"Some of the anecdotes in the soldier’s July 13 “Baghdad Diarist” column
read like perfect little melodramas, although other members of his unit have
told New Republic editors that they either witnessed or were told about the
episodes. The magazine’s editors recognize that his friends might be covering
for him, according to someone with knowledge of the inquiry. Before publication,
this person said, editors contacted people who have served in Iraq to ask
whether the incidents sounded plausible.
The diarist described how soldiers in a mess hall had openly mocked a woman — he wasn’t sure whether she was a soldier or contractor — whose face was severely scarred from an injury presumably suffered in Iraq: “The disfigured woman slammed her cup down and ran
out of the chow hall, her half-finished tray of food nearly falling to the
ground.”
Scott Johnson, a lawyer who blogs at Power Line, wrote that such
anecdotes sounded “highly improbable,” saying: “How likely is it, for example,
that American soldiers would stand for the mockery of a woman disfigured by an
IED? Not bloody likely.”"
I haven't paid much attention to this story because so much of it sounded doubtful at best. They have been getting members of the right stirred up, as they don't believe that this sort of thing could happen. I would suggest that many of them might not have thought that Abu Grab would have happened, but it did and we have pictures.
Again, I haven't given them attention because I don't believe they have a solid foundation. Even if is true it doesn't say anything more than a couple troops in Iraq may have responded to situations in a manor that was unprofessional. Does that mean that American troops are bad people? no. Does that mean the war in Iraq is bad? no. Does that mean President Bush is a bad President? no.
If these stories are lies, it could be the end of the New Republic. It is still trying to recover from the Glass affair.
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