Posted on 11/08/2003 6:48:09 AM PST by KQQL
US woman soldier who shot to fame after being taken prisoner during the Iraq war has accused the military of using her for propaganda purposes.
A video of US commandos carrying a badly injured Private Jessica Lynch from a Nasiriya hospital was released at the height of the conflict.
But the 20-year-old criticised the release of false information about her capture by Iraqi forces.
She also said there was no reason for her rescue to be filmed.
In her first interview about what happened to her, the former prisoner-of-war told ABC television that medical reports indicated that she had been raped.
They used me as a way to symbolise all this stuff. It's wrong.
She said she had no recollection of the attack. "Even just the thinking about that, that's too painful," she told interviewer Diane Sawyer.
Miss Lynch, who was serving as an Army supply clerk, suffered broken bones and other injuries when her convoy was ambushed after taking a wrong turn near the Iraqi town of Nasiriya on 23 March.
The Pentagon initially put out the story that Private Lynch - a slight woman who was just 19 at the time - had been wounded by Iraqi gunfire but had kept fighting until her ammunition ran out.
But she told Sawyer that she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that her gun had jammed during the chaos.
"I'm not about to take credit for something I didn't do," she said.
"I did not shoot - not a round, nothing. I went down praying to my knees - that's the last thing I remember."
Initial reports also suggested that Miss Lynch had been abused after she came round in the hospital. She says that again was untrue - there was no mistreatment, and one nurse used to sing to her.
She said she was grateful to the American special forces team which rescued her but, asked whether the Pentagon's subsequent portrayal of her rescue bothered her, she said: "Yes, it does. They used me as a way to symbolise all this stuff. It's wrong."
Injuries
Miss Lynch was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Prisoner of War medals while still in hospital in Washington DC.
Months later, she is receiving treatment for her extensive injuries.
Earlier this week, it emerged that medical evidence suggested that Miss Lynch had been raped during her capture.
The assault was revealed in extracts from Miss Lynch's authorised biography - I am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story - to be released by publisher Alfred A Knopf on Tuesday.
I hope Johnson's story will be told. I do know that she's already enlisted the help of the media to get more money from the government than she was awarded for her injuries. It seems she's eager to talk. Let her tell her story.
JMO, Sandlady(Jessica's agent), what is so freaking wrong about having a picture taken with the Iraqi lawyer who helped point American forces in the correct direction to help rescue Jessica, when he visits her hometown..
Sheesh you Hollywood people have no common decency some(actually most of) the time.
I believe the one who is the slanderer is the one you are defending. Soldiers do not speak publicly about the President and they respect authority. She is giving an opinion on a subject she is neither qualified or paid to speak on. I have many friends who are officers way above her pay grade and they think she is way out of line. I also have a son in the military - so don't tell me it does not affect morale. You do not know what you are talking about!
Did you ever serve in the military? If so, please, what branch?
Sheesh you Hollywood people have no common decency some(actually most of) the time.
Oh Dane, you're all about spouting. Bless your heart, you're really worked up. If I were her agent I would be able to tell you where she was when the lawyer showed up at the local library to promote his book. Maybe she was out of town. Maybe she doesn't think he's entirely truthful. I have no knowledge of the facts other than what I've heard or read. As I said before, I am not going to trash anyone, Lynch or the lawyer or anyone else because it's foolish at this point. What I do know is that she donned a uniform of the Army of my country and was captured. She sustained life changing injuries and became a national news story through no "fault" of her own. The moment she formally spoke out to Diane Sawyer, her words were taken apart and the pieces are now being used to trash her. That's what I know. Do you KNOW different?
The lady is right on the money. As an undergrad I considered joining Army ROTC to serve my country. To be sure of the decision, before signing I went through their basic training (held after the sophomore year for those who don't join earlier) in Fort Knox, Ky.
The experience was eye-opening and disappointing, as there were double-standards for everything. Women got higher scores for fewer push-ups and sit-ups and extra minutes to complete a mile-run. This was important, as our physical fitness score was a large part (perhaps 1/2; I don't recall exactly) of our total score in camp.
The rigged standards for physical conditioning were more than matched by the favoritism in the practice command positions. All of us trainees longed to be selected for command posts, so we could demonstrate our leadership. But even though women made up only 13% of us, half of the senior command positions were reserved for them.
Thus whereas nearly all of the women could look forward to the opportunity of proving themselves as company commanders or executive officers, most of the men had to settle for squad leader at best.
The clear message to the men was that objective standards aren't nearly as important as being favored politically. This hurt morale enormously.
The favoritism wasn't just unjust and harmful to morale; it also undermined the quality of the training overall. Because teamwork is so important, much of the training took place in small groups in the field, where we had to work together to accomplish some goal. Invariable, the teams with women members had to slow down and wait for the women.
As a result, I, who had never exercised before in my life, was not challenged physically at all during my basic training. I can only imagine how the fit men must have felt! In the end, disgusted by the political corruption, I decided not to sign with ROTC.
Many of my peers who felt similarly, and had other good options in life, also decided not to continue in the ROTC because the feminist politics had so undermined the military. Others who stayed on did so only because they didn't see better choices in their lives.
The end result of all this nonsense is a weakened, politicized, feminized military. In that context, Jessica Lynch is nothing but a media-hyped side show.
A final note: a few years after I decided not to join the army, I was at a conference on changing technology's impact on the military. One of the panelists was the general in charge of training programs for the Army. When I recounted my tale and asked for his response, all he could do was sputter and talk about how proud he was of his daughters who were then serving as officers.
This, of course, is the great tragedy of the current situation: so many people have made major commitments to the status quo of women in the military that it's nearly impossible for them to be objective and admit they, and the system, are wrong.
We've been over this before. The pentagon tried to use the hyped and fabricated Lynch capture and rescue story as a propaganda tool. It didn't work and they got caught in a lie of their own making. Get over it.
Richard W.
I have read otherwise but assuming what you say is true, I'd be happy to see that.
Not true. Physical injuries can be estimated rather accurately.
It won't be in our lifetime. She's another illogical lefty looking ot have the (hand that fed her) government pay for her kindergarten teaching degree. Through her notarity she now has that and so it's the middle finger to the gov.. The government is no longer useful to her nor the man that rescued her. She is simple minded but it is very clear that what counts is bettering herself.
from today's NYT:
"At first, a military spokesman in Iraq told journalists that American soldiers had exchanged fire with Iraqis during the rescue, without adding that resistance was minimal. Then the military released a dramatic, green-tinted, night-vision video of the mission. Soon news organizations were repeating reports, attributed to anonymous American officials, that Ms. Lynch had heroically resisted her capture, emptying her weapon at her attackers."
government lies off the record are still government lies.
official leaks have been a standard tool in government PR campaigns for decades now.
the fact that the media was knowingly or unknowingly complicit is irrelevent.
Indeed grateful to the Special Forces but NO mention of being grateful to the man, the Iraqi lawyer that made it possible for her to be rescued. The Specail FOrces didn't know where she was. You can "imagine" all you like but the fact is that when the Iraqi specifically came to her town to meet her again, she refused him. How's that for gratitude?
"also, where in this article (or any other) does she "hurl hatred" at the government? it seems like she's done nothing more than tell the truth and express disapproval of the government's lies."
You must have missed her condemnation of the Pentagon for filming her rescue. Have you heard any complaints from her on the unauthorized movie about her by CBS? No! If anyone is lying it's this little *itch.
"why does that bother enough to call her rude names? i think you're making an ass of yourself."
Actually it is you who is amking an ass out themself for defending this piece of ungrateful thrash who is VERY anti-American.
Her rescue didn't "hype" this war. Just like the filming of the rescue of Bush Sr. didn't hype that war. Truly she isn't THAT special. Her rescue didn't make people enthusiastic about this war - good grief!
I have read otherwise but assuming what you say is true, I'd be happy to see that.
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Oct/10142003/tuesday/101779.asp
"Lynch, who has stated she doesn't remember the events that made her famous, is not cooperating with the production. NBC obtained the rights of an Iraqi lawyer who has claimed credit for leading U.S. forces to Lynch in an Iraqi hospital."
No I don't know different, what I do know is that she got a sum of money from ABC(and be put on camera trashing the Defense Dept. over "gasp" her shown being rescued, what a horrible experience to go through, that is even worse than her being on videotape picking her nose and her eating the booger) and decided not to take 10 minutes of her time and take a picture with the Iraqi lawyer who pointed the way to American forces to rescue her.
Oh the horror of it all.
I have no idea. Do you? I don't know if she's seen the movie. It sounds like it's from the lawyer's perspective and if so, it's his "story."
Yet she condemns the Pentagon for filming her rescue.
She's seen the film of her rescue. Although she states that she doesn't think it's right for the gov't to "use" her rescue, I think condemn is too strong of a word. She may truly feel guilty about the "heroine hoopla" which in my opinion simply says she's humble, embarrassed and doesn't want the kudos. Do you know different?
you are jumping to conclusions without knowing (or acknowledging) all the information about this matter. why are you so prepared to assume the worst about this person?
You must have missed her condemnation of the Pentagon for filming her rescue.
yeah, you're right. i missed that "condemnation." maybe you could point it out to me.
Do you have a link for this?
This is the part that I don't think is factual. I believe he was invited to the library to promote his book by a group called "Friends of Jessica Lynch."
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