From: Jeff Davis (jrd1415@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu May 15 2003 - 17:38:47 MDT
Thursday, 15 May, 2003, 08:50 GMT 09:50 UK
Saving Private Lynch story 'flawed'
By John Kampfner
Private Jessica Lynch became an icon of the war, and
the story of her capture by the Iraqis and her rescue
by US special forces became one of the great patriotic
moments of the conflict.
But her story is one of the most stunning pieces of
news management ever conceived.
Private Lynch, a 19-year-old army clerk from
Palestine, West Virginia, was captured when her
company took a wrong turning just outside Nasiriya and
was ambushed.
Nine of her comrades were killed and Private Lynch was
taken to the local hospital, which at the time was
swarming with Fedayeen. Eight days later US special
forces stormed the hospital, capturing the "dramatic"
events on a night vision camera.
They were said to have come under fire from inside and
outside the building, but they made it to Lynch and
whisked her away by helicopter.
Reports claimed that she had stab and bullet wounds
and that she had been slapped about on her hospital
bed and interrogated.
But Iraqi doctors in Nasiriya say they provided the
best treatment they could for the soldier in the midst
of war. She was assigned the only specialist bed in
the hospital and one of only two nurses on the floor.
"I examined her, I saw she had a broken arm, a broken
thigh and a dislocated ankle," said Dr Harith
a-Houssona, who looked after her.
"There was no [sign of] shooting, no bullet inside her
body, no stab wound - only road traffic accident. They
want to distort the picture. I don't know why they
think there is some benefit in saying she has a bullet
injury."
Witnesses told us that the special forces knew that
the Iraqi military had fled a day before they swooped
on the hospital.
Dr Uday was surprised by the manner of the rescue
"We were surprised. Why do this? There was no
military, there were no soldiers in the hospital,"
said Dr Anmar Uday, who worked at the hospital.
"It was like a Hollywood film. They cried 'go, go,
go', with guns and blanks without bullets, blanks and
the sound of explosions. They made a show for the
American attack on the hospital - action movies like
Sylvester Stallone or Jackie Chan."
There was one more twist. Two days before the snatch
squad arrived, Harith had arranged to deliver Jessica
to the Americans in an ambulance.
But as the ambulance, with Private Lynch inside,
approached a checkpoint American troops opened fire,
forcing it to flee back to the hospital. The Americans
had almost killed their prize catch.
Some brave souls put their lives on the line to make
this happen
General Vincent Brooks
When footage of the rescue was released, General
Vincent Brooks, US spokesman in Doha, said: "Some
brave souls put their lives on the line to make this
happen, loyal to a creed that they know that they'll
never leave a fallen comrade."
The American strategy was to ensure the right
television footage by using embedded reporters and
images from their own cameras, editing the film
themselves.
The Pentagon had been influenced by Hollywood
producers of reality TV and action movies, notably the
man behind Black Hawk Down, Jerry Bruckheimer.
Bruckheimer advised the Pentagon on the primetime
television series "Profiles from the Front Line", that
followed US forces in Afghanistan in 2001. That
approached was taken on and developed on the field of
battle in Iraq.
As for Private Lynch, her status as cult hero is
stronger than ever. Internet auction sites list
Jessica Lynch items, from an oil painting with an
opening bid of $200 to a $5 "America Loves Jessica
Lynch" fridge magnet.
But doctors now say she has no recollection of the
whole episode and probably never will.
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.
http://search.yahoo.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Thu May 15 2003 - 17:50:28 MDT