Beauchamp

After a helicopter ride around Baghdad, this afternoon I arrived at Forward Operating Base Falcon, where the mood was somber.  The Army has begun an official investigation into The New Republic articles of the "Baghdad Diarist", Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp.  Officials at the Army Public Affairs Office (PAO) pointed out that until the initial allegations are investigated, there will be little or nothing to add to what has already been pubicly released. Still many questions about facts, accountability and credibility remain.

Update:  Nice to see how others report the story,

The Weekly Standard

Michelle Malkin at Hot Air

 

Blogs For Soldiers Ok

The PAO was quick to point out that soldiers are permitted to keep blogs and write articles while they are stationed here in Iraq.  A sign in the base Internet Cafe reads, "Your personal websites/blogs must be registered with your chain of command."  The concern is for Operation Security or OPSEC violations.  The FOB Falcon Area of Operations includes the Doura District, one of the most violent regions of Baghdad.  Make no mistake, even if the troop increase is responsible for a recent downward trend in violence, this area is very much a war zone.

Investigation a Distraction from The Mission

There's no doubt the Baghdad Diarist comments distract from the mission.  Lt. Colonel James Crider of the 1-4 Cavalry of Ft. Riley, Kansas gave me a Significant Acts (SIGACTS) briefing that included three car bombs, several IED's and today's near encounter with a lobbed grenade.  No one has been injured due to information from locals.  "The 1-4 Cavalry has been fairly successful in getting the people on our side," said Lt. Colonel Crider with a slightly southern accent that translates well to the residents of this southeast Baghdad neighborhood.

Crider showed graphs that showed metrics pointing in the right directions, but the real test has been the decrease in American casualties.  Despite a full day of dealing with securing a dangerous Baghdad neighborhood, even Lt. Colonel Crider was aware of the recent Beauchamp scandal and could only shake his head at how absurd the initial details of the accounts seemed.  There is little time for distractions, so the Lt. Colonel continued to brief me on the current situation in his section of the Doura District; I'll ride along with the 1-4 Cavalry during my stay here at FOB Falcon.

Frustrations Over Media Coverage

With the dangers of the real mission in mind, soldiers at the PAO are frustrated that the major media has chosen to focus on the negative, a common complaint I have heard among troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The real question here is about accountability," said Public Affairs Officer Major Luke Luedeke who was quick to debunk several statements in Private Beauchamp's article "Shock Troops", after several military bloggers, JD Johannes, Jeff Emanuel and Michael Yon, pointed out glaring inconsistencies in Beauchamp's articles. 

"Record Media Attention"

New York Times, O'Reilly Factor, ABC, CNN, Hot Air, in the past two weeks, Major Luedeke has dealt with more media inquiries over the Beauchamp controversy than any other subject in his entire career. 

After several terse conversations, it was obvious soldiers at FOB Falcon took the events described in The New Republic very seriously.  What was not so obvious was how seriously The New Republic editorial staff treated the matter.  If the investigation proves the "Baghdad Diarist" stories to be false, what will The New Republic do?  Will they retract the story?  Will they reveal the process they used to vet the original information?  Every soldier I spoke to realizes he or she is accountable for what is said and done while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Careers can be ruined because of scandals like the "Baghdad Diarist."

Getting a Fair Shake

"The Army works hard to get the soldier's story out to the media, unfortunately the media only wants to hear about bad things," said several soldiers who did not want to be identified.  Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp is currently on FOB Falcon, but unavailable for comment.  Once the official investigation started, the key issue was to protect the soldier's rights.   Needless to say, The New Republic has no such responsibility.   

I've spoken to PAO representatives both in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom are very frustrated with the media coverage of ongoing operations.  Despite the obstacles, Major Luedeke did not hesitate to comment, "Telling our story is absolutely worth it, but only if we get a fair shake."

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Comments

[jummy]

had no idea you were blogging!

[Scott]

Good evening sir, I was wondering if you happened to know my brother in law.

Matthew Wallace

[David M]

Trackbacked by The Thunder Run - Web Reconnaissance for 08/01/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.

[sfcmac]

I've been following this story with a great deal of interest and I've also written about it on my blog. The accounts I've received from members of Beauchamp's unit confirm what I had already suspected: He's a problem child with mental issues,further evidenced by his 'literary' efforts on his website.
SFC Cheryl McElroy
US ARMY (RET)
Iraq war veteran

[chiropetra]

"If the investigation proves the "Baghdad Diarist" stories to be false, what will The New Republic do? Will they retract the story?"

Not bloody likely!

What they'll do is claim that the incidents weren't absolutely disproved. After all, just because there's not a shred of collaborative evidence for Beauchamp's stories doesn't mean they aren't necessarily true. Even if Beauchamp retracts everything, he clear did it under pressure from the Army. Etc., etc., etc.

It's the old "false but accurate" ploy, a la Dan Rather.

Gah! Even for 'new' journalists, they're a pack of disgusting trolls.

[Gabe]

That's funny and so true, Chiropetra. Also, they will just shrug their shoulders if the charges are false (which they no doubt are) and simply believe that they SHOULD be true; therefore, it was okay to run the false story. That's MSM "journalism" for you!

[hbryan]

Ace of Spades first broke this and now we've got Matt in country and on station to verify. I can't wait until I see Beauchump frog-marched off FOB Falcon and headed for an OTH discharge. Oh, and I personally think that TNR is having a working vacation on how to precisely spin this so they don't come out smelling like the turds that they are. Good luck in your digging Matt!

[Fielder]

TNR isn't retracting. Infact, they have verified the story's facts pretty well.

So What? This doesn't mean ALL of our soldiers do heinous acts. TNR never said that they did. Some do; we should accept it and move along.

[sfcmac]

Fielder:

They haven't verified a thing. All of Beauchamp's allegations have proven to be figments of his sick little imagination.