Fake, But Accurate Redux

The New Republic's "Baghdad Diarist" has recanted his works of fantasy under oath to the U.S. Army, according to The Weekly Standard.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned from a military source close to the investigation that Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp--author of the much-disputed "Shock Troops" article in the New Republic's July 23 issue as well as two previous "Baghdad Diarist" columns--signed a sworn statement admitting that all three articles he published in the New Republic were exaggerations and falsehoods--fabrications containing only "a smidgen of truth," in the words of our source.

Separately, we received this statement from Major Steven F. Lamb, the deputy Public Affairs Officer for Multi National Division-Baghdad:

"An investigation has been completed and the allegations made by PVT Beauchamp were found to be false. His platoon and company were interviewed and no one could substantiate the claims."

According to the military source, Beauchamp's recantation was volunteered on the first day of the military's investigation. So as Beauchamp was in Iraq signing an affidavit denying the truth of his stories, the New Republic was publishing a statement from him on its website on July 26, in which Beauchamp said, "I'm willing to stand by the entirety of my articles for the New Republic using my real name."

So there you have it. You have a sniveling little moonbat who figures he can build up some kind of moral authority to slander our troops as long as he can point out that he wore the uniform for a tour in Iraq. Assuming that spending some time with the military that he - just like most Lefties - despised would give him some kind of "credibility", he decided to go to town. So he gets hired by his wife's employer to "report" on his time in Iraq. The result was to create the kind of urban legends that he never actually witnessed but was sure took place among these "baby-killers" for whom he held such disdain.

Too cute, by half. But now he's busted.

And The New Republic went the way of Dan Rather. So eager were they to believe these fantastic stories that they didn't bother exercising any editorial judgment and do a little fact-checking. No, to them the stories were just too good not to be true.

Private Scott Thomas Douchebag Beauchamp

Now, Beauchamp's escapades combined with the Steven Glass fiasco has pretty much blown TNR's journalistic credibility out of the water.

It never ceases to amaze me how Liberals can't get past the mental block that serving in the military is all you need to be able to criticize it. They tried it with Wesley Clark, then John F'n Kerry and now some little punk uses the same rationale to make a name for himself. And for them, you can't say anything positive or supportive about the military unless you've served or they brand you a "chickenhawk".

Private Beauchamp, however, couldn't be honest about his fellow soldiers and took the liar's way out. In my book, that makes him a chickenshit. Or as Uncle Jimbo at BlackFive (who had him pegged from the beginning) points out:

As I said every unit has a Private Beauchamp who is more or less universally disliked as a whiny loser. No one understands them and they are always getting screwed over. They always have aspirations to grandness coupled with an absolute uselessness and laziness that ensures they will never achieve it.

The incidents described by Private dung beetle did not happen in the way he described them, but some event containing morsels of truth did and then our fabulist enbellished it to match the narrative of the voices in his head. They tell him the war is evil and consequently he and the folks around him are compromised and now agents of evil. He was just doing his part to ensure that people get the truth as it should be, damn the facts.

If you ask me, the Army should allow Beauchamp's unit to throw him a going-away "blanket party" and send his butt home with a dishonorable discharge.

Somehow, I think he'll get off a lot easier.