Saturday, September 29, 2007

Fake [?] Anti-Troop Email Making RW Rounds [Updated]

UPDATE: I updated this at DKos shortly after putting it up with the [?] after "fake" and the explanation: [***And I amended the title, adding the "?". The email may be real - just misused.] That seems to be the case. My objection - and it was obvious - was the use of the email by certain people to make this some kind of "anti-troop" thing, and, inexplicably, an anti-troop thing by the Left. Most hilariously they attribute this to the city of Oakland - which they deem a troop-hating Liberal hotbed. End update.

Michael Ledeen has never seen a "spitting on the troops" story he didn't like. In this post, entitled "Spitting on the Marines," he tells us about an email he received:

Spitting on the Marines [Michael Ledeen]

Here is an e-mail from a Marine chaplain recently returned from Iraq. The story speaks for itself—lousy treatment of our troops at our own airports. He writes about Oakland, and while checking around I find that this is a common experience. I hope that one of our leaders will find a way to put an end to such behavior.

Marines and Soldiers Returning from Iraq not allowed into Oakland terminal...


The email goes on to document how a group of Marines returning from Iraq were not allowed to enter the terminal at Oakland International Airport. It ends with this:

It felt like being spit on. Every Marine and soldier felt the message loud and clear, "YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IN OAKLAND!"


You know what's strange? Someone else got that same email:

This morning I received an email from the brother of a Marine in the unit referenced below. The email speaks for itself and raises some disturbing questions. While outside OC, it's an issue that is worth sharing. The text below is unedited, although I have removed the name of the Marine who authored the email:

Marines and Soldiers Returning from Iraq not allowed into Oakland terminal...


Now hold on: Is it a "Marine chaplain" or the "brother of a Marine"? Because they're the exact same emails. Complete with the "It felt like being spit on" finish.

And look! CNN is on the case too!

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two lawmakers asked Friday for a Department of Transportation investigation into a Marine's allegations that he and 200 other military personnel returning Thursday from Iraq were not allowed into the terminal at Oakland International Airport, but instead had to deplane 400 yards away.

"It felt like being spit on," the Marine, who was not publicly identified, wrote in an e-mail to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "Every Marine and soldier felt the message loud and clear, 'You are not welcome in Oakland.'"


Spitting on soldiers. Of course it's not the old Right Wing "Dems hate our troops - they spit on vets returning from Vietnam!" thing because, well, it's obviously an airport rule, or a military one. And there isn't anything about spit...except the word "spit." Check that: It is about Dems hating the troops. As long as it has "spit" and "soldiers" in the story, Michael Ledeen, and the rest of the Right Wing nuts-o-sphere, can feel that they've done their job: Smear (Democratic) Americans by any means necessary. Lie if you have to. And if you can find a way to use the words "spit" and "soldiers" - awesome!

Extra:And according to a commenter on this site, it's a noise rule at Oakland International Airport.



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5 comments:

James of England said...

FWIW, I don't think there's a conflict between the OC blog and the Corner on the attribution. Leeden gets it from a chaplain, who apparently mass mailed it. Jeff Solsby gets a mail, apparently forwarded by the brother of a marine, that Solsby claims is authored by a marine whose name is stripped. Since you've dug up separate evidence that the chaplain is likely to have, ahem, firm views on the righteousness of the military, it seems very plausible that it's the same guy.

LT said...

You're probably right. I noted that ovr at DKos. Worth noting the discrepany though. The "spitting on Marines" is the thing that that really stood out for me.

Julius Martov said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
CDR Salamander said...

Menshevik,
Good googly-moogly fella - get your own blog if you want to post that much. Yikes.

Hey, just wanted to stop by to provide a fact check here so no one paints themselves in a corner. Noise abatement is not an issue here - the flight was contract Commercial Air. Same type of aircraft you fly on Southwest, Delta etc.

Anonymous said...

The rest of us have hours-long delays, etc., often along the same lines as waiting outside–and not on the nice soft American grass. This was, after all, Oakland in September, not Iceland or the frozen wastes of Siberia. If a few Marine “heroes” feel compelled to whimper about a silly inconvenience, they may be "phony" and not real Marines.

There are plenty of heroes that are inconvenienced occasionally here in America. If the Marines have a problem with it, particularly if they become belligerent, they should make an appointment with their nearest PTSD psychiatrist.

Anyone who uses this story for anger/resentment/pro-war propaganda purposes needs to go to Wal-Mart this afternoon and suck down a hotdog or two and chill.