By Brian Beutler - April 17, 2009
A senior enlisted U.S. Army soldier--Master Sergeant John Hatley--was
convicted two days ago by a military jury in Germany of executing four handcuffed, blindfolded Iraqi men by shooting them in the backs of their heads.
That's a newsworthy (and, of course, gruesome) story in and of itself, but there's a story behind the story.
Many readers will recall the
case of Scott Beauchamp--the Army Private who took his story of out-of-control soldiers in the line of duty to the pages of
The New Republic and soon thereafter found himself on the receiving end of attacks from conservatives across the establishment and beyond.
Some of those conservatives, including the
Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb, participated in a concerted (and inaccurate)
effort to discredit Beauchamp and tar, for lack of patriotism, the notoriously dovish
New Republic and, by association, liberals everywhere.
For his reporting, Goldfarb relied on some...let's call them '
questionable' sources and even got an assist, in a bizarre breach of protocol, from Beauchamp's First Sergeant, who
took to the blogosphere to make the case against the beleaguered Private. "My soldiers (sic) conduct is consistently honorable."
This soldier has other underlining (sic) 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.
The name of that Non-Commissioned Officer might ring a bell: John Hatley. And he seems to have protested a bit too much. We excitedly await Goldfarb's statement on the issue.
more
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
