Streaming —
http://chuckdevore.com/n/blog.asp?artid=309&headline=Gunfire-audio
File download —
http://chuckdevore.com/DeVore_in_Lebanon_OCT_84.m4a.zip
First things first: Willon, and several outlets citing him, have linked the
Lebanon anecdote to Chuck DeVore’s description of his military service.
Indeed, Willon quotes “Frank Dowse, a Fiorina supporter and a retired
20-year Marine veteran ... [who] said any attempt by DeVore — subtle or not
— to imply that the Lebanon incident was related to his military service ‘is
a bad move.’”
Well, Chuck DeVore agrees. That’s why he’s never done anything like that.
The truth is that Willon’s account of DeVore’s mention of Lebanon in the
March 5th debate on KTKZ is inaccurate. The full transcript of that debate
is here:
In it, DeVore mentions Lebanon twice. Neither mention states nor implies
that he was in Lebanon as part of his military experience. Again, these are
long quotes, but it’s important to print them in full. First:
[-BEGIN QUOTE-]
DEVORE: Well, I think the most important thing in this discussion is what
is best served for the United States’ national security interest. Clearly,
we have allies in the region, and clearly Israel is one of those allies.
And, I think perhaps more Israel is a friend of the United States. I support
moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem when the Israelis say
that it is safe and appropriate to do so. Furthermore, I’m skeptical of a
two state solution. I am also skeptical that there is anything intrinsically
appropriate about the current boundaries between Israel and the territories
of Judea and Samaria. Because, all that is a cease fire line from the 1948
conflict where the combined Arab armies tried to erase Israel from the map.
And, of course, Israel took over what’s now known as the West Bank in the
1967 war. interestingly enough, prior to 1967, when Jordan had
administration over that part of the soil, they administered it, it was part
of Jordan, Jordan was called
trans-Jordan at that time as a result. And, Jordan actually tried to erase
every last bit of Jewish presence in the Jewish quarter in Jerusalem during
the period 1948-1967. These are things that I know personally. I have been
to that region four times. I have been shot at in Lebanon. I’m quite
familiar with the history of this region, and I believe that American
national interest are served when we support Israel, because generally
speaking, generally speaking, Israel’s’ foes are our foes.
[-END QUOTE-]
Second:
[-BEGIN QUOTE-]
HOGUE: In talking about national security, foreign affairs, terrorism, I’d
like this cross fire here to encompass everything. Toward you Tom, as far as
being anti-Israel, HP and printers to Iran. You’re running for U.S. Senate,
you’re going to represent the country in the Senate in the midst of a war on
terrorism that continues. Why are you the best suited for the position and
why are your opponents not as good as you? And Chuck we’ll start with you.
And it’s a free for all so jump in as you can folks.
DEVORE: Well, as I mentioned before, I am the sole candidate on either
side of the aisle with military experience. I’m a lieutenant colonel of
military intelligence within the U.S. army. This is something that I am
proud to have served my nation since 1983, I also worked for Caspar
Weinberger in the Pentagon where as a special assistant for foreign affairs
and in that capacity traveled on official business to Morocco, Egypt, Turkey
and Pakistan. I have been to Israel 4 times, I’ve studied in Egypt, I’ve
been shot at in Lebanon, I’ve experienced the gritty reality of the Middle
East. This has, I think, given me good insight into the present conflict in
the Middle East. I studied Islamic political thought in Cairo, Egypt. And at
one time I was relatively proficient in Arabic. I understand some of these
concepts that the jihadis hold, like the concept of Darralislam or
Darralharb or the wordlist [indecipherable] sphere Islamic peace or the
wordlist [indecipherable] sphere of Islamic
infidels and how that can be externalized to justify jihad. And I think that
in today’s present environment, I’m the candidate that understands the
stakes in the region. I do stand behind Israel and the right to defend
themselves. In fact, if Iran fires a missile at Israel, the system that
Israel will use to defend itself, the aero anti-tactical ballistic missile,
I helped create the funding mechanism that made that a reality back in 1987.
[-END QUOTE-]
So much for that. Now, on to whether Chuck DeVore’s account of the fire
incident in Lebanon was accurate. Zelnick said it wasn’t. But have a listen
to that audio I sent you above. Here’s a transcript:
[-BEGIN TRANSCRIPT-]
BACKGROUND NOISE: Syrian gunfire in multiple bursts, getting louder as
it gets closer to the IDF observation post. The Syrian positions were 180
meters away, according to the Israel Defense Force officers.
IDF OFFICER: “Ahmed.”
IDF SOLDIER, YELLING: “Ahmed!”
UNKNOWN: “Pass the field glasses.”
DEVORE: “Ahmed.”
IDF SOLDIER: “Kifhaallak!” (Gunfire.)
BACKGROUND NOISE: Responses heard from the Israelis who ducked, as did
DeVore.
BACKGROUND NOISE: More gunfire.
DEVORE, LAUGHING: “We had a little bit of fire in here after the guy yelled,
‘Ahmed.’ ... I guess it’s just on the back of the mountain... They got
down. [Referring to the IDF personnel.] After the firing, many of the
Israeli soldiers instinctively ducked, and I with them.”
BACKGROUND NOISE: IDF soldiers speaking. More gunfire.
DEVORE: “It’s all being recorded... At 180 meters, we’re easy targets. If
they wanted to pick off our heads it’d be no problem. These [flak vests]
won’t do much good.”
UNKNOWN: “Right.”
DEVORE: “At this range.”
IDF SOLDIER: “Ahmed.”
DEVIORE: “The time is now 1159 hours. I think that the Syrians must
think it amusing to fire in our general vicinity and watch us all duck like
rabbits.”
BACKGROUND NOISE: More gunfire, a longer burst.
IDF SOLDIER: “OK.”
DEVORE: “I guess their commander doesn’t want to speak to us today.”
BACKGROUND NOISE: Finally, after a sustained burst of gunfire,
everyone, soldiers and journalists alike, get very quiet.
IDF OFFICER-IN-CHARGE: “OK, we are through.”
BACKGROUND NOISE: The party starts to leave the hill. (DeVore recalls
that Zelnick chose to stay behind, much to his cameraman’s dismay.)
DEVORE: “Did you ask him, do they usually test fire their weapons like that
every day? It’s just...”
IDF OFFICER: “They’re not too happy about being photographed.”
DEVORE: “...it’s just their way of displaying their displeasure with us?”
IDF OFFICER: “I mean they don’t see you... don’t take it personally, OK?”
DEVORE: “Yeah, I know.”
IDF OFFICER: (Laughs)
DEVORE: “Because I noticed it happened after the guy yelled ‘Hey Ahmed!’”
[-END TRANSCRIPT-]
Let’s compare this audio to what Chuck DeVore explicitly claimed, shall we?
1) Is this being “shot at in Lebanon”? Yes.
2) Did the the Syrians “kind of [drive] us off the hill”? Yes:
the IDF officer-in-charge made the call that the situation was sufficiently
worrisome to merit getting the group off the hill.
3) Did the Syrians do it “because they didn’t want press over
there”? Yes: the IDF officer explicitly said, “They’re not too happy about
being photographed.”
4) Was it “like warning shots”? Yes: DeVore noted that, “[a]t
180 meters, we’re easy targets.”
The documentary evidence is clear: every single one of Chuck DeVore’s claims
is substantiated. (And Zelnick, incidentally, is contradicted: he told the
LAT’s Willon that “they were out of range,” but it turns out they were a
mere 180 meters from the source of the Syrian fire!)
The bottom line? Chuck DeVore didn’t embellish or inflate a thing. He didn’t
mislead. He didn’t imply a single falsehood. His story was accurate, and the
evidence bears him out.
Thank you