Letters to the Editor
-
Who says Boylan can't be a Freeper as well as a PAO in Iraq?
are you sure this isn't from a freeper?
It's from the same email address as the prior emails I received from him and has all the same adornments. Obviously, my first thought upon reading it was that it had to be fake - but it's clear, at least from everything I can see, that it is authentic.
-- GlennGreenwald
As John Cole and his readers have discovered, it is possible to be a U.S. soldier in Iraq as well as the Bolivian Cultural Attache. (snark warning)
Beauchamp’s Unit- More Shoddy Journamalism and the Citizen Journalist Response!
(...)
One of our readers has pointed out that the soldier “allegedly” quoted here, Victor Alarcon, may in fact not be a soldier at all, but in reality may be the Bolivian Cultural Attache...
http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=8930
-
The colored letters mean "link to the evidence"...
Perhaps Colonel Boyer is not familiar with how the colored words mean you can click on them to jump to the evidence used to support your statements. Glenn has an annoying (to his critics) habit of actually supporting his statements with links to the facts that underly them. It's a habit I would strongly encourage the right-wing blogosphere to adopt.
In that light, and in order to make sure we're standing on the firmest possible ground to criticize, I note that the link Glenn provided to support Steve Schmidt's involvement with the U.S. military in Iraq references an interview between Hugh Hewlett and Mike Allen who related Steve Schmidt's involvement, but that isn't exactly proof that he was there and instructed or directed their publicity efforts. It's certainly enough to warrant a few calls to confirm though.
Colonel Boylan's macho posturing to "dare" Glenn to come over to Iraq with the "real men" is so obvious a childish taunt that its unprofessional for either a military officer or someone acting in a PR or liaison position between the senior U.S. commander in Iraq and the public. For that matter, I don't think it would be safe for Glenn to visit even with the direct support of the U.S. military primarily because they haven't made it safe to leave the Green Zone and visit a non-cherry-picked Baghdad neighborhood.
-
Personally...
... I agree with previous posters who suggest that this letter may well be a hoax.
Glenn, is there any way of verifying more fully that it is really from Col. Boylan?
While I am well aware that the military has a definite 'slant to starboard', this letter is so unprofessional in its nastiness that I can't imagine any self-respecting PR hack actually staining his reputation by sending it.
-
hoax
My first thought is that Glenn did not publish the email address of this guy from the earlier correspondence, so if it is a hoax, that raises the interesting question of how the hoaxer got ahold of this guy's email?
Unless the email address is predictable for anyone familiar with military email systems.
The email header will contain clues as to its origin, including IP addresses that should be traceable to DoD servers (likely in Iraq).
there are IP address to location web sites which can tell you approximately where an IP is, and sometimes who owns it.
-
Which Insurrection
I wonder if the General (or his staff) consider that they are putting down an insurrection in Iraq or in the U.S.? What will happen when these political extremists come home?
Or maybe the shrinking violets of the party were wrong, and MoveOn was right, to call the man that name that sent shudders through Washington and ragegasms through the right wing.
-
Damn you William Timberman you did it again: flashback
One night on the 9th green, I got screamed at bad at Fort McClellan. It was a Saturday, a lazed eve night. For sneaking out there on a golf green with a WAC. WOW!
Before that, at Fort Bragg, on a Sunday morn stroll, I was yelled at because (I'm sure he was a Col Hanger Over) my brass buckle, and shoes were scuffed. The grid/gig line, where the shined Brassy brand pink rub-gonk was supposed to give a sheen to the cheap belt buckle,...O, Mine was ruffled.
My zipper, buckle, and crooked shit-gig didnt pass some scotched, red-faced, blustering Officers approval...
In the army you'd say, "With all due respect, sir..."
That did not mean you were respectful to a bloody creep like Col. Boylan's ilk. The opposite. NO Respect, ever. Never. Never.
I am reminded of the Anonymoose cartoon: The cute Moose always did an "about face" and then lifted his sorry arse into the air to do a (no salute) TOOT.
Stinky war jerk offs.
-
Boylan exposure in Iraq
it seems like he's offering you a trip to Iraq.
-- Scientician
That's not an offer. It's a dare. Glenn doesn't need an "offer" from the likes of Boylan. It's a dare. A dare with the thought in mind that he, Boylan, will attempt to have a bunch of trained monkeys act like the defensive line of the Raiders if Glenn pursues speaking engagements with anyone in a position to speak to our track record and our future plans in Iraq.
-
you need a Babel fish ...
... to understand what he's saying.
"You are either too lazy to do the research ..."
"You are not a journalist nor do you have any journalistic ethical standards as we found out from the last time I engaged with you"
What he is actually saying is:
You did not talk to us and then print our word as gospel. You do not abide by the Golden Rule of real "journalists": Thou shalt not think for thyself, seek instead a high ranking source.
Furthermore, everyone knows that you're supposed to echo our talking points as facts from anonymous Officials.
-
No contest
Col. Boylan is not competitive in this weight class.
-
Curious
Hey Glenn,
I have been trying to dissect this latest post along with the colonel's smug ,albeit, incompetent slap down. I do agree with the general consensus that the overpaid pric was drunk. But maybe he had had a rough day out on patrol and was only venting. There are many times that combat soldiers feel frustrated and lonely by the overall incompetency of the general command.
I was amused by the idea that he thought his E-mail was private. Being in a war zone he probably is not able to keep up with current national news and is not aware of the state of access of electronic communications here at home.
I would like to offer another possibility. That being, that he was not only drunk, but not alone in his construction of the missive. I can just see it a bunch of officers hanging out sucking on Jack Daniels(that is the macho drink)getting drunk and snarky and hitting the send button just prior to passing out on his keyboard.
No, I am still having difficulty ciphering through his lame assed reasoning and reasons for even sticking his hand in the bear trap of progressive blogs. Maybe he has a christ complex and a desire to be crucified. He sure as hell climbed up on this cross.
footsore