Let Beauchamp Get Back To The War

Posted By Blackfive

This whole Beauchamp thing should be over soon.  When the time comes, I say let the Private get back to winning the war.  I've known a few sh!tbirds in my day that became decent NCOs.  Not holding my breath on that, but stranger things have happened.

When we learned of the official investigation, Grim advised that we go silent in order to be fair to Beauchamp and the Army.  With regards to our sources and information that we had, we did go silent specifically on the facts of the case. 

Now, it appears that Beauchamp signed a statement that he was lying and exagerating (more than a week ago) when he wrote those posts for the New Republic.  The New Republic was defending his stories even as he signed his statement.  Will this be the final nail in the coffin of a major journal for the Left?  Maybe.

In the end, I prefer Reverend McNellis's view that I linked to yesterday.  Let Beauchamp take his punishment (if any), be a Soldier, and get on with his commitment to the Army.  Either he'll turn himself around during this moment of truth or he'll still be an @$$hole...and he can't get much worse, can he?

So where are we?  Since there is not enough time, I will sum up the left's reaction:

At first when the story broke, Sadly No! specifically linked to Blackfive as a digital lynch mob.  Then, DDay at Daily Kos says that, because raping and pillaging happens in war, that Beauchamp must be telling the truth.  Matthew Yglesias wanted us to apologize. And, because I can't say anything nicer on this PG13 blog, Jon Swift is no daisy at all.

A few have responded and, at this time, Sadly No! portrays Michelle Malkin lovingly as Mao and John Cole was right because he says so (and we're still chickenhawks).

Finally, emails, Comments and blog posts abounded questioning our support of the troops by going after Beauchamp.  Personally, if any blogger wants to take up a challenge on who supports the troops more (military bloggers versus any other blogger or group of bloggers) - financially, with equipment, sending letters and packages and armor, about health issues, PTSD, TBI, you name your battlefield - I'd like to take that bet.  In fact, I'd like to lose that bet because that would mean that you are spending an awful lot of resources supporting the troops.  Donate to Soldiers Angels and prove me wrong.

But I won't hold my breath on that.  At least you all are beginning to be honest about your views.

You other left-wing lot, hating us, ridiculing us, whatever - go ahead, I don't want your respect.  Give it to John Kerry and Jane Fonda.  They deserve it.

And that's as nice as I can be on a PG13 blog.

Now, let Private (E-1 now?) Scott Thomas Beauchamp get back to the war.

---

Blackfive links about Private Scott T. Beauchamp and the New Republic:
RE:  The New Republic's Correspondent a Fake? (Blackfive, July 18)
RE:  The Unavoidable BS at The New Republic  (Uncle Jimbo, July 18)
RE:  I'm Sending CPT Wedley to Speak With Scott Thomas (Blackfive, July 19)
RE:  Scott Thomas Bull (Laughing Wolf, July 21)
RE:  Scott Thomas, Franklin Foer and TNR - Beatdowns for All (Uncle Jimbo, July 22)
RE:  Scott Thomas, MFA? (Laughing Wolf, July 25)
RE:  Scott Thomas Beauchamp, Still Wondering about the MFA (Laughing Wolf, July 26)
RE:  Private Beauchamp- Requiem for a dung beetle (Unlce Jimbo, July 26)
RE:  Bleu Beau: Astroturfing? And Let The Pushback Begin (Laughing Wolf, July 27)
RE:  Private Beauchamp and the bravest Chaplain in the World (Blackfive, July 27)
RE:  Beauchamp: Silence and the Severity of the Matter (Grim, July 27)
RE:  Greyhawk sums up Scott Thomas Beauchamp (Blackfive, July 28)
RE:  TNR, Beauchamp...Yawn (Uncle Jimbo, August 2)
RE:  US Army Interviews Everyone in Beauchamp's Unit (Blackfive, August 4)
RE:  The Best Word on Beauchamp (Blackfive, August 6)
RE:  Beauchamp Sinks The New Republic (Uncle Jimbo, August 7)

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My head, it hurts. I just was sent this link to TNR:We've talked to military personnel directly involved in the events that Scott Thomas Beauchamp described, and they corroborated his account as detailed in our statement. When we called Army... [Read More]

Comments

[Uncle Jimbo]

It's probably not the expected response but I was giggling my ass off and hell yeahing by the end of that nice little ripper.

Well said, next slide.

Cordially,

Uncle J

[Blackfive]

That's because you know what I was really thinking but couldn't write down due to the family friendly nature of this blog...

[Lands’nGrooves]

“I've known a few sh!tbirds in my day that became decent NCOs.”

Yea but not sure if this a-hole can even be classified as a shiatebird. This punk is lower than whale shiate & needs to be sent home to Momma. Who would want this guy in his unit? The toilets will get cleaned without him.

[jordan]

I'm seeing commentary from both sides to the effect that this is no big deal, that milbloggers only heightened the profile of the story, and questioning what has been gained by all this.

I don't agree. Establishing ground truth is important. It was important to question the story when, to so many vets, things didn't add up. It's important to show how good MSM fact-checking is, and how you can't believe everything you read.

No one likes to have the honor of their profession besmirched, and no one cares more about that than the military. Some people may not understand why that's important, and taken seriously.

Our soldiers aren't moral monsters. When they uncover wrongdoing, they punish it. Most are busting their behinds with the best of intentions, strength and restraint in horrid circumstances, and letting something like this stand unchallenged is undeserved.

[Uncle Jimbo]

BMF5 my brother. Heh!

Cordially,

Uncle J

[dellbabe68]

Thanks, as always, for a great summary of the situation. Indeed, I would love to battle it out over who supports the troops more and I agree, if we lost over here, it would mean they are worth their salt.

Beauchump should be humbled by this, but something tells me not. TNR should be motified but we know how that will go as well. All I can say is thank God for the mil blogs... without you guys, we wouldn't know our butts from our democrats.

[Blackfive]

"I'm seeing commentary from both sides to the effect that this is no big deal, that milbloggers only heightened the profile of the story, and questioning what has been gained by all this."

I think you're correct Jordan (and more to the point, I think it's about building a center of gravity amongst those dead set on losing). I think Ace is calling out at least one of those people as link whoring from the good Professor.

If anything, it gives the lefties something to think about even as they cry out that Beauchamp was tortured or something to get the confession.

In the end, the truth matters. I think that's worth this little foray.

[athingortwo]

Great job, Blackfive and Uncle Jimbo!

For those who say the milblogs made too much of this incident, they're flat out wrong. We're engaged in propaganda war right now ... as Ion Mihai Pacepa writes in opinionjournal.com today, the left has always fought a continuous war of agitprop (agitation & propaganda) to great effect, ever since the rise of the Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union. If we ignore the battle on the homefront, it doesn't matter much what happens on the hot battlefields in Iraq, Afghanistan, or god knows where else. In fact, the agitprop battlefield is the only one in which the lefties and their beneficiaries, the Islamist bad guys, are winning at the moment ... everywhere else our warriors are kicking ass.

We patriots must be just as dedicated to winning the war of words as our warriors are dedicated to winning the war of bullets, bombs, and beheadings.

[athingortwo]

Let me correct myself .... "In fact, the agitprop battlefield is the only one in which the lefties and their beneficiaries, the Islamist bad guys, WERE winning UNTIL THIS moment .... everywhere else our warriors are kicking ass." (corrected words in CAPS)

[Lawrence]

Let's be clear.

The issue here is not so much about Beauchamp, but about The New Republic. Pvt Beauchamp's credibility isn't that big of a deal in all this. The editorial credibility of a supposedly professional centrist news organization is.

Pvt Beauchamp will receive is just deserts for being stupid. But will the TNR editor who let this junk get published be fired, like he/she should, for such a grievous professional error?

Cripes, we don't even know who the idiot editor in question is, even though it is the editor along with with TNR that should be taking the most heat on this.

[Ymarsakar]

Fire them all?

[Blackfive]

Right now, TNR is still disputing it.

http://www.tnr.com/blog/the_plank?pid=132739

We've talked to military personnel directly involved in the events that Scott Thomas Beauchamp described, and they corroborated his account as detailed in our statement. When we called Army spokesman Major Steven F. Lamb and asked about an anonymously sourced allegation that Beauchamp had recanted his articles in a sworn statement, he told us, "I have no knowledge of that." He added, "If someone is speaking anonymously [to The Weekly Standard], they are on their own." When we pressed Lamb for details on the Army investigation, he told us, "We don't go into the details of how we conduct our investigations."

Interesting.

[liyak]

Only losers,post this crap!
Get a life(zen)!

[Gryph]

So our choices are to believe either a "Left-wing" magazine, The New Republic or a "Right-wing" mag, the Daily Standard. What if I want door number 3?

Maybe someone can talk to this Major Lamb. And wouldn't press release statements and the like normally be on a military website somewhere?

[MajO]

Maybe someone can talk to this Major Lamb. And wouldn't press release statements and the like normally be on a military website somewhere?

Looks like USA Today already did .

[hvs]

Just guessing here....Is that ("I have no knowledge of that.") the Major's way of telling TNR to stick it?

[dianainsa]

Blackfive is right, the lies and slander have to be answered-even if it means rolling around in the filth with these haters.
The Left is starting to learn that the Kerry/Fonda/Beauchamp et al part of their arsenal is not as effective since the invention of the internet.

[jordan]

A couple of sites are saying the original Shock Troops story has been taken off TNR's website. I've done a couple of searches, and it doesn't come up. Maybe it was just archived?

[MICHAEL in MI]

For those who think some people are making too big a deal out of this, maybe they would like to recall another time when a major magazine put out lies and smears and it ended up getting people killed: Fake Story of America's Evil Enrages Muslim World

This is DAMN F***ING important. We are in a major domestic war here in America with the American Left. They have decided to use the tactics of the jihadists with their lying and smearing propaganda. Beauchamp should not just be allowed to "go back to the war". No f***ing way, Matt. I completely disagree. If we want this utter war-undermining BS to stop, those perpetrating it MUST be punished and punished severely. Enough is enough.

When is the military going to understand that this is WAR. And no, I am not talking about the ground war in Iraq and Afghanistan, I am talking about the information war among the world media, the American media and from the American Left. WE ARE AT WAR. Wake up, people.

How many more Scott Beauchamps are out there in the military right now working to undermine it? How about the IVAW with all their fakers? How about all the fake but accurate crap that has been reported for years now?

The reason this war does not have the support it should have among the American and world public is because of the massive success of the info war by the left and the media. This is just the latest in a long line of DELIBERATE attempts to smear the military and undermine the war. And you want to let him just go back to the war?

F*** THAT!

When are these treasonous jack***es going to be punished and the example set to prevent people from doing it in the future?

If the military lets Beauchamp off the hook here and doesn't make an example of him, guess what? Hundreds more little dipsh*ts like him will be doing the same thing.

I suggest everyone look at his writings and his MySpace page and everything else in his bio (Michelle Malkin had all the info). The turd is a class A ***hole and serial liar, deliberately doing this to advance his own writing career. He joined the military to enhance his career.

By letting these ***holes off the hook, they are emboldened to continue doing this sh*t.

[MICHAEL in MI]

Jordan - LGF reported that Shock Troops cannot be found doing a search, but "Scott Thomas"'s other articles CAN be found. BUT, by going to his BIO page, you can find the article.

UPDATE at 8/7/07 9:50:00 am:

Correction: there’s a link to the article on the “bio” page for “Scott Thomas,” but it does not show up in a search.

UPDATE at 8/7/07 9:59:29 am:

A search for “Scott Thomas” returns his previous two articles, but not “Shock Troops.” Odd.

[eaglesdontflock]

I have to agree with Michael in MI. There is a very well financed effort around the globe to force negative public opinion about America and the war. Wonder what George Soros has to do with it. In my opinion, he would sacrifice damn near every soldier we have to make Bush look bad. He's spending a lot of money in a variety of ways to influence opinion.

This is a front in the war on terror, and the leftist media are enemy soldiers.

Where's a 50 mm when you need it.

[Ymarsakar]

Knowing the truth is very important. It allows counter-propaganda to be constructed. And it also allows people to know what future propaganda operations may be used, if you know the truth behind the lies. However, knowing the truth is not enough. One must utilize it.

[John D K]

"Will this be the final nail in the coffin of a major journal for the Left? Maybe."

You've got to be kidding me? Surely as the sun will rise they have the answer they want and nothing will ever intrude on its rightness.

If you thing this is going to cause great harm to'm, you are officially delusional.

[Cannoneer No4]

The military understands, Michael.

They have to serve whatever masters the voters see fit to saddle them with. And they can’t say a lot of things out loud that they know to be true.

Somebody needs to say it for them.

The military cannot wage war against the media or the American Left. If the media and the American Left are to be acknowledged as enemies and engaged as such, some element other than the military will have to do it.

The domestic target audience is denied battle space to the Regulars.

A virtual militia of PSYOP Auxiliaries may be the only friendly force available to fight the infowar at home.

[douglas]

The only reason I agree with B5's suggestion of letting him remain to clean latrines is that, given his true feelings about the military which he wrote about prior to his enlistment, it'd apparently be the worst punishment he could imagine.

The downside, the experience might actually give him something to write about.

[MajMT]

Sorry Matt, but I respectfully disagree. Leadership 101: "When You Fail To Enforce a Standard, You Have Established a New Standard" Beauchamp is clearly not just a sh!tbird who strayed from the path of soldierly dignity; he purposefuly denegrated the institution of the Army, and the military in general...but more importantly he impugned the honor of his fellows. His efforts served only to errode that bond between men in battle that must exist without even a shred of doubt. That bond is what keeps them alive. He clearly showed that he will willingly and with forethought, put his interests ahead of his brothers. They cannot depend on him.
"I've known a few sh!tbirds in my day that became decent NCOs." ...I have, in my 20+ years, never knew one. I served with hundreds of young men who had their share of disciplinary problems and the vast majority turned into exemplary troops...but not a single true sh!tbird.

He needs to go...loudly and with great fanfare so that the men with whom he served know that the leadership is looking out for them and for what they stand for.

[jordan]

He "denigrated the instiution of the military". Does Jon Soltz know about this guy? Why not just put Soltz in charge of disciplining Beauchamp.

[vet66]

Beauchamp needs to finish out his tour. The dose of humility he will receive will make him a better appreciate his abilities and shortcomings. He better serves our purpose by remaining in the military than being outside where the lefties will call him a martyr and use him up like they did Cindy Sheehan.

He will be the recipient of many interesting details and work assignments during his remaining time in the service.

OVER?!

[Gryph]

Phillip Carter sums up what I think pretty much. Not that anyone cares what i think. But it makes a lot of sense.

http://www.intel-dump.com/

"The Beauchamp dispatches show the extent to which the discourse over Iraq has been poisoned and how quickly the left, the right, and the military were willing to go to the mat to defend their version of what is—or what they thought ought to be—true. No one cares anymore about the troops, the truth of their reports from Iraq, or the serious issues of professional journalism associated with a series of this type. The troops have become pawns in this debate; their stories a kind of Rorschach test that reveals more about how we view the war than its reality on the ground."

[douglas]

I disagree, Gryph. It's only half right. The left keeps using the troops as pawns, by either holding up every anti-war vet they can find, or trying to forward the notion that they're all knuckle-draggers (except their guys). Seems to me, the outrage from the milblog community wasn't that they were reflexively defending the troops, but rather, sought truth because it matters. That's just the right thing to do. The milbloggers have pursued truth even when it showed negatively on the military, so it isn't about using the troops as pawns for them, but rather defending honor and truth. Isn't that where we should all be?

As for the Army, they don't/can't get weighed down in the political value of this incident (for better or worse). They have rules, they follow them, despite the left's ideas about the military.

[Gryph]

"I disagree, Gryph. It's only half right. The left keeps using the troops as pawns, by either holding up every anti-war vet they can find, or trying to forward the notion that they're all knuckle-draggers (except their guys). Seems to me, the outrage from the milblog community wasn't that they were reflexively defending the troops, but rather, sought truth because it matters. "

I was not aware that Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt and The Weekly Standard were all "milblogs".

[Deltabravo]

Scott proves the maxim that "Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."

The thing is, his articles serve as a canary in the propaganda mineshaft. And the results of Mr. Beauchimp's articles? Obviously too many are not only willing, but eager to believe the worst about our servicemen. Does it matter if it's true or not? Not to many people out there. In another place and time the editors in question would have turned in their resignations. The generation that screamed 'Baby killers' at returning Vietnam Vets is now running the media. Their opinion has never changed.

Where is the outrage from anyone outside the milblog community, though? If this had been a coverup of actual atrocities, it would be the lead story on all the networks. As it is, there are no atrocities and so there are minimal repurcussions and it's only a matter of time before the next weasel steps up to the plate for his 15 minutes of fame. May I suggest they just be honest and send their resumes to al-Jazeera?