Posted on 08/10/2007 4:53:25 AM PDT by IrishMike
In January 1944, The New York Times Magazine published an essay by Arthur Koestler entitled “On Disbelieving Atrocities.” It conveyed his frustration at trying to communicate what he and others had seen taking place in Nazi-dominated Europe. The events that came to be known as the Holocaust were not unknown by this time, but they were not widely accepted as true. “I have been lecturing now for three years to the troops and their attitude is the same,” he wrote. “They don't believe in concentration camps, they don't believe in the starved children of Greece, in the shot hostages of France, in the mass-graves of Poland; they have never heard of Lidice, Treblinka or Belzec; you can convince them for an hour, then they shake themselves, their mental self-defence begins to work and in a week the shrug of incredulity has returned like a reflex temporarily weakened by a shock.” .......................................................
There has been a spate of these people in this war. Jesse MacBeth claimed to be an Army Ranger, admitted to having executed children while interrogating their parents, shot down rock-throwing protesters, and slaughtered hundreds of worshippers in a mosque. None of that was true.
The latest entrant is Scott Thomas Beauchamp, whose war stories have been featured in the New Republic. By comparison Beauchamp is a low rent fantasist, and the things to which he admitted can hardly be called “atrocities.” Running over dogs in an AFV, playing with the remains of children, mocking a wounded female soldier — these are a few steps above boys being boys. If not exactly criminal they are extremely embarrassing, and I would think Beauchamp would want to admit that he lied, especially for the mockery incident, which depicts him as utterly contemptible.
(Excerpt) Read more at article.nationalreview.com ...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Inventing atrocities is a NATO/KKKlintonista specialty. You’d think tht Jews in particular would have a problem with that since ANY invention of atrocities or genocide in the world casts doubt in the common mind on all such stories, true or not.
Good piece,unfortunately there has been at least ONE horrendous REAL atrocity in this war, and we all know it is the one that involved raping the 14 year old girl, and killing the family, then burning up the residence. No one has really denied doing it, and they were all brought to justice one way or another. The story, ironically, is almost a mirror image of what just happened in suburban Connecticut to a family of two daughters, wife and father, perpetrated by two paroled or freed former prisoners.
Journalists and Politicians work and live in symbol manipulating occupations. This type of work attracts personalities more comfortable with myths, illusions and fantasy. The work only compounds this. A classic example was the day dreamer, fantasist artist Hitler. So, in essence we have people who are, and live, in fantasy, either as our leaders or supposedly providing us information to act on. What or who they are fantasying about changes with time and place, but the high rate of divorce from reality stays the same.
Lets not forget, also, that the loud and repeated broadcast of that one atrocity was later used as an excuse by our enemy for the kidnapping and murder of 2 (iirc) of our soldiers from a checkpoint.
There was zero value or reason for the press to make a field day out of that one. There was no hint of cover up, no denial of wrong doing by the command. It was simple, brazen outing of an issue known to be valuable to our enemy for purposes of propaganda.
In the words of the most successful democrat in the last 20 years - BJ ClinToon “I loath the military”
Jews in this country seem to be more interested in promoting socialist secular politicians than in the security of America. Sorry but their voting record indicates this. Why would they support the party that has no regard for the institution that keeps this country free?
Yes, and the perps were caught, tried and convicted. There are criminals in all walks of life. In this case, we caught them and dealt with them.
Bringing it up at every opportunity does nothing but hurt the morale of our troops and works to undermine what little popular support for the war that's left in this country. Why mention that event in the context of this story? Are you trying to undermine support for the war? Are you trying to hurt the morale of our troops? Are you trying to portray the typical American soldier as a murdering rapist?
I was actually surprised that what you term “the loud and repeated broadcast” of that one atrocity was actually NOT played up the way I thought it would be. The military itself effectively curtailed that, though, by facing up to it, and dealing with the criminal soldiers. If there had been a strenuous cover-up, the war’s opponents and the Press would’ve REALLY played it up.And (IIRC) it wasn’t the “loud and repeated broadcast” that was used “as an excuse” by our enemy for what they did later. We actually put the pieces together for the kidnapping and murder of our 2 soldiers AFTER the rape and murder crime was committed, but before it was ever revealed to us here in the US by the press or anyone else.At least that’s the way I remember it. The kidnapping and murder of our soldiers looked like just another Jihadist/Islamic atrocity, unconnected to any “revenge” motif, until it was linked with the rape/murder of the girl and her family.
Yes, I know there are criminals in all walks of life—I even pointed out that the very same thing just happened in Connecticut, by two “ex”-prisoners. The writer of this piece for NRO made the point he wanted to make,and unless I missed something, he blithely implied that the atrocity I cited and we all recognized never existed. Why wasn’t his piece more, uh, “balanced”? And I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume your accussatory questions at the end were just rhetorical, you know, the ones where you imply that I’m “trying to portray the typical American soldier as a murdering rapist”,etc.etc.
You can’t really be serious about that,can you? That kind of bullying crap just means that you both did NOT understand what I wrote, and don’t think you need to , because you’re on the “right side” of the issue, and I’m on the “wrong” side. Read it again, in light of that, and read the other reply to someone else which I believe it just above or below your current post. Thank you.
I have not read the drivel from The New Republic. Fortunately, they store their manure behind a firewall. But, apparently, Beauchamp concluded by saying that he really isn't such a bad guy, because even though he has done all of these evil things, he feels bad about them now.
Just a historical footnote: There were a lot of statements about German soldiers in WWI bayoneting babies in Belgium and so forth. Those rumors were believed to a certain degree, but later disproved. Perhaps this is one reason why evidence of NAZI atrocities during WW2 were widely ignored?
Beauchamp was just carrying on the fine tradition established by John F’n Kerry, the fake hero, fake Irishman, fake etc...
Beauchamp was just carrying on the fine tradition established by John F’n Kerry, the fake hero, fake Irishman, fake etc...
Oh yes, thanks for the reminder. I had not given much thought recently to old ‘Christmas in Cambodia’ himself.
Actually, the case was well under way in the investigation phase before the media grabbed hold of it as yet another example of American evil. It did receive several days coverage on our national and international news services and was referenced as an example of soldiers gone wild for some time after that.
The locals had assumed it had been jihadi that had done the rapes. It was just another in a long laundry list of murders and abuses committed by the death cultists, to them.
The media had nothing to do with the case being brought to trial, served no purpose, what so ever, except to openly and aggressively offer up an example to our enemy on why the population should rally around them and fight us.
Some time later, American soldiers were kidnapped and murdered.
When the issue of why began to be talked about by our media, at first it was our own talking heads in the betrayer media that offered up revenge for the rape and murder as an excuse for the atrocity.
That was mirrored a few days later in a sort of “yeah, yeah...ummm... revenge for the rape and murder...yeah, that’s the ticket, that’s why we did it...honest.” release from the murder/death cultists involved in the kidnap, torture and murder of our soldiers.
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