October 11, 2003

No shame

This is really not okay ...

WASHINGTON -- Letters from hometown soldiers describing their successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours.

And all the letters are the same.

Astroturf. Jesus, these guys just have no shame at all.

[Link via Counterspin Central, which seems to have the definitive post so far on this subject. Read it here.]

UPDATE: In the comments, Ogged points out that this story appears to be more complicated than the initial news reports indicated. Thanks, Ogged.

Posted by Jack O'Toole on October 11, 2003 12:09 PM

Trackbacks -- Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 'No shame' from Jack O'Toole. NOTE: You are reading a legacy version of the Jack O'Toole site, which was preserved to prevent link rot; as a result, no new trackbacks or comments can be added to this entry. Please visit the active site to comment on current news and events. (Active site launches on April 5, 2004.)
Comments

This may be a bit more complicated.

http://www.instapundit.com/archives/011955.php

Posted by: ogged on October 11, 2003 08:59 PM

It's still not ok. Here's why:

First, it's not being presented as a form letter in these various newspapers. It's being presented as a first-person account by a local. Form letters should be clearly identified as such if they're going to wind up in the op/ed pages.

Second, what in &%#$@@ are senior NCOs doing soliciting subordinates to sign up to what is a rather political form letter? This happens to be a violation of the UCMJ.

Posted by: JadeGold on October 12, 2003 12:27 PM

Funny how Instacracker, who can't figure out the Plame Affair because it's so complicated, is no trying to complicate a very simple story, namely: letters soldiers didn't write and didn't even necessarily sign are appearing as legitimate pieces in unknowing newspapers.

Rule of thumb: when Instacracker says "A," believe "B."

Posted by: dave on October 13, 2003 10:23 PM