This seems like the best time to post this, even if it may seem like it is "old" news. It is very much related to the Mao book hoax. My post is how we liberal "skeptics" allowed Jimmy Massey of Iraq Veterans Against the War to be swift boated. It has bothered me for a long time, but I haven't seen an "opening" to help set the record straight. Today is the day.
Jimmy Massey is one of the members of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Several months ago, there was an article that called into question Jimmy Massey's honesty in relating his experiences in Iraq. It was written by Ron Harris. This "clarification" article was printed not only in the corporate media, but (if I remember correctly) was also posted on buzzFlash.com and/or rawstory.com. Without contacting Jimmy Massey for a chance to defend himself, the article only printed Ron Harris' version of events. In essense, Jimmy Massey was swift boated--and we liberals helped it happen by not questioning this article.
The following is the first two paragraphs of the Ron Harris article:
"For more than a year, former Marine Staff Sgt. Jimmy Massey has been telling anybody who will listen about the atrocities that he and other Marines committed in Iraq.
"In scores of newspaper, magazine and broadcast stories, at a Canadian immigration hearing and in numerous speeches across the country, Massey has told how he and other Marines recklessly, sometimes intentionally, killed dozens of innocent Iraqi civilians."
Included in the article were references to what Jimmy Massey said at an appearance in Minneapolis. I was there and heard him and he was very careful about what he said and how he phrased it. I also have a DVD of the video that was made during that appearance, reviewed it and what he was accused of saying JUST WASN"T SO.
Jimmy's rebuttal is on the IVAW website. Anyone who read the smear article owes it to Jimmy Massey to go to there and read Massey's rebuttal. You can find his response at Massey Defends Himself Against Smear Campaign
Thanks for helping to set the record straight. If you could please recommend this diary so that more people view it, I would really appreciate it--not for me, but for veterans like Jimmy Massey who are out there telling the truth for us.