Saving Private Lynch 151; Take Two

Though the Bush administration8217;s shamelessly trumped-up claims about Iraq8217;s alleged ties to al Qaeda and 9/11 and its weapons of mass destruction take the cake for deceitful propaganda 8212; grand strategic lies that allow the US8217; seizure of Iraq8217;s oil to appear to be an act of liberation 8212; the sad case of Lynch8217;s exploitation at the hands of military spinners illustrates that the truth once again was a casualty of war. Lynch, who says she has no memory of the events, has suffered enough in the line of duty without being reduced to a propaganda pawn. Sadly, almost nothing fed to reporters about Lynch8217;s original capture by Iraqi forces or her 8216;8216;rescue8217;8217; by US forces turns out to be true.

Consider the April 3 Washington Post story on her capture headlined, 8216;8216;She was fighting to the death,8217;8217; which reported, based on unnamed military sources, that Lynch 8216;8216;continued firing at the Iraqis even after she sustained multiple gunshot wounds,8217;8217; adding that she was also stabbed. It has since emerged that Lynch was neither shot nor stabbed, but rather suffered accident injuries when her vehicle overturned. A medical check-up by US doctors confirmed the account of the Iraqi doctors, who said they had carefully tended her injuries, a broken arm and thigh and a dislocated ankle, in contrast to American media reports that doctors had ignored Lynch.

Another report spread by news organisations nationwide claimed Lynch was slapped by an Iraqi security guard, and the US military later insisted that an Iraqi lawyer witnessed this incident and informed them of Lynch8217;s whereabouts. His credibility as a source, however, is difficult to verify because he and his family were whisked to the US, where he was granted political asylum and has refused all interview requests. His future was assured with a job with a lobbying firm run by former Republican Rep. Bob Livingstone that represents the defense industry and a 500,000 book contract with HarperCollins, owned by Rupert Murdoch, whose Fox network did much to hype Lynch8217;s story, as it did the rest of the war.

But where the manipulation of this saga really gets ugly is in the premeditated manufacture of the rescue itself, which stains those who have performed real acts of bravery, whether in war or peacetime. Eight days after her capture, American media trumpeted the military8217;s story that Lynch was saved by Special Forces that stormed the hospital and, in the face of heavy hostile fire, managed to scoop her up and helicopter her out. However, according to the BBC, which interviewed the hospital8217;s staff, the truth appears to be that not only had Iraqi forces abandoned the area before the rescue effort but that the hospital8217;s staff had informed the US of this and made arrangements two days before the raid to turn Lynch over to the Americans.

8216;8216;But as the ambulance, with Pvt. Lynch inside, approached the checkpoint, American troops opened fire, forcing it to flee back to the hospital. The Americans had almost killed their prize catch,8217;8217; the BBC reported.

8216;8216;We were surprised,8217;8217; Dr. Anmar Uday told the BBC about the supposed rescue. 8216;8216;There was no military, there were no soldiers in the hospital. It was like a Hollywood film. The US forces cried 8216;Go, go, go,8217; with guns and blanks without bullets, blanks and the sound of explosions,8217;8217; Uday said. 8216;8216;They made a show for the American attack on the hospital 8212; like action movies starring Sylvester Stallone or Jackie Chan.8217;8217;

The footage from the raid, shot not by journalists but by soldiers with night-vision cameras, was fed in real time to the central command in Qatar. The video was artfully edited by the Pentagon and released as proof that a battle to free Lynch had occurred when it had not. This fabrication has already been celebrated by an A038;E special and will soon be an NBC movie. The Lynch rescue story 8212; a made-for-TV bit of official propaganda 8212; will probably survive as the war8217;s most heroic moment, despite proving as fictitious as the stated rationales for the invasion itself. If the movies, books and other renditions of 8216;8216;saving Private Lynch8217;8217; were to be honestly presented, it would expose this caper as merely one in a series of egregious lies marketed to us by the Bush administration. LAT-WP

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