I put the hamsters to work before posting this, so I don’t think anyone else has mentioned it yet.
Jessica Lynch, whose rescue was big news during the war in Iraq, is now saying that the military used her rescue to help sell the war.
I’m sure that this won’t be much of a surprise to anyone here, but it’s nice to see that even Lynch herself is calling the military on the blatant propagandizing they were doing at the time. Anything and everything to sell the war.
I have nothing but respect for Lynch and what she went through, and I’m very glad she was rescued. I agree with her that the way her story was used was wrong, and if anything, I respect her even more for saying so.
I need to watch TV more often. My best friend (well in Jr High) was one of the guys that went in there and rescued her yet I haven’t managed to see him in any of the clips that have come on.
It’s always so creepy to me the short skinny fire bug is now a 6’4" Marine Special forces member.
As for the OP there’s enough shame and disgust to go around for both the Govs and the Media’s handling of the war.
I wonder how many people I know who would turn thier back on being lionized and treated like a hero? For the sake of truth and honor. Not many, and not all that sure about myself.
Bravely spoken, baby sister. Truly, you have served your country better than your country has served you. J’ais vous salut!
I have to admit, I thought that was what this thread was going to be about. I do not know a whole lot about Jessica Lynch, as I’m not much of a newshound. But, today on AOL this story was front page news - and maybe I’m just cynical, but it seems to me there’s a six-of-one, half-dozen of the other thing going here.
I read an excerpt from Pfc. Lynch’s book that was posted elsewhere, and I thought “jeezopeet, can we get a little MORE sensationalistic here?” This is not a direct quote, but it was something along the lines of “it is unclear whether she was raped before her bones were splintered into thousands of pieces, or if her captors raped her broken, nearly lifeless body.”
Granted, the book was written by someone else, but it was written with Pfc. Lynch’s input - it IS an authorized biography.
Her status as a media darling may upset her, but given her own contributions to feeding the frenzy, my sympathy is limited.
The problem with this, as I see it, is that she had no part in starting the feeding frenzy, or in making sure initial accounts were accurate. Kind of hard to do in her condition at the time, don’t’cha know…
At this point, I think she’s trying to set a story straight that’s been warped out of recognition.
I’m with 'luci and Ilsa… I applaud her courage in saying what she said. She could have just ridden the waves of adulation she’s been receiving, but instead took the higher road. Nicely done.
Haven’t seen the movie but was ‘Lynch – The Embedded Cut’ actually about her at all, or was it a celebration of the US military, showing the lengths good Americans will go to secure “freedom” from the baddies, about a happy ending, about creating an Iraqi feel-good factor – comfort food for the idiot-box audiences . . . I just dunno . . ?
But I suspect the whole deal wasn’t staged for the benefit of Jessica lynch alone, if at all. I wonder if any other male Americans in hospital could have been rescued in equally dramatic video format ?
I just sometimes think there is no length these people will not go to . . .
I wish her well, and freedom from this manipulation.
Oh, I do have sympathy, and to some extent I agree that the details of her rescue were hyped to swing support for the war. What she went through - whatever it was - could not have been pleasant. She’s a young girl who was doing her patriotic duty in serving.
And, I’m sure she’ll have nightmares for a long time, not to mention physical issues that will have to be dealt with. I don’t begrudge her a minute of her fame, nor do I think she should crawl under a rock and hide the rest of her life… but, based just on a few excerpts of her book, I get the sense that she is milking it too. And that’s where my sympathy gets pushed aside by my cynicism.
A matter-of-fact recounting of what happened to her would set the record straight. A sensationalistic book on the subject is, in my opinion, an effort to attract attention.
I think what some people are missing here is that it’s a “biography”, not a “autobiography”. “Authorized biography” has a variety of meanings, from “person supplies information to the author” to “person demands total editorial control of the project”. I’m willing to believe that Lynch ended up providing her information, and the biography author ran with it, and that Lynch had no creative control over the final copy (unless somebody can come up with a cite that says otherwise).
I mean, really, she’s refused to talk about most of the more sensational parts of the book, effectively trying to distance herself from them.
First, how could the Lynch story be used to “sell” the war? Wasn’t the war well under way by the time of her capture and rescue?
Second, though I’m not a member of the US Military Fan Club, I’m skeptical about accusing it of shameless propaganda in this case. What exactly was the propaganda line? Assuming a diabolical conspiracy to perpetrate a fraud was so brilliantly planned and executed, what part of it was so inflammatory as to compel legions of citizens to throw down their plows and go enlist?
Third, I watched as much live coverage as I could stay awake for, and IIRC, it was basically a slow news week. Until this story broke. It seemed to me the media, sensing the tedium might actually lower ratings, jumped on this like stink on poo and clung to it with the tenacity of a pit bull. I mean hell, I was sick of hearing about the damn story 2 hours into it.
Fourth, within the first 24 hours of the story breaking, it was reported that the only reason she even joined the military in the first place was to get a free education. (Whoa … who’s using who here?) With that, it’s difficult to take much else of what she says seriously, including the oath she enlisted under.
First, how could the Lynch story be used to “sell” the war? Wasn’t the war well under way by the time of her capture and rescue?
Second, though I’m not a member of the US Military Fan Club, I’m skeptical about accusing it of shameless propaganda in this case. What exactly was the propaganda line? Assuming a diabolical conspiracy to perpetrate a fraud was so brilliantly planned and executed, what part of it was so inflammatory as to compel legions of citizens to throw down their plows and take up arms?
Third, I watched as much live coverage as I could stay awake for, and IIRC, it was basically a slow news week. Until this story broke. It seemed to me the media, sensing the tedium might actually lower ratings, jumped on this like stink on poo and clung to it with the tenacity of a pit bull. I mean hell, I was sick of hearing about the damn story by the third iteration.
Fourth, within the first 24 hours of the story breaking, it was reported that the only reason she even joined the military in the first place was to get a free education. (Whoa … who’s using who here?) With that, it’s difficult to take much else of what she says seriously, including the oath she enlisted under.
Eh. Par for the course. The Memphis Belle was taken on a barnstorming tour to help raise war bonds back in WWII. Granted, those guys were a bit more heroic than Ms. Lynch in that they succeeded in their missions - which were very dangerous.
The government always tries to create heroes and then use them to raise morale on the home front. I’m sure there are plenty of examples from European countries or whatever.
Sure, it sucks that she’s getting all this attention that she doesn’t want. And I’m not thrilled that she’s getting it rather than the guys who went and rescued her, but I’m not really that shocked or upset that the Pentagon would use her story to raise support. It’s what it does.
If you’re talking about the recent movie, I didn’t see it but all the reviews and such said it didn’t focus on her so much as the Iraqi guy who brought in the troops.
So did she make this ballsy statement before or after being paid for the rights to her story and the advance on her book? Horseshit through and through.
