On Not Admitting Our Mistakes

The Washington Post Page A25 ^ | Friday, May 23, 2003 | Richard Cohen

[Criminal Number 18F]

Pfc. Jessica Lynch's capture and rescue was certainly a dramatic affair -- particularly in The Post. This newspaper told its readers that she had been shot and stabbed, that she had fought off her Iraqi attackers -- her gun blazing -- until she went down and was taken prisoner, hospitalized and then rescued eight days later. Trouble is, much of that may be false.

Lynch apparently was not shot. Lynch was not stabbed. Lynch may not have put up much of a fight, maybe none at all. The lights may have gone out for her the moment her unit was attacked and her vehicle went off the road. It was then, probably, that she suffered several broken bones. This information, too, was in The Post -- sort of.

The original story about Lynch was played on the front page. Later, when it turned out that some of the gripping details in the story were questionable, the "corrections" -- although they were never labeled that -- were played inside the paper. You are forgiven, therefore, if you do not have the facts on Jessica Lynch. They were extremely hard to get.

[Criminal Number 18F]

Richard Cohen takes his editors to the woodshed and administers quite a beating. The entire article is well worth reading, however ISTR that we are enjoined from posting full text of WaPo content (if I'm wrong, FReepmail me, and I'll redo the thread and ask the AM to zot this one).

I was astonished that no one had posted this today (at least, according to FR's search function).

Cohen does try to shuck the blame for the Post's running the false story -- a story many media outlets picked up from the Post -- onto the Posties' "military sources." To me the interesting point here is that the Post did not check some fabulous (in the original sense of the word, "as if from a fable") parts of the story, because the story resonated with the Posties' prejudices. (Sounds like Jayson Blair's disparaging of West Virginians, eh?)

In this case it was the belief in GI Jane, super soldier, a belief only held by rabid feminists, and a certain type of female military officer who has been coddled and protected from ever having to meet an objective standard. Because the fantasy of Jessica Lynch, combat hero, was so appealing to the folks at the Post, it ran on Page One even though it was a fabrication.

It could hit all their buttons precisely because it was a fabrication.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Jeff Chandler]

Good thing they didn't hurry up and name a landmark after her.

[JoJo Gunn]

Cohen is a first rate sewer diver. 'Nuff said....

[KDD]

CLINTON-ERA POLICY CHANGES AFFECT WOMEN IN WAR TODAY
4/3/2003 4:17:00 PM

In the early weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom, three enlisted women serving with the 507th Transportation Unit of the 3rd Infantry Division were captured or reported missing on March 23. The terrified face of Spec. Shoshana Johnson, who signed on to become an Army cook, was shown on an Iraqi video that also displayed the corpses of several of her colleagues. Pfc. Lori Piestewa and Pfc. Jessica Lynch were listed as missing. Pfc. Lynch, who put up a spirited fight to evade capture, was rescued on April 1 by a daring multi-force Special Operations Forces team.




The stories of these three brave women caused many Americans to wonder why the women were serving so close to the front line. Why were they so vulnerable to capture and likely abuse at the hands of the enemy? Aren’t there laws against women in combat?




The answer is no—statutory exemptions from combat aviation were repealed in 1991, and a law that exempted from involuntary duty on combat ships, including submarines, was quietly repealed in 1993. Units such as the infantry, armor, field artillery, special operations, submarines, and special operations helicopters remain all-male, but women are now serving in combat support and combat service support positions that used to be coded “all-male.”




With little or no congressional oversight or understanding by the general public, then-Defense Secretary of Defense Les Aspin ordered sweeping changes. The Defense Department’s “Risk Rule,” established in 1988, was repealed by the Clinton Administration, and long list of units that used to be coded male-only were opened to women. The key element in these changes was Aspin’s elimination of the phrase “substantial risk of capture” as a factor in determining where servicewomen would be assigned. As a result, women are serving at greater risk, even in support units.




The Center for Military Readiness was almost alone in commenting on what these changes would mean in actual practice. The articles linked here provide background information on what changes were made in 1994. The nation needs to think hard about the consequences of these changes as they are being implemented in Operation Iraqi Freedom.


____________


INCREMENTAL STEPS + "CONSISTENCY" = RADICAL CHANGE


http://cmrlink.org/CMRNotes/716688CMRRPT6.pdf


____________


LAND COMBAT: THE EXPERIMENT BEGINS


http://cmrlink.org/CMRNotes/11V1R3CMRRPT07N94.pdf

[Texas Eagle]

But the public is on to us. Our aloofness, our defensiveness, our sheer inability to concede uncertainty (which goes beyond merely correcting factual mistakes) has cost us plenty. Instead and too often, we add invisible asterisks of doubt to stories and then commend ourselves for our exemplary professionalism. We do a marvelous job. Too bad few people seem to notice -- or care.

What.......the.......hell????

[exit82]

Your assessment is right on.

It's a shame that this story never seemed to get the facts--I don't want what Lynch or her rescuers or what they did to be diminished.

[1066AD]

Didn't the US military doctors say that in fact she had been shot, suffered small calibre wounds ?

[MJY1288]

I think you're spot on about the Post, I never heard General Brooks ever go into any detail in any of his press conferences about Jessica Lynch's injuries or make any claim that she emptied her weapon before being captured.

If I'm not mistaken, the other prisoners said she wasn't with them, correct me if I'm wrong!

I also find it a little strange that she has no memory of the event what so ever.

[gcruse]

Didn't the US military doctors say that in fact she
had been shot, suffered small calibre wounds ?

Yes, they did.  I  don't know what to believe anymore.

[speekinout]

I also find it a little strange that she has no memory of the event what so ever.

I don't find it at all strange that the military doesn't want us to know what happened to her. We wouldn't like it if we knew.
The only way to keep women on the front lines is to keep us ignorant about what can happen to them.

[Jeff Chandler]

>>I also find it a little strange that she has no memory of the event what so ever.<<

I heard a report this morning that she may have been involved in a vehicle accident, which would explain it. It is not uncommon for accident victims to not recall events even a day or more BEFORE the accident. It has something to do with the trauma preventing recent memories from becoming permanently imprinted on the brain.

[gcruse]

I also find it a little strange that she has no memory of the event what so ever.

Like you never heard of traumatic amnesia before?
That's paranoia for ya.

[Jeff Chandler]

>>I don't know what to believe anymore.<<

Never believe first reports.

[jlogajan]

I also find it a little strange that she has no memory of the event what so ever.

Why? Being hit on the head can cause memory loss. I lost 30 minutes of memory after slipping on icy stairs and hitting my head on the ground. It is not unheard of to lose memory for such a physical cause.

There are also psychological reasons people lose memories.

[MJY1288]

I probably should have stated that better, The Press says she has no memory of the event

I'm not trying to knock Jessica Lynch, no matter what the story is, she is still an American Soldier who was seriously injured while serving this country and I salute her for that and pray for her complete and speedy recovery,

I just think the reporting the Post did was more sensational than factual, that's all. No disrespect to Jesseca Lynch at all

[Jeff Chandler]

Help! The paranoids are after me!

[Jeff Chandler]

They're everywhere!

[jlogajan]

Good thing they didn't hurry up and name a landmark after her.

She was a POW and will earn a Purple Heart. Sounds like a hero to me.

[MJY1288]

I was in a car accident when on my 18th birthday, saw the telephone pole coming, but still dont remember hitting it or smashing my upper jaw into the steel dashboard of my buddies 66 Chevy Pickup, I was told I woke up after a few minutes and walked out of the truck and sat on the curb and even answered a few questions from the EMT's even though my upper jaw was driven back into my sinus cavity.

I know about traumatic amnesia

[TheCrusader]

Jessic Lynch was shot, stabbed and fought off the Iraqi soldiers like Audie Murhpy only dreamed about. Annika Sorenstam performed great against the men pros and proved that women can be competitive with men golfers. Hillary Clinton is the smartest woman in America. Olive Oil can beat Popeye in arm wrestling, and Minnie Mouse is the real strength behind Mickey. yawn