Pentagon spin on Iraq 'heroes' exposed.

At the time army spokesmen briefed that Miss Lynch, a driver in an ambushed convoy, fought heroically until she was taken by Iraqi forces and then rescued from hospital by US troops.

In fact she did not fire a shot and was wounded by the crash caused by a grenade attack on her vehicle. Her removal from hospital was co-ordinated with the Iraqis.
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This was never the "official" version of events. I remember it being reported that she, and some others in the same convoy, surrendered without firing a shot BEFORE she was even rescued. I do remember hearing the story but I dismissed it as a sort of urban legend, never did I suspect that a lot of people actually thought it happened. I feel The Telegraph is doing some bad slandering here.

Additionally it was well known, at least by me and everyone I know, that the Iraqi's had treated her well and that it was an Iraqi who had revealed her location. Also, at the press confrence either the day of or the next, it was made clear the hospital had been abandoned and that the SOF's had encountered no resistance in executing the mission.

Thanks in part to media spin, she became a national heroine only to disappoint the nation by telling the truth.
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They admit it was media spin but still want to flog the US military over it? This just does not make sense.
 
His account confirms my recollection that the "warrior Lynch" story was not a military generated propaganda affair but something made up or misattributed by the media.
 
Travis said:
His account confirms my recollection that the "warrior Lynch" story was not a military generated propaganda affair but something made up or misattributed by the media.
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Why did they wait a day to "rescue" her so they could bring in a video crew?
 
Any military operation takes time to plan and coordinate the various activities that are to occur. It is doubtful that any commander would want to send his troops into a situation where they might run into more opposition than was known or likely and not be able to support them and get them out. Think Mogadishu.

If new intel said that her life was in imminent danger or that she was going to be moved elsewhere, the SOF would probably have rushed in immediately.
 
The big reason for the delay in Lynch's extraction was to ensure that the operation was adequately planned. The big fear of everyone was another Operation Eagle Claw or a Battle of Mogadishu or some ungodly combination of the two. This anxiety was not without merit, the USMC had to really fight for An Nasiriyah. They had lost several Amtracs in the battle, had a tank platoon get stuck in wet sand right in the middle of crossfire, the Fedayeen were everywhere with a seemingly endless supply of RPG's and to top it all off the weather was bad.

The Fedayeen were the big worry. They had already demonstrated a suicidal tendency and were also not shy about summarily executing anyone who even mentioned the word "retreat." For more accounts of those activities and the plight of 1 MEF a good book I read awhile back is The March Up by Col. West.

Ultimately, if I remember correctly, the operation went down with Marines from Task Force Tarawa conducting a diversionary attack while Navy SEALS came in by helicopter, landed on and actually entered the building; simultaneously Army Rangers parachuted in and seized a nearby ad hoc landing strip where the force evacuated on C-130's.

It's been awhile though, I'll have to look this up.
 
Travis said:
Ultimately, if I remember correctly, the operation went down with Marines from Task Force Tarawa conducting a diversionary attack while Navy SEALS came in by helicopter, landed on and actually entered the building; simultaneously Army Rangers parachuted in and seized a nearby ad hoc landing strip where the force evacuated on C-130's.
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Almost... :)

Marines provided a diversion while the recovery was conducted by a combined force, inserted by Chinook and Blackhawk from 160th SOAR. Rangers provided a perimeter outside the building (and were actually engaged by enemy forces during the mission) while a combined force of SEALs, DELTA, and PJs (USAF Para Rescue) entered the building, secured it, and recovered Lynch. The bodies of 8 other US soldiers were also recovered from a nearby shallow grave. No enemy forces were encountered inside the hospital itself. The rescue force then exfil'd on helicopters.

As an indicator of how seriously the mission was treated, an AC-130 Spectre gunship was on station the entire time, in the event of heavy enemy resistance.

-Gumboot

ETA. the mission you described with Rangers securing an airfield, sounds more like the intended plan for Operation Eagle Claw.
 
Yeah my memory was a bit hazy on all of that. Thanks for the clarification Gumboot
 
qarnos said:
Once again the U.S. government demonstrates how terribly bad they are at keeping secrets

Are these the same guys who are covering up 9/11?
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Yeah they're also doing terribly bad at covering up 9/11, it is pretty obvious to anyone by now...well, except for you and your friends.
 
geggy said:
Yeah they're also doing terribly bad at covering up 9/11, it is pretty obvious to anyone by now...well, except for you and your friends.
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Yeah, except for the fact that the people directly involved in this case came forward and said, "No guys - that's not what happened. The government/media was telling porkies. This is what really happened".

This has not happened for the 9/11 "conspiracy". Well, not unless you count Lauro Chavez. *snigger*
 
geggy said:
Yeah they're also doing terribly bad at covering up 9/11, it is pretty obvious to anyone by now...well, except for you and your friends.
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You might want to revise that statement, Geggy. Twoofers are the minority. Not that it matters, of course. Truth is not a popularity contest, and common sense is a poor substitute for intelligence.
 
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