Private Jessica says President is misusing her 'heroism'

[Wickerman]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1081207,00.html

I posted this in late-breaking as this seems to have a couple of new spins. First, its the UK letting the world know just how messed up our govt has been on this, and while first calling her the Mona Lisa of Iraqi Freedom ("The New York Times has pointed out how Lynch has become the Mona Lisa of Operation Iraqi Freedom."), they then add that she is slowly becoming the symbol of all that is wrong and fictitious about this war. And, Jessica is doing that herself with her statements that she is no hero and was not raped, and that her friend, Shoshana Johnson, will receive barely a third of Lynch's discharge package.

"...As she pointed out herself, it was her dead colleague Lori Piestewa, a Native American mother of two, who went down fighting."

---snip
Now, with the US forces having lost 32 soldiers in the last week alone, the mood may be turning and she stands to be come symbolic of US confusion and press credulity. The inconsistencies have not been missed by veterans' groups who don't wish to besmirch her individual valour but are uneasy over the administration's efforts to present 'good news' while ignoring the reality.

'The White House sent a message that they were going to tell the good news stories so now we have a situation where we are not allowed to witness the coffins coming home and there are no images of young soldiers coming home missing arms and legs,' said Steve Robinson of the National Gulf War Resource Centre.
snip----
Lynch now questions why her rescue was filmed: 'They used me to symbolise all this stuff. It's wrong. I don't know why they filmed it, or why they say these things.'

[DuctapeFatwa]

1. Jessica should probably shut up and quietly move to France

Or her injuries may turn out to be worse than anyone suspected.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

5. Maybe more people ought to join her in telling the truth...

...and those that don't want to hear the truth should should shut up instead.

[DuctapeFatwa]

10. I think the truth is pretty clear, about this and other things

You may have better information, but my impression is that Jessica is just a girl from West Virginia who joined the army because there aren't a lot of options in West Virginia.

I think she has been through enough, she is just a kid, she deserves to live her life, no need for her to become a martyr.

Jessica isn't going to be what brings the bush regime down, there have already been a lot of other coincidences and martyrs and they're still there and the majority of the voting class is still chanting evildoers who hate freedom.

Why would anyone want this kid to suffer more?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

47. What the HECK are you talking about?...

She's made her choice about what direction she wants to take, and it's not in the direction the Bushies are trying to push her. Who do you think is trying to turn her into a martyr???

IMHO, most, if not all, of the so-called "official sources" and leaks from "official sources" have lied to attempt to sell Lynch to the American public as a hero. To her credit, she is telling anyone that will listen that she is NOT a hero and that just about everything written about her have been fabrications. Let's list a few shall we?:

1) She did not lose consciousness at the instant her vehicle wrecked because she stated that following the wreck she attempted to fire her weapon and was unable to do so because it had jammed;

2) She was not shot and/or stabbed by the Iraqis while attmpting to make a stand. Iraqi and American doctors in Germany are unanimous in their opinions on this subject;

3) Because she broke both legs and an arm in the crash of her vehicle, plus her weapon had jammed, what did she do to win the Bronze Star awarded her by the Army?;

4) The Iraqi lawyer who claims he helped save Lynch has been exposed by Lynch herself as a liar. She claims she was NEVER mistreated by ANYONE in the hospital, a claim that is supported 100% by the Iraqi doctors;

5) The Iraqi doctors also appear to be very angry about the idea that Lynch could have been raped (the Rick Bragg version) by anyone prior to her arrival at their hospital. In additon to the fact that all of her clothing was in order...no buttons missing, nothing torn, zipper up...there wasn't enough time to commit such an act from the end of the ambush until she reached the hospital. Lynch also appears to be quite dubious about this claim, a claim that allegedly is based on her very own service record;

6) Even the so-called "rescue" was completely bogus! The hospital had already been vacated by the Iraqi military and was in friendly territory when the "rescue" took place! Of course, four of the "rescuers" can't talk about it because they're dead...one drive-by shooting, one single-car accident, one suicide, and one shot in the back during combat in Iraq;

7) And now that idiot Bragg (authorized biography? By whom?) is claiming that Lynch fought the Iraqi doctors who allegedly wanted to amputate one of her legs. Okay, sure...she had lost almost half her blood and still had the strength to fight off the menacing doctors;

I could go on but surely anyone reading this post will understand the points I'm making.

So, here's a question for youd...what exactly are you trying to say? Are you saying she should just go along with the official lies???

[DuctapeFatwa]

58. I think she should live her life in safety with those who love her, she's

already a hero, she has already spoken out.

Because of the tragic coincidental accidents involving other individuals who were aware of some differences between the bush regime's account and the facts, I believe it would be prudent for her family to be in a heightened enough state of alert to take whatever measures are necessary to keep her safe.

I do not believe that the differences between the facts and the regime version of the events of her "capture" and "rescue" have the potential of bringing down the regime and saving the nation, and that is not a burden that I would feel comfortable placing on her 20 year old shoulders.

I think she has suffered enough already, and I believe that she deserves to marry her sweetheart and live long and prosper, in safety and happiness and privacy.

[leesa]

53. I hope she doesn't become a martyr, but I think it is important that she

continue. No one else can say it for her. SHE needs to be the one. She is still at war, but now, rather than the heinous nonsense of Iraq, she is at war against something really important. Her job now as a citizen of the US, and as a patriot, and as a warrior, is to expose the lies of the Bush Crime Family. I hope she has the courage and strength to fight this war.

[0007]

6. It would sure look bad if anything ever happen to Jessica now!

In fact junior may sent some protection for Jessica.

[Cha]

9. OMG! I just thought of how many Soldiers who

were killed that were in on Jessica's "rescue"? 3 or 4! :wtf:

[DuctapeFatwa]

14. All four of Jessica's rescuers died in tragic coincidental accidents

Her family and her fiancee should just get her the hell out of Dodge.

[Cha]

15. That's just too ...way too "coincidental" and I'm like

the cops on tv drama shows..."I don't believe in coincidences".

Jessica should be more scared now than she was in Iraq and that would have been very scary even with just a car wreck.

[DrBB]

20. Is that true?

I haven't heard that before and it would be a useful thing to have references for, if' you've got 'em.

B.t.w., I've always thought you have one of the wittiest monikers at DU.

[DuctapeFatwa]

30. Thanks! here are some links

This is a subject that is under cover ban, so you may need to google a bit more to get the original stories of each rescuer

http://www.propagandamatrix.com/291003lynchrescuers.html

http://www.politikforum.de/forum/archive/27/2003/11/1/40659

https://www.bvalphaserver.com/postt27261.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. Good God.

Even this West Virginia girl (I think that's where she's from but correct me if I'm wrong) is turning against Bush.

[Rowdyboy]

3. Less than a week ago some here

were calling this woman all sorts of ugly names and making light of her suffering. Thats what happens when you listen to the administration and their media.

[hang a left]

43. Yep, everyone was trashing her, because she was "cashing in"

on her book deal. I remember making the statement like "lets wait for the book to come out and then let history judge her" Turns out she is right freakin on! I am proud of her!

[0007]

4. Thank you Jessica, thank you for being honest.

She was not rape as many of us said we didn't think she was.

What I think is funny and as ludicrous is this piece in the article.

"She was not raped, as the department said, and the Iraqi, Mohammed Odeh Al-Rehaief, who was given US citizenship for his efforts, has written a book about how he risked his own life to win her freedom. Now he is described by his wife as overly influenced by John Wayne movies."

Mohammed Odeh Al-Rehaief should be stripped of his US citizenship and shipped back to Iraq immediately.

This guy should be in front of a firing squad or sent back to Jordan.

[sharonstone]

7. He is a good terrrorist so he should not sent back to Iraq

[Swing Voter]

54. How can we trust anything she says?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but one of Jessica's first statements that was released to the public was that she didn't remember anything at all from the time that she was lying in the sand trying to fire her weapon and the time she was being loaded aboard a US helicopter. Then comes the rape allegations, and Jessica stated that she "didn't remember" being raped and she "didn't remember" being slapped and she "didn't remember" key events that were being described by the media and others. Now there is a tell-all book. Can we trust anything at all that this money-making project has to offer? To me this sounds as propaganda-filled as the Reagan biography movie. If you ask me who I think is responsible for making Jessica out as a hero, it's the media. She was simply a soldier who was captured and held as a POW. The only reason the media focused on her is because she is an attractive young delicate fragile looking woman that just makes you go "aaahhhhhh poooooor Jessica. What about the black lady who was captured and shot in both feet. Oh but she wasn't pooooor Jeeeesica.

[proud patriot]

61. It was the government that said she couldn't remember

It was her father that disputed the Amnesia.

[Cha]

8. This is so Ironic! I never thought there

was any hope with the real "Jessica Lynch Story" getting out..and it's coming from Jessica herself! I'm so glad to be majorly wrong!

And now she Is the "the symbol of all that is wrong and fictitious about this war." Hallelujah! I hope this one has the legs of ten octapi!

[OrAnarch]

11. The rape never made sense to me in the first place...

In a society, where our propoganda reports that families kill daughters who are raped, and no one lends any support, these people would help a foreign invader that was raped? Never added up. But why throw it in? To dehumanize the Iraqi troops perhaps.

[caledesi]

12. How schizophrenic is Freeperville? Let me count the ways

When the first report came out about JL, the Freepers were calling her "classy, brave, patriotic, and modest."

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1016521/posts#comment
(185 replies)

THEN, the big one dropped...she condemned the Pentagon and suddenly all the hypocritical Freepers "turned."

"As the mother of a Marine who would risk his life for Jessica I say "shame on you Jessica!" You are an ingrate! You are a disgrace! And your big smiling photo posted on AOL today with Dianne Sawyer made me sick!"

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1017472/posts

[OKNancy]

19. And isn't DU the mirror of freeperville?

Some, not all.
There was a lot of nasty words on DU about Ms. Lynch. I congratulate those who didn't gang up on her and those that waited to see what her true words were.

[DrBB]

21. Having posted a holier-than-thou rant about this on another thread

...I will resist the temptation to reiterate it here. But I agree. And she's not the only one DUers have gone off on with little reason or evidence. The accusation "tool of the BFEE" is too easily thrown around here. Anyone who serves as a soldier on the line deserves my respect, even if I think the cause they are fighting in is mistaken.

[JoFerret]

23. Absolutely.

that cruel rush to judgment for this kid who joined the army to pay for college to be a kindergarten teacher. It is amazing that she is able to emerge with her integrity intact after the Pentagon assault and the collective desire to project onto her a fiction. Those who condemend her because of what was done to her are as guilty as those who lionized her for what she did not do or they wished had happened. But...there are many guilty here. May the truth be told and known and accepted for what it is..imperfect, human.
And can we take a look at the misogyny that seems so easy (to some)on DU? Let's stop with the gender specific insults. (But that is another issue.)
Thanks Ms Lynch for telling what appears to be your truth. But note how the Pentagon will slide out of responsibilty for promoting the multiple fictions.

[w13rd0]

24. Yes, there were...

...I was skeptical of the rape tale, and stated that I would continue being skeptical barring her comment on it. I also said that if she was indeed raped, it was a war crime. There are also those in that Freep thread defending her, just as we have a few here who have been rather vile.

I just want Bush exposed for the fraud he is. I want him to be shown as a true ass in such a way that the Bushbots have to have their heads explode to entertain congnitive dissonance that he's a "good man". I'll applaud anyone who advances that goal.

[liberalmuse]

13. She's turned out to be a real hero...

She could've made a fortune just playing along with the story, but instead, she is telling it straight. How many people would have the courage to go against the spin from the national media and the White House/Pentagon and tell the unglamorous truth? I really do respect Ms. Lynch for her honesty and integrity, which stands out in stark contrast to the lies coming out of the Bush administration.

[Cha]

17. Jessica is a Huge Heroine! Bigger than any way

she could be in an Iraqi situation. This is actually blowing my mind! But why do you think it took so long to come to light? And the propaganda story is on nbc tomorrow night.

[JoFerret]

28. Hero is fine

...if you feel that way about her. no need for the "ine"
.

[Cha]

34. From Merriam Webster...

" Heroine - woman admired and emulated for her achievements and qualities"

[JoFerret]

37. Some links to help you with language and sexism

http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~danhall/LGGA99.March26.pdf

http://www.bartleby.com/64/C005/020.html

http://staff.jccc.net/pmcqueen/Tips/Gender.htm

[Jim Sagle]

52. Did she ask you for help?

[JoFerret]

63. No. But ...

... it never hurts to be better informed. There is so much we all still have to learn.

[Lorien]

16. Not only misusing her "heroism"

but they've been misusing the title of "Hero" for years now. As Websters describes it:
a : exhibiting or marked by courage and daring b : supremely noble or self-sacrificing

Lynch was one of the unfortunate wounded of Iraq, but she has not shown any attributes of heroism until of late. Standing up for truth, in this case, is indeed "couragous" and "daring".

[caledesi]

18. Jessica is just a kid who is telling the truth. How would you have

handled this situ at 19 for Christ's sake?

[joeybee12]

22. I don't understand how the book got written if she's denying a lot of what

is in it.

I'm not following it that closely because it's turning my stomach, but I assumed she wrote the book with the help of plagarist Bragg. If so, why is she denying the rape and other incidents that were obviously included to make the book more sensationl, and, as we all know, drum up war for our terrorist invasion of Iraq?

[Cha]

26. Good Questions and I would like to

know the answers, too! I have not been that interested because it was all so much propoganda Big Lie Spin but now I am really interested! "Life changes on a dime"!

[peacetalksforall]

29. Bragg is not a plagarist

He didn't give enough credit to an assistant, but he is not a classical plagarist. I think there is a difference. Plagarists usually don't tell anyone that they've 'borrowed' material or they get 'confused'. As I understand it, a lot of people knew Bragg was using an assistant.

He's got a good future ahead of him in spite of being an NYT scapegoat. I don't think he will end his career now with this book.

[joeybee12]

32. Sorry, but Bragg is a plagarist--it was more than one asst, and it was

several times--many of his articles were written almost 100% by other people.

I hope this book ends his career, but it probably won't. It doesn't pay to tell the truth.

[gardenista]

39. ?

Are you saying that that the book was written to drum up war for our invasion of Iraq?

I don't understand, the book hasn't even been published yet, and the invasion happened in March.

Also, Bragg is not a plagiarist.

[peacetalksforall]

25. I haven't followed this story because

it turned my stomach to have a pretty young girl singled out for heroism caused by an wrong turn-accident. I nearly chucked it up when I heard she was suffering from amnesia.

Trauma, yes. Reduce the trauma by not talking about it for awhile, yes. But amnesia - waaaay tooo convenient and Rove-like.

[fishnfla]

27. I knew it

when she got 'rescued' my freeper mom said, 'well at least the war is over for her now, thanks god"

I said "ma, the war will never be over for her, its just beginning"

she didn't get it.

Vanity Fair Huh? pretty snazzy!

[demgrrrll]

31. Someone at Bartcop posted that her brother was called up to be sent

to Iraq right after she made these comments. Does anyone else have any information about this action?

[oldcoot]

50. Yes

See this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=677888 or see this article: http://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/story/117202003_new02_Greg.asp for more information.

[jonoboy]

33. God she is so brave

I'm amazed by Jessica Lynch. The pressure to not come out with this must be intense. What a great girl and she is now being a true heroine. This is a soldier who cares about her fellow servicemen/women

[Cha]

35. I know..I am utterly amazed.

I used to think to myself when this story was in the throes of its highest propoganda time that it would be so great if she were the type to disavow the lie and tell the real story. Alas, I didn't have much hope for it to happen.

[gardenista]

40. You were an optimist, and you were rewarded!

(I hope you'll again be rewarded in '04, if you know what I mean! : )

[Wickerman]

36. Wouldn't it be great to see just half of our elected Dems act the same?

I do admire her getting the story out. At 19 or 20 it takes some courage to face a fawning public and govt and say, wait, that isn't fight, thats not what happened, and I won't be used that way.

She will be hitting the talk show circit soon, and her book comes out this week. Even though, and I'm guessing, she'll be speaking the truth and calling BushCo* on its lies I hope people don't get too ugly when they realize she is still making some coin off this. Ask me, she's earned it by what she has been thru - just based on what she has gone thru since she got back in the "safe" arms of the US.

[gardenista]

41. My understanding is that she has already set up a foundation

to put some of the royalties toward the education of Lori Peistewa's two children, and other children.

There will be ugliness about her making money off of this, but in my view, it's completely understandable. I'm sure I would feel very differently about that if she were not exposing the White House lies.

Yes, money changes everything, but truth changes things even more!

[JoFerret]

44. If that is true then

it speaks volumes about decency and integrity.

[jus_the_facts]

38. I've not said anything for or against her...but I will say this....

....just her being in the military at all makes her braver than I and many other males and the majority of females...I feel for her having been through all she has...I can't even begin to imagine or want to...and at her age too...unbelievable. :(

[JoFerret]

42. I don't see how joining the military

makes one "brave". There are brave people in the military just as there are craven blowhards and warmongering psychopaths. Sometimes not joining might be even braver. I do think that Pvt. Lynch telling the truth is an act of integrity even if it does pay off for her financially. in any event - it will be refreshing to here the truth.
By the way - has anyone been following the story of Sgt. Georg Pogany who has been charged with cowardice for asking for help after a panic attack induced by Green Berets laughing at an Iraqi shredded by machine gun bullets?

[demhoo]

49. Amazing, isn't it

Yes, I read about Sgt. Pogany, too. It made me sick to think that they are going after this guy when his worthless comander-in-chief deserted his national guard unit (that his family's political connections got him into) after refusing to take the required drug test, and was ordered sent to a penal unit.:mad: I keep having this dream of the '05 inauguration - the first one in US history where the outgoing (p)resident is led away in handcuffs & chains!:nopity:

[JoFerret]

64. A great dream...

meanwhile I think they have reduced the charges against Pogany the better to get away with it probably. They all need a heavy dose of the outrage of the poet soldiers of the Great War.

[Gman]

45. Jessica could become the most powerful voice in this country

against the war. What they did with her symbolizes everything that is wrong with this war. She unwittingly and unwillingly became a propaganda pawn. She doesn't like it. What Jessica has to say should be harnessed to raise more and more voices against the war.

[Nlighten1]

46. Awesome

Shining some light on the lies.

[mbee]

55. If NBC refused to run the Raygun movie this is the perfect opportunity

for us to question why they are showing this pack-of-lies movie about Lynch. We should email them and ask why the double standard?

[Poiuyt]

66. CBS

The Reagan movie had been scheduled to be shown on CBS. The Lynch movies was on NBC.

[colorado_ufo]

48. Lynch's honesty about this matter,

even when tempted by fame and fortune - even in the face of the myterious deaths of her rescuers - is what is worthy of a Bronze Star. I pray that this good, young woman goes on to live a full and happy life, but anyone upon whom so much has been hung will be at a disadvantage for many years, if not forever. She will find it hard to have privacy and safety.

[dArKeR]

51. Lynch slams Pentagon rescue film - AFP

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2003/11/09/2003075150

[johnnie]

56. Not her fault..

I'm sure this girl didn't ask for this, and obviously she has been abused by the smirk and gang for their bullshit war. It would be nice if we had a way of writing her and supporting her. She is just a kid and chances are, her life won't go on much longer.

[gauguin57]

57. i just hope

that after all this dies down, Jessica will not allow herself to be dragged into making lame cameos on sitcoms, posing in No Excuses jeans or having a makeover before she goes to the Oscars. I mean, you KNOW Chimpya is gonna have her in the balcony for the State of the Union, for her "Lenny Skutnik" moment. I hope that's the end of all this p.r. hoo-ha.

I hope she can take the free tuition offered her, go to college and become the teacher she wanted to become before Bush & Co. had her sent into hell. After the Sawyer interview and this (no-doubt) hyperbolic TV movie, that should be the end of all this. Her service to her country should be recognized; but it's now time for her "symbolism" to be put to rest, and for her to be left in peace to get on with her life.

[Rose Siding]

59. I don't see where she said what the title says

The Guardian takes license here that isn't necessary. It muddies things and just isn't necessary.

[RedSock]

60. did rescuers use blanks???

Pentagon calls BBC's Lynch allegations 'ridiculous'
Report said commando raid was unnecessarily theatric
Jamie McIntyre, CNN Washington Bureau
Tuesday, June 17, 2003 Posted: 10:58 PM EDT (0258 GMT)

Any charge that the U.S. military misrepresented the facts of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch's rescue April 1 from an Iraqi hospital to make the mission appear more dramatic or heroic is "void of all facts and absolutely ridiculous" the Pentagon said Monday. ...

The BBC report quoted witnesses and hospital officials as stating the United States knew that there were no Iraqi forces at the hospital when it conducted the commando raid, and that the United States special operations forces had used Hollywood theatrics, including blank ammunition, to make a show of rescuing private Lynch.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/05/19/sprj.irq.bbc.lynch.dod/

**********

Today's News:

In the corridors of the Bush administration, senior officials frankly admit that they would prefer the Jessica Lynch story simply went away. "The Private Lynch story is becoming a monster," said one administration official.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/11/09/wirq109.xml

[jokerman93]

62. Sounds like she's stinking mad and isn't going to take it!

Good for you Pvt. Lynch! Glad to see you've got it in you. And yeah I'd watch my back too.

[roguevalley]

65. She's a good girl. ONe of many all over the damned battle zone.

She is hurt, young, lost friends she loved and is being
abused again for political advantage. She should be
admired for her stance, which I believe stems from basic
integrity and a love for the others that are gone.

Her parents probably didn't say more than they did because
they were protecting her and she was hurt. They rebuffed
some of the statements early on. They must be very proud
of her. I hope her brother gets back okay.