According to the Weekly Standard, Scott Beauchamp has repudiated his "Shock Troops" article, published in the New Republic back in July. USA Today reports a military spokesperson's categorical denial of Beauchamp's accusations.
According to Little Green Footballs, the "Shock Troops" article is no longer available on the New Republic website.
What's this all about? In a New Republic exclusive, Beauchamp reported some nasty goings-on in Iraq. Problem is, none of it was true.
In a typically insightful analysis, Mark Steyn points out that Beauchamp's charade was "designed to confirm prejudices so ingrained the editors [of TNR] didn't even recognize they were being pandered to."
Steyn is right. Here's the proof: Go to the leftist Daily Kos website. Do a search for diaries and stories on Beauchamp. You'll find one diary on Beauchamp recanting the "shock troops" story, from Tuesday morning. 29 comments. Another diary in support of Beauchamp and attacking right-wing blogs for questioning his story has 170 comments.
Now do a Google search for "Beauchamp" on the leftist Democratic Underground message board, like this.
You won't find any discussion of Beauchamp retracting his claims. You will find a lot of discussion of how evil the U.S. military is. I haven't seen any recent popular postings on Beauchamp, either. None of the lefties seem to care -- or, worse, like a poster on Daily Kos, they think just maybe Beauchamp was tortured in order to get him to change his story.
So what does this little experiment prove? Beauchamp's narrative supported what the leftists already believed about the military; more, it supported what they desperately want to believe. Thus, you will find vehement support in favor of stories that portray the military in a bad, sick, twisted light, and silence when those stories are refuted. Do you really think any of them have changed their minds about the U.S. military because of this, even a little?
No: they'll jump on the next hoax just as quickly. Steyn is right. They don't even recognize they're being pandered to.
What's this all about? In a New Republic exclusive, Beauchamp reported some nasty goings-on in Iraq. Problem is, none of it was true.
In a typically insightful analysis, Mark Steyn points out that Beauchamp's charade was "designed to confirm prejudices so ingrained the editors [of TNR] didn't even recognize they were being pandered to."
Steyn is right. Here's the proof: Go to the leftist Daily Kos website. Do a search for diaries and stories on Beauchamp. You'll find one diary on Beauchamp recanting the "shock troops" story, from Tuesday morning. 29 comments. Another diary in support of Beauchamp and attacking right-wing blogs for questioning his story has 170 comments.
Now do a Google search for "Beauchamp" on the leftist Democratic Underground message board, like this.
You won't find any discussion of Beauchamp retracting his claims. You will find a lot of discussion of how evil the U.S. military is. I haven't seen any recent popular postings on Beauchamp, either. None of the lefties seem to care -- or, worse, like a poster on Daily Kos, they think just maybe Beauchamp was tortured in order to get him to change his story.
So what does this little experiment prove? Beauchamp's narrative supported what the leftists already believed about the military; more, it supported what they desperately want to believe. Thus, you will find vehement support in favor of stories that portray the military in a bad, sick, twisted light, and silence when those stories are refuted. Do you really think any of them have changed their minds about the U.S. military because of this, even a little?
No: they'll jump on the next hoax just as quickly. Steyn is right. They don't even recognize they're being pandered to.
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