard is not truel By the way, a person in an extremely stressful situation (overhwlmed) by an event, will forget the worse part of the episode. As any woman who went thru childhood sex abuse. It's very common for them to "just not remember." That's why it takes months to maybe a year to get her to bring back those awful memories. I can attest to that, believe me.

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06-19-2003, 08:37 AM	#12
paul30 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Atlanta, GA USA Posts: 870	The deal, like the very convenient amnesia, is to shut her up. You will know the lies, and the lies will make Bush free with your money.

06-19-2003, 08:49 AM	#13
DarkBronzePlant Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: San Francisco, CA USA Posts: 3,568	It makes me wonder if some day, a few years from now, we'll read a tiny news story describing how Jessica Lynch could no londer deal with the guilt over the sudden attention she's received, and the branding of "hero" due to events that didn't actually happen, and did herself in. ..

06-19-2003, 09:00 AM	#15
Jimmy Higgins Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Proud Citizen of Freedonia Posts: 42,473	As happy as I am that she is safe and alive, I've always wondered how POW's in war like the one in Iraq, can somehow be heros. Isn't the point of war not to be captured? And furthermore, it sounds like the conditions of her captivity were not even closely like those of Vietnam. I mean, why weren't the American Soldiers who crashed in China early on in Bush's administration treated like Lynch? They were heralded, but not nearly as much and for as long.

06-19-2003, 09:15 AM	#16
slh Regular Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: St. Louis, MO USA Posts: 481	What the hell then? You mean the network is just gonna spoon feed the lie to us regardless of the truth? A major newspaper corrects itself and reveals that the truth is not quite so gallant....but we dont care? Why this? Why her? Why now? There are many recent wars where the accounts of individual combatants are or can be shrouded in mystery either via by being classified, or selective amnesia, or whatever. They could hype any of those stories up for primetime consumption. If this is the stuff of ratings and big money for media outlets, why not take it to the hilt. Every network could fabricate their own heros for sweeps week and make billions. We'll watch it. I promise. On a side note, I was watching the Daily Show, and while they did see fit to lampoon the business deal itself, strangely the truth of the 'hero' thing itself was left out of Stewarts commentary. Or maybe I missed that part.

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