Jessica Lynch story flawed?
- Thread starter TubStain
- Start date
Just as it's dangerous to take everything the U.S. government (and press) says at face value, it's dangerous to take everything the BBC says at face value. The truth is probably somewhere in-between.
The most recent reports I've seen in the U.S. press say that Lynch sustained broken bones and contusions, but don't mention gunshot or knife wounds, so even though that was the initial story, there doesn't appear to be any effort to pretend that it's true. It seems unlikely that U.S. officials would knowingly misreport gunshot/stab wounds, simply because these things are, as we already know, subject to verification in the U.S. It seems more likely that in all of the excitement, someone guessed wrong and the rumor turned into a story. In light of the fact that 9 of her fellow soldiers were killed, probably by gunshots, and in light of the fact that Lynch was unconscious, it's not hard to see that happening. It's possible that someone deliberately fabricated the gunshot story, it just seems unlikely.
As for the nature of the rescue, we're told that an Iraqi lawyer took great risks in order to inform U.S. troops of Lynch's whereabouts, and no one has cast any doubt on that story. Also, even the BBC reports that the hospital was "swarming" with Fedayeen before the rescue. Therefore, it's not surprising that the U.S. would take every precaution and conduct a nightime raid. The BBC reports that the U.S. "knew" that the hospital wasn't being defended at the time of the raid, but doesn't provide any supporting evidence - how and when did they "know" this, and does it necessarily mean that they shouldn't have conducted a nightime raid? If I were a commander in the midst of a war, would I tell the hospital in advance that I was coming to get Lynch, thereby risking the lives of all concerned? Would I take someone's word for it that I could just walk in and sign Lynch out? Perhaps stop in the gift shop for a card and some flowers? I don't think so.
I don't doubt the doctors' and nurse's stories that they took care of Lynch as well as they could. It's also plausible that they made an effort to deliver her via ambulance. But neither is it surprising that this didn't work out, since they don't appear to have informed anyone from the U.S. that they were trying to deliver her. I'm not faulting them, just saying that I'm not surprised it didn't work out. We all know by now that the highway checkpoints were extremely tense.
As for whether the video was edited and overhyped, that doesn't surprise me. I don't necessarily like it, but as you say, propaganda seems to be a fact of life. I don't know if this case rises to the level of faking baby-killings, but I'm not surprised that U.S. officials would put a favorable spin on it.
Anyway, the true facts will probably emerge eventually - I'm just trying to demonstrate that the BBC isn't necessarily telling the whole story either.
From a thread on this at another forum
(not my post, but I agree with it)
The most recent reports I've seen in the U.S. press say that Lynch sustained broken bones and contusions, but don't mention gunshot or knife wounds, so even though that was the initial story, there doesn't appear to be any effort to pretend that it's true. It seems unlikely that U.S. officials would knowingly misreport gunshot/stab wounds, simply because these things are, as we already know, subject to verification in the U.S. It seems more likely that in all of the excitement, someone guessed wrong and the rumor turned into a story. In light of the fact that 9 of her fellow soldiers were killed, probably by gunshots, and in light of the fact that Lynch was unconscious, it's not hard to see that happening. It's possible that someone deliberately fabricated the gunshot story, it just seems unlikely.
As for the nature of the rescue, we're told that an Iraqi lawyer took great risks in order to inform U.S. troops of Lynch's whereabouts, and no one has cast any doubt on that story. Also, even the BBC reports that the hospital was "swarming" with Fedayeen before the rescue. Therefore, it's not surprising that the U.S. would take every precaution and conduct a nightime raid. The BBC reports that the U.S. "knew" that the hospital wasn't being defended at the time of the raid, but doesn't provide any supporting evidence - how and when did they "know" this, and does it necessarily mean that they shouldn't have conducted a nightime raid? If I were a commander in the midst of a war, would I tell the hospital in advance that I was coming to get Lynch, thereby risking the lives of all concerned? Would I take someone's word for it that I could just walk in and sign Lynch out? Perhaps stop in the gift shop for a card and some flowers? I don't think so.
I don't doubt the doctors' and nurse's stories that they took care of Lynch as well as they could. It's also plausible that they made an effort to deliver her via ambulance. But neither is it surprising that this didn't work out, since they don't appear to have informed anyone from the U.S. that they were trying to deliver her. I'm not faulting them, just saying that I'm not surprised it didn't work out. We all know by now that the highway checkpoints were extremely tense.
As for whether the video was edited and overhyped, that doesn't surprise me. I don't necessarily like it, but as you say, propaganda seems to be a fact of life. I don't know if this case rises to the level of faking baby-killings, but I'm not surprised that U.S. officials would put a favorable spin on it.
Anyway, the true facts will probably emerge eventually - I'm just trying to demonstrate that the BBC isn't necessarily telling the whole story either.
From a thread on this at another forum
(not my post, but I agree with it)
Doesn't supprize me in the least.
The Gov. learned MUCH from Nam. war coverage will never be the same.
The Gov. learned MUCH from Nam. war coverage will never be the same.
I agree with Lucky 100%. The BBC seems to deride the US people for taking everything the US government and media says without any qualms, but they expect us to believe whatever they say, despite the fact that they only have one side of the story (the Iraqi's). The BBC is no better than CNN, simply a different perspective.
At one point Lynch's father said there were no gunshot/stab wounds either, but apparently his story didn't corroborate with the one they wanted
Wrong. The BBC is FAR more involved, thorough and objective than CNN. Journalistic integrity in England is much higher than over here.
The people who watch Fox News will refuse to believe this story, not matter who tells it. If Moses came down from the mountain with this story on tablets, they would accuse him of being unpatriotic.
I've been in a ranger battalion and i know for a fact that no ranger or a navy seal would go into a mission in a hostile country firing "blanks"...WHAT A BUNCH OF CROCK... I mean would you agree to go into a place where you have a chance of getting shot at, armed with blanks in order to make a hollywood worthy action footage? At least come up with some believeable lies...Jesus
Oh yeah, and the footage i saw, and everyone else saw, just showed rangers carrying the Pfc into the chopper in a fast, controlled manner. I didn't see anything getting blown up nor did i hear any shooting. The overall image i got from the footage was that it was carried out the way a military rescue mission should be carried out...with minimal shooting and carnage.
And yes, they initially had BS reports about her having gunshot wounds and stuff but that was cleared up real soon after she was rescued.
JUST DON"T FEED ME CRAP ABOUT US SOCOM UNITS GOING INTO COMBAT WITH BLANKS WTF!!!
Oh yeah, and the footage i saw, and everyone else saw, just showed rangers carrying the Pfc into the chopper in a fast, controlled manner. I didn't see anything getting blown up nor did i hear any shooting. The overall image i got from the footage was that it was carried out the way a military rescue mission should be carried out...with minimal shooting and carnage.
And yes, they initially had BS reports about her having gunshot wounds and stuff but that was cleared up real soon after she was rescued.
JUST DON"T FEED ME CRAP ABOUT US SOCOM UNITS GOING INTO COMBAT WITH BLANKS WTF!!!
LOL!
Oh man, you have much to learn. On The BBC, you merely hear the British spin instead of the American spin.
Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
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The initial story did seem weird. Broken bones, knife wounds, gunshot wounds - these don't usually go together. It just made me wonder, and a lot, what possibly could have happened to her. The answer was not forthcoming. To hear later that the gunshot and knife wounds didn't exist isn't a surprise, but it makes me think there was a very unhealthy atmosphere of hyped publicity sourounding the rescue of Lynch, which we all knew anyway. That one story got many more times the publicity of so many other war related events at the time. It just saturated the news for days - not healthy. What's the deal in these forums with the forbidden ST_B word?
Yeah, the most recent news was that she had amnesia. Hello? I love when people make up stories and then get embarrassed and declare that the subject isn't capable of remembering it. Amnesia. . . . Interesting.
I'll always trust the BBC before I trust the USA media. Don't get me wrong: The BBC can be and is biased too. However, they come closest to the truth. I get my report from different outlets, but BBC is one of them. I used to listen to FOX when Clinton was president, but not anymore. If the next president is a democrat, then I'll switch back to FOX. It's just a form of balancing the biases.
I'll always trust the BBC before I trust the USA media. Don't get me wrong: The BBC can be and is biased too. However, they come closest to the truth. I get my report from different outlets, but BBC is one of them. I used to listen to FOX when Clinton was president, but not anymore. If the next president is a democrat, then I'll switch back to FOX. It's just a form of balancing the biases.
come on, does anyone not think that this story is any different than all the other propeganda crap?
I just think it is funny that if it's US troops envolved, then they were "ambushed"; had the sides been flipped, the iraqi troops would have been "neutralized"...
I just think it is funny that if it's US troops envolved, then they were "ambushed"; had the sides been flipped, the iraqi troops would have been "neutralized"...
I think that's disrespectul to her to declare her a pawn, that she would knowingly lie that she had amnesia. From the getgo this woman has been very low key about the whole thing.
No. i know the whole point is about media distortion and gov propaganda. I just found it absolutely amazing that they would come up with something TOTALLY unbelievable as troops carrying out real world missions with blanks. If you don't find that outrageous, something's wrong with you or you've been watching too many movies.
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