I ask this question in all sincerity. I believe the blogosphere was the driving force behind the defeat of the bill that would have given amnesty for illegal aliens. It could do the same for our Fighting Forces.

Our Vietnam Veterans came home to c…..

Dan Riehl notes that while the facts of this story are coming apart, Franklin Foer, the editor of TNR is holding to that statement posted on Friday. While the stories get debunked, Foer claims that those attacking the story have an ideological agenda…..

In the large rest of the world (even in parts of US public) WE know about the barbarian behaviour of a considerable percentage of your wonderful army.

And, most of all, the Iraqis themselves had to learn it. They experience it now for several years, and US army atrocities have fuelled the insurgency and contributed to the decline of support.

For most US soldiers in Iraq, all Iraqi men are enemies, more or less. They hate them, they despise them. In general.

Of course there are many decent men and women, too, in this army. But 20 or 30% of thugs in your army - and the reputation of this army is ruined.

That is the case.

You may build your Fortress of Belief in your right wing-nut castle as you like. What counts in the world are the views of all people, in all nations. And world opinion has already established: The US troops commit plenty of barbarian acts in Iraq, and do so with impunity.

Your post reveals: Your main interest is not to find out whether the allegations of this soldier who wrote for the The New Republic are true.

Why not allow f.e. Amnesty International to investigate the behaviour of US soldiers in Iraq? The army itself is not capable of doing it. As the rare examples where it was forced to do so show.

As there is no allowance of independent investigation, we have to listen to the trickling information about US atrocities committed in Iraq. And we have to assume: These only are the tip of the iceberg.

Most people - especially those whose livelihoods depend on creating controversy (ie bloggers) will believe what they want to believe, and short of the author coming out and admitting he made the whole thing up - this story will go down as either left wing evidence of US troops brutality or right wing evidence of “left wing lies.” No investigation will change that.

Serious allegations also deserve serious investigations and that is where we find ourselves with this mysterious anonymous “Scott Thomas” and his claims.I first ran across this when…