[Matt Wiser]

Now that Jessica's gone before Congress and the Congresscritters have had their say, here's a NYT op-ed by Lt. Gen Michael DeLong (USMC ret.), who was deputy CINC-CENTCOM during both the inital invasion of Afghanistan, and Phase I of the Iraq War. He points out that there was a lot of political pressure on the military when those reports about her "fighting to the death" came out by politicians in West Virginia (he doesn't name names, obviously, but the WV House and Senate Delegations, along with some politicos at the state level, come to mind) to award Jessica a Medal of Honor. The requests went up the CENTCOM chain of command until they stopped at DeLong's desk. He put a hold on things until she could be debriefed, and other battlefield evidence could be collected. When Gen. DeLong told the politicos that there wasn't enough evidence, and a lesser medal would likely be awarded, they went ballistic and went over his head to both Gen. Tommy Franks, who backed up DeLong, and Secretary Rumsfield himself, who backed the generals (for once!). General DeLong puts the blame for the whole affair at the feet of overzealous politicians and a story-hungry media.

Any comments or thoughts?

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[lanieer416]

Actually I'm not surprised about the West Virginia politicians. They were trying to take care of one of their own.
I thought this quote was the most informative of the article:

Accusations that the military played up Private Lynch’s rescue for its own publicity purposes are also false. As someone who witnessed the operation from the planning to the execution, I can tell you it was one of the most spectacularly executed rescues I’ve seen in my 36-year career. Our receiving word of Private Lynch’s rescue — and subsequently, news of the rescue of the other prisoners — was a high point of the war for all of us at CentCom.

[Dilligafst]

Hey Matt:

Thanks for that. You are probably right about the overzealous politicians, but I suspect that West Va. politicos, if they were, were not the only overzealous ones working the Jane Rambo story. Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and company should also be included in the list. The media had to get the incorrect accounts from somewhere. The sad part is that our media, so cowed and tamed now, initially ran with it as they were intended to do by the ones manipulating them.

[patience]

I'm copying the text of the article posted by Matt. It does answer the irksome accusations that were raised over time concerning the so called staged rescue operation of Jessica. The General does not mince words.
His book is not yet in stores.

quote]Op-Ed Contributor
Politics During Wartime

By MICHAEL DELONG
Tampa, Fla.

AS the deputy commander at United States Central Command from 2001 to 2003, I represented the military in dealing with politicians regarding the capture and rescue of Pfc. Jessica D. Lynch in Iraq, and thus I can speak with authority about what really happened after her maintenance convoy got lost near Nasiriya in 2003 and she was taken prisoner. I feel compelled to respond to accusations that have been made in recent days by several politicians.

The initial reports from the field regarding Private Lynch stated that she had gone down fighting, had emptied her weapon and that her actions were heroic. Based on these reports, politicians from her home state, West Virginia, wanted the military to award her the Medal of Honor. Their request rose up the ladder until finally it reached me.

But initial combat reports are often wrong. Time must always be taken to thoroughly investigate all claims. In the case of Private Lynch, additional time was needed, since she was suffering from combat shock and loss of memory; facts, therefore, had to be gathered from other sources. The military simply didn’t know at that point whether her actions merited a medal.

This is why, when the request landed on my desk, I told the politicians that we’d need to wait. I made it clear that no one would be awarded anything until all of the evidence was reviewed.

The politicians did not like this. They called repeatedly, through their Congressional liaison, and pressured us to recommend her for the medal, even before all the evidence had been analyzed. I would not relent and we had many heated discussions.

The politicians repeatedly said that a medal would be good for women in the military; I responded that the paramount issue was finding out what had really happened.

As it turned out, after a careful review of the facts, the military concluded that the initial reports were incorrect. Ballistic tests on Private Lynch’s weapon demonstrated that she had never fired; she had merely been a passenger in a vehicle that went astray, came under fire and crashed. Private Lynch was badly hurt, and in her condition, she could not fight back. Her actions were understandable and justifiable, but they could not be labeled heroic.

(It’s important to make clear, too, that Private Lynch has never claimed to be a hero. As she told Congress earlier this week, the “story of the little girl Rambo from the hills who went down fighting” was not true.)

Accusations that the military played up Private Lynch’s rescue for its own publicity purposes are also false. As someone who witnessed the operation from the planning to the execution, I can tell you it was one of the most spectacularly executed rescues I’ve seen in my 36-year career. Our receiving word of Private Lynch’s rescue — and subsequently, news of the rescue of the other prisoners — was a high point of the war for all of us at CentCom.

None of us were in it for the publicity: we did it to save a comrade. Period. We never ordered the operation filmed — the troops who executed it decided to film it on their own. Ultimately, it was good that they did, not for publicity purposes, but because that film can now be used to train soldiers.

A nation needs heroes. Hero-making in itself is not a bad thing. But hero-making without grounds is. In the case of Ms. Lynch, overzealous politicians and a frenzied press distorted facts. For these politicians to step forward now and accuse the military of capitalizing on the Jessica Lynch story is utter hypocrisy.

Michael DeLong, a retired Marine lieutenant general, is the author, with Noah Lukeman, of “A General Speaks Out: The Truth About the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Unless there was more testimony from Jessica in the afternoon, one of the last things Jessica was told by Mr. Waxman (paraphrasing) was first a question. Did she know that the rescue was being filmed, to which she replied, no, not at the time, but found out later and understood why it was filmed. He also then told her that she could have have been rescued sooner but insinuated that the show had to be a good one. This info supposedly from someone in the know.
Since Jessica is now getting getting on with her life, did this question serve any purpose except to make the military look bad?
Jessica welcomed the opportunity to once again set her story straight. She was honest, direct, respectful and put it all together. Her statement speaks for itself.
For those using Jessica for their own political purposes, I quote the General.

A nation needs heroes. Hero-making in itself is not a bad thing. But hero-making without grounds is. In the case of Ms. Lynch, overzealous politicians and a frenzied press distorted facts. For these politicians to step forward now and accuse the military of capitalizing on the Jessica Lynch story is utter hypocrisy.

[tekteam26]

Hey Matt:

Thanks for that. You are probably right about the overzealous politicians, but I suspect that West Va. politicos, if they were, were not the only overzealous ones working the Jane Rambo story. Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and company should also be included in the list. The media had to get the incorrect accounts from somewhere. The sad part is that our media, so cowed and tamed now, initially ran with it as they were intended to do by the ones manipulating them.

No. I disagree with your assessment. It was indeed a combination of publicity-hungry politicians and over-zealous media types that pushed the Jessi as Rambo story. They couldn't hold back and wait until all of the facts had come in. Indeed, the first reports had STRONGLY indicated that a blonde female soldier fitting Jessi's description had fought to the last bullet. But initial reports are seldom completely accurate nor do they necessarily have all of the facts that would tell the real story. If you read the full op-ed, you will see that the politicians wanted to push for the Medal of Honor because they felt that it would "benefit" women in uniform, in other words, gender politics. Unfortunately, gender politics are also the reason why the complete and truthful story of Jessi's captivity still remains untold. The politicians in suits and those wearing uniforms with lots of ribbons do not believe that women in this country can handle the shock of the truth.

[tekteam26]

Unless there was more testimony from Jessica in the afternoon, one of the last things Jessica was told by Mr. Waxman (paraphrasing) was first a question. Did she know that the rescue was being filmed, to which she replied, no, not at the time, but found out later and understood why it was filmed. He also then told her that she could have have been rescued sooner but insinuated that the show had to be a good one. This info supposedly from someone in the know.

You know this question and commentary from Congressman Waxman is not only untrue but also pretty disgusting.

[Matt Wiser]

Jessica didn't testify at the second part of the hearing, but the IG in his testimony pointed out that the claim by the BBC was groundless, and that it was a legitimate operation to rescue a POW in enemy territory. He also pointed out that no one acted for the camera. I guess that to Waxman, holding the mission up so that the Combat Cameraman can show up to go on the mission means it's "staged." Given the fact that Waxman represents Malibu, Santa Monica (or the People's Republic of), and Hollywood, no suprise about his politics and dislike of the military.

[Laracroft]

QUOTE
The politicians repeatedly said that a medal would be good for women in the military; I responded that the paramount issue was finding out what had really happened.

A false medal would not be good for woman in the military. I beleive she is a hero/survivor for other things then being a Rambo.



Thanks Matt
for the post you have an interesting ?.
I don't think the Rescue was staged. With that being said I also dont think anyone can ever answer that question to everybody satisfaction. Unfortunately I think there will always be people who are convinced this was staged. Just like with all the Conspiracy theorist about everthing (JFK--etc)

[Dilligafst]

Am not sure if Waxman dislikes the military as much as he dislikes the "Convenient Untruths" that have come out of some quarters of the military establishment in the name, for lack of a better word right now (am at work), propaganda. This piece below is from US. News&World Report , April 30, 2007, on-line edition. US News is a pretty conservative news weekly. What Waxman appears to be irate over here is not the military itself, but at those within the military that, as he has alleged, "might have delayed" the rescue by "one day..." I just copied the parts concerning Jessica. There rest is for Tillman. This is no idle phrase some journalist came up with out of thin air. If he or she did they would have hell to pay and then some, though I hope for the sake of all involved that it proves to be untrue.

I agree with the sub-heading here about false tales cheating the troops, but am generally not sure what to make of Waxman's allegations as they are put down here in this piece. In the little spare time I have I tried to find more references to it other than a USA Today (another fairly conservative paper) and this one, but have so far been unsuccessful, and hope that it is untrue. I had a long talk last night with an Iraqi veteran from the Vt. National Guard, who says that he is worried about having to deploy again, getting pulled apart from his wife for the second time, and had no nice words for the current state of affairs at the pentagon. I did not have the heart to ask him what he thought about Jessica or Pat Tillman. Maybe I should have.


Selling A Convenient Untruth
When the Pentagon spun false tales of heroism, it cheated all the troops
By Kevin Whitelaw
Posted 4/29/07





The Lynch legend began with a single anonymous leak, which was not repeated by other Pentagon officials. But at subsequent media briefings, high-level officials repeatedly declined to correct any aspect of the hyped account. Phillip Knightley, a media critic and author of The First Casualty: The War Correspondent as Hero and Myth-Maker From the Crimea to Iraq, believes the Pentagon deliberately crafts such stories. "They grab whatever comes along and looks good," he says. "This one had everything-a girl, a rescue, danger."

There are also some questions surrounding the rescue itself, including an alarming allegation cited by Rep. Henry Waxman, the oversight committee's chairman, that the military might have delayed Lynch's rescue by one day to allow the team to be accompanied by a cameraman. The resulting night-scope video was released to the media and broadcast widely. "I'm still confused as to why they choose to lie and try to make me a legend," Lynch said, "when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were legendary."

[patience]

I don't know what Mr. Waxman and other committe members' military experience is, but a little review of History will tell them that important military missions in the past have been photographed, when possible. This was not possible at the rescue of the POWs at Cabanatuan because it happened at nightfall and the Japanese guards would have seen the lights from the cameras.
Joe Rosenthal, associated press photographer who filmed the Pulitzer Prize winning photo of the flag raising on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, said he spent most of his life wishing he had never taken the photo. (That, from his daughter, in a book she has written about her father.) Accusations were rampant that the photo was staged.
Stuff like that is slander. Much of it probably due to envy, and inaccurate information from whomever.
After some research, it had been found that it was not staged, which he had always maintained. He barely made it to the top of Mt. Suribachi to begin with, and then he and the military photographer were ever so polite to each other, i.e., can you see? Yes, can you? Yes. Snap. Picture taken.

"The letter the committee sent to Jessica about the hearing states:"The committee asks that you focus
your testimony on your capture in an Nasariyah, Iraq. In particular, any inaccurate information circulated
about you and the incident and the mission conducted to rescue you."
I don't think Jessica gave the committee the answers they were expecting. She did say the press, when asked who they were, as in who is responsible for the circulated misinformation. She defended her rescuers, and said she understood (now) why it was filmed. And her
list of those she enumerated whom she considers heroes, included those who enter the military to fight for our freedoms.
Another thing I forgot to mention several posts back, was Congressman's Shays explanation to Jessica at the hearing, that perhaps the reason the Military officials did not step in to correct the rumors of Jessica fighting to the death was because they knew she had already suffered much and would correct the information herself. Paraphrased, of course.
I do hope with all the rhetoric, political of course, now going on, that it does not traumatize Jessica further.
And I also hope they stop "using" Jessica to put their points across.

[Soprano84]

Actually, Rosenthal DID stage a picture....but it was NOT the famous flag raising...it was a group shot of soldiers gathered around the base of teh flag well AFTER it had been raised.

The confusion and later accusations of staging came about because someone asked Rosenthal if the pic was staged...he replied yes...thinking it was the group shot being referred to, when the questioner was asking about the flag raising pic...and for years he was unablt to convince some people of thetruth because media ran with the original answer.

So what happened to Jessica is nothing new.

[patience]

Actually, Rosenthal DID stage a picture....but it was NOT the famous flag raising...it was a group shot of soldiers gathered around the base of teh flag well AFTER it had been raised.

The confusion and later accusations of staging came about because someone asked Rosenthal if the pic was staged...he replied yes...thinking it was the group shot being referred to, when the questioner was asking about the flag raising pic...and for years he was unablt to convince some people of thetruth because media ran with the original answer.

So what happened to Jessica is nothing new.

Thanks Soprano.
James Bradley, in his book, "Flags of our Fathers"' has a photo of "The gung-ho shot," under the replacement flag. There are 17 soldiers in the photo, helmets raised and joyful smiles all around. Unfortunately, the smiles didn't last very long.

[Matt Wiser]

Lara's right: there'll always be those who will believe the rescue was staged, no matter what evidence to the contrary is thrown in their faces. Their minds are made up, and nothing anyone says or shows them is going to change their minds.

And patience is also correct: so many of those in that "gung-ho" pic were killed or wounded. Even the cameraman who shot the movie film of the flag raising was later killed on Iwo. He was a USMC Combat Cameraman, and much of the film of the first few days of the invasion of Iwo Jima was his. Sgt. Bill Genaust was his name, IIRC.

[Soprano84]

Thanks Soprano.
James Bradley, in his book, "Flags of our Fathers"' has a photo of "The gung-ho shot," under the replacement flag. There are 17 soldiers in the photo, helmets raised and joyful smiles all around. Unfortunately, the smiles didn't last very long.

no prob...that's the staged photo Rosenthal was referring to.

of all the men i the 2 flag raisings, all but three died on Iwo Jima...most of the guys from the first raising died the following day.

[RichardLowry]

All,

Everyone needs to read the entire transcript of Jessica's testimony, including the questions she was asked and her answers. Jessica specifically said that it was the media that blew her story way out of proportion.

Also, the military DID try to dispel the story. They repeatedly said that the story being spread was not corroborated and they could neither confirm nor deny what happened during the ambush.

The rescue was definitely not staged. Jessica weighed 70lbs and was near death when she was rescued. SF teams routinely have embedded photographers. Do you remember the first air assault into Afghanistan? It was filmed. There is absolutely no proof that the rescue was delayed so that a photographer could tag along.

If I had to pick who to believe, I would pick a U.S. Military officer over politicians or reporters.

I started writing military books when I became disgusted with the amount of misinformation we receive from the American media. I started researching and found that nearly every military story that is presented to us in print and television media is incorrect is one way or another. Most are grossly incorrect.

I spent nearly three years of my life researching the battle of An Nasiriyah. I would venture to say that I have collected more facts about Jessica Lynch's ambush, captivity and rescue than anyone else in the world. And, I can tell you with certainty that there was no effort to glorify Jessica in the military and her rescue was warranted and was not a publicity stunt.

Richard S. Lowry