My Diarist, “Shock Troops,” and the two other pieces I wrote for the New Republic have stirred more controversy than I could ever have anticipated. They were written under a pseudonym, because I wanted to write honestly about my experiences, without fear of reprisal. Unfortunately, my pseudonym has caused confusion. And there seems to be one major way in which I can clarify the debate over my pieces: I’m willing to stand by the entirety of my articles for the New Republic using my real name.
I am Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, a member of Alpha Company, 1/18 Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division.
My pieces were always intended to provide my discrete view of the war; they were never intended as a reflection of the entire U.S. Military. I wanted Americans to have one soldier’s view of events in Iraq.
It’s been maddening, to say the least, to see the plausibility of events that I witnessed questioned by people who have never served in Iraq. I was initially reluctant to take the time out of my already insane schedule fighting an actual war in order to play some role in an ideological battle that I never wanted to join. That being said, my character, my experiences, and those of my comrades in arms have been called into question, and I believe that it is important to stand by my writing under my real name.
–Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp
I suspect this will provoke a response.
UPDATE: And how! Along with a challenge to Franklin Foer and TNR (scroll all the way to the bottom).
I think Private Beauchamp (and his enablers at TNR) are about to enter a shitstorm the likes of which they can’t even begin to conceive at the moment.
Submit to Stumbled Upon!
And the shitstorm will be presented as just a bunch of rightwing bloggers making much ado about nothing. It will be swept under the rug and pulled out once in a while to show how wretched non-liberals are. Facts will not matter. In fact, I await the “I was Scott Thomased” defense from some lying sack of shit liberal who gets caught with his or her pants down. Remember that it isn’t the crime that’s important, especially where a liberal is concerned. What is important is that libertarians and conservatives suck. Everything else is irrelevant.
In further updates to Bryan and Allah’s post, apparently “Scott Thomas” Beauchamp is married to a TNR staffer. And See-dub at Confederate Yankee discovers that Franklin Foer doesn’t fact-check very well. Finally, Ace takes on J-Pod, who doesn’t think Scott Thomas’ conveeeeeenient connections, and the way his “reporting” was handled, possibly precisely because of those connections, are a story at all.
bill,
i can tell you from personal experience.. this guy is toast. ;)
i searched for his name in army knowledge online. he has an email account and he is assigned to the unit he says he is. looks legit. he’ll be an E-IOU1 by morning.
Major, most of the milblogs have reached the same conclusion. I see no reason to doubt it.
Which raises an interesting question: Beauchamp may be a self-serving dumbass, but I doubt he is so utterly clueless as to not understand what he’s let himself in for by revealing his identity. So why did he do it?
TNR knew it, obviously. Even they wouldn’t be crazy enough to print stuff like this from “Mister Anonymous.” So what did TNR offer, promise, or threaten him with to cause the Great Reveal?
Or did they simply say that if he didn’t out himself, they would do it for him? And if that happened, what does it mean for the vaunted liberal MSM protection of sources?
i had a guy like this in my unit when i commanded. he thought he was smarter than everyone else and could get away with whatever he was doing. i’m sure, based on other posts on his blog, that he considers himself too highly and thought he could outsmart all us stupid folks. i think reality is catching up with him because he is starting to backtrack on his blog.
TNR may have not had a lot to do with it. One of the milposters– IIRC somebody at Ace, but possibly elsewhere (I’ve been reading a lot about this)– had traced the guy down to the unit level, and posted his CO’s name.
Beauchamp might have thought it better to out himself and gain some protection throught public knowledge, rather than keep quiet and be subject to informal “discipline” from his mates, when they figured out who he was.