Scott Thomas

The Columbia Journalism Review hit a new low with Paul McLeary's latest article when apparently claimed milbloggers didn't serve in the military. Outraged that milbloggers and the right dared to question the veracity of Scott Beauchamp's fantastical writings which claimed US soldiers in Iraq played with the skulls of Iraqi children, McCleary asked “Why do conservatives hate the troops” and pretended to take the side of those beleaguered “troops.” In response to the legitimate discussion of Beauchamp's liberal activism in college, McLeary cattily huffed (bold mine throughout):

How dare a college grad and engaged citizen volunteer to join the Army to fight for his country! (Which is something that most of the brave souls who inhabit the milblog community prefers to leave to others.)

Brent Bozell, President of NewsBusters parent the Media Research Center, appeared Tuesday night on the Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes. Topic: Swirling questions about the accuracy of The New Republic's "Baghdad Diarist," writing under the pseudonym "Scott Thomas," a presumed soldier who has penned derogatory stories about the behavior of U.S. soldiers in Iraq running over dogs, ridiculing maimed Iraqis and playing with the skulls of kids.

Bozell pointed out how the New Republic only says “they know who he is with near certainty,” which is like saying you're “almost pregnant.” Noting that the magazine's editors now promise to look into the accuracy of the stories, Bozell wondered: “Ought not they not to have done that before?” Bozell recited a list of previous media distortions about Iraq, from CBS's National Guard story to exaggerating Haditha, and agreed with Sean Hannity that the magazine has an agenda. Bozell contended the magazine is motivated by wanting to make a statement that “America is wrong in Iraq,” an assertion rejected by Alan Colmes.

Video clip (5:03): Real (3.8 MB) or Windows Media (3.2 MB), plus MP3 audio (1.8 MB)

Below are excerpts from two articles/postings about the New Republic's claims.

Doubts about the veracity of highly sensationalized accounts from Iraq written by a pseudonymous person claiming to be an American soldier have finally compelled the liberal New Republic magazine to launch an investigation, the New York Times reports:

The author, who used the pen name Scott Thomas, has written three articles for the magazine since February, describing gruesome incidents in Iraq. Last week, The Weekly Standard questioned the veracity of the New Republic articles and invited readers with knowledge about the military or Baghdad to comment.