Beauchump.
About a week ago, Exurban Kevin mentioned a "Baghdad Diary" series published in the left-leaning magazine The New Republic. TNR is considered one of the more reasonable liberal journals, but has suffered more than one fabulist in its ranks. And the latest scandal is just heating up.
A sad sack named Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp published several lurid tales casting the entire military in a bad light. When various bloggers proved many if not all of these ugly vignettes to be bogus, he was forced to admit his real name. Despite having no evidence of Beauchamp's silly claims, TNR steadfastly defends him to this date.
Well, Army vet and blogger Cheryl McElroy apparently found quite a scoop over at The Foxhole. She sent a supportive note to
I appreciate all the support from home and I can assure you that not a single word of this was true... This soldier has other underlining issues which I’m sure will come out in the course of the investigation. No one at any of the post we live at or frequent, remotely fit the descriptions of any of the persons depicted in this young man’s fairy tale. I can’t and won’t divulge any information regarding this soldier, but I do sincerely appreciate all the support from the people back home. Again, this young man has a vivid imagination and I promise you that this by no means reflects the truth of what is happening here.Sounds like someone might be spending the next few years turning big rocks into little rocks. But don't worry, Private. I hear Leavenworth is nice this time of year.
UPDATE (4/17/09... 21 months later): Attaturk at the Eschaton Blog has brought to our attention ugly news about the sergeant who wrote the above letter:
In February, another military jury convicted the unit’s medic, Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr., 28, of premeditated murder and sentenced him to life in prison. On March 30, Sgt. First Class Joseph P. Mayo, 27, pleaded guilty to murder and received a 35-year sentence.A life turning big rocks into little rocks is much too good for Leahy. As a conservative, I would prefer that this murderer takes a quick trip down a short rope.
Military legal experts said the soldiers’ rank showed the frustration of fighting insurgents who blended in with the locals.
Nevertheless, I don't understand why several on the left are implying that this somehow exonerates Beauchump from his damaging deception. Apparently, this is another story with bad actors on both sides. Much like our current political system.
So John Kerry v 2.0 is getting busted. Thank God for a new media. If it existed when Kerry perpetrated his frauds against the American people and American soldier, millions of people in SE ASia might still be alive, our ally in S. Vietnam may not have been abandoned, and Kerry would never have been sitting around posing as a Senator.
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Give some credit to Kerry, he at least waited until he was fairly clear of the UCMJ before committing his slanders; at least he was in a position where prosecution would have been too painful, starting with determining who had article 15 authority on him.
Beauchamp however is not so smart. Like all the similar sad sacks I've run up in my life, he's a pretty smart guy who would be a lot smarter if he just understood how limited his intelligence really was. He won't get to Leavenworth, or even the brig unless he has other crimes of which we are unaware (very possibly). Even so, I sincerely hope his 1stSgt (sorry Army: 1SG) ensures that that Pvt Beauchamp graduates the school of hard knocks with an other than honorable discharge - that will be a fair enough lesson.
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DISCLAIMER: I rectified a mistake and removed 1SG Hatley’s email from the post. I should not have included that, due to privacy issues and the fact that the man has enough headaches with running his unit and the stress of deployment. DO NOT CONTACT HIM. If you want to sound off, email me.
SFC MAC
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oops
http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=20046
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Wow, you were right. Someone is going to spend the next few years turning big rocks into little rocks. Just not the guy you thought.
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> Nevertheless, I don't understand why
> several on the left are implying that
> this somehow exonerates (sic) Beauchump from
> his damaging deception. Apparently,
> this is another story with bad actors
> on both sides. Much like our current
> political system.
You don't understand because you don't WANT to understand Beauchamp writes about US soldier run amok, murdering locals and, lo and behold, that's what happened!
You owe Beauchamp an apology for telling the truth.
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Nevertheless, I don't understand why several on the left are implying that this somehow exonerates Beauchump from his damaging deception.
Let me guess...because his superior officer contradicted him and said he had "other underlining issues"...
What you have here essentially, is the man who was shooting people in the head said "Beauchamp's a nutjob, we don't shoot people in the head."
To simplify it further, the deception wasn't on Beauchamp's part. Get it?
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I find it interesting how snarky you were in your dismissal of Beauchamp's story in your original post but now you want to be seen as even-handed in how "there are bad guys on both sides." Bit late for that, don't you think?
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It exonerates Beauchamp because it shows that his reporting was correct in all material respects, notwithstanding a few misremembered details (which were dishonestly held up as proof positive of outright fabrication of the substantive points).
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Bad actors? Murderers vs a soldier who gets some unimportant details wrong in a report....on what planet are these equivalent???
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It certainly is refreshing to see someone actually own up to an error in judgment...even as an update on an almost 2 year old post. But then you have to justify your original post and equate the two men? Do you still believe what Hatley (Beauchamp's First Sgt. convicted of shooting 4 bound men in the backs of their heads) said about him in your above reference? You actually still believe Beauchamp is a bad apple? After 3 men in his unit were convicted of murder? Wow.
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Dirty pool, old man. Dirty pool.
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A point of clarification: In no way do I think Beauchamp and Hatley are equivalent. After this post, we posted many more items on the errant TNR diarist, one of the final ones praising him for doing the right thing in the end ( http://exurbanleague.com/2007/10/25/credit-where-credit-is-due.aspx ). My initial assessment here was harsh, but as the available info changed, so did my perspective.
If a reader only saw this post, I can see how equivalency could be inferred. However, I think Beauchamp has paid plenty for his deceptive diaries. And as stated above, Hatley should be executed, in accordance with the UCMJ. I'm ex-military and vermin like him should be dealt with very, very harshly.
Still, Hatley's deep guilt doesn't prove the veracity of Beauchamp's outlandish claims about sawing dogs in half with a tire that is thicker than a dog, or dancing around non-existent mass graves with baby skulls on soldiers' heads.
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Beauchamp was exonerated the *moment* Hatley was convicted of murder. Why would you trust the words of a murderer?
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