August 07, 2007
Another Camp Arifjan Account
An email just in from a long-term contractor at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, where Scott Beauchamp says he verbally abused a female contractor, and the New Republic refuses to admit that they've been "Glassed" yet again:
I've been in the Middle East since March of 2004. I started contracting with CACI and have worked for KBR as well. I have had one six month break 'in service' from October of 2006 to February of 2007. (I had to let the kids remember who Dad was and who was paying the bills!) I was in Baghdad at Camp Victory for 22 months, and I have been here on Arifjan since February of this year, and NEVER have I seen ANY female contractor with ANY sort of wounds described by PV2 Beauchamp. I work EXTENSIVELY with ALL aspects of personnel here on Arifjan and can say without a doubt that he's full of it.Also, for the record, in my experience, ANY and ALL contractors who are wounded in any way, shape or form are usually evacuated posthaste due to the liability issues involved with the companies that hired them. KBR and CACI both had in place strict rules regarding hostile action and evacuation of ANYONE who might have been wounded or otherwise "injured in line of duty" so as to cover themselves legally in case of potential lawsuits and otherwise.
The idea that a female contractor with a 'half melted face' beggars belief. If in fact there was such an unfortunate individual around, they would have been evacuated as soon as humanly possible. Hope this helps!
Best Regards
William "Big Country" Coughlin
We've had several weeks for the New Republic to provide something, anything, in the way of actual proof. They have failed, and stories such as this of William Coughlin add to an ever-expanding list of those who dispute their claims.
I don't think the woman was supposed to be freshly wounded - just with a very damaged face, healed but deformed.
On the other hand, relocating the story to a transit base while seeing her for weeks (is that the story - I'm working from memory) drops the plausibility to very low.
davidp
I think the point "Big Country" conveyed is, any contractor wounded is shipped out of Iraq post haste or ASAP. IOW, don't stay stay to heal even - as soon as they are stable enough to transport the companies get them out of there.
Posted by: Topsecretk9 at August 7, 2007 07:32 PMBottom line -- Beauchump lied, TNR's credibility died.
Posted by: Bill M at August 7, 2007 08:08 PMI think the final stage in this "Decline & Fall of the 4th Estate" episode will probably be another rationally deluded effort to confuse the standard for proof. Similar to Mapes and Rather's intentional blurring of standards for objective proof.
For instance, it is rationally reasonable to conclude one has "no proof of fraud" vs. one having "proof of no fraud." Mapes and many on the left intentionally flip the proof construct so as to further delude the confused souls who comprise their political constituency. Mapes continues to demand the standard that their bogus documents be proved absolutely false, which is akin to requiring total proof of no cancer: it can't be done without a sample of the entire population of data (meaning testing every cell in your body at the expense of your life to establish the proof). That pseudo-intellectuals on the left fall into unfortunate traps is a real statement regarding their apparent conceptual disability.
Regardless of their efforts, critical thinkers probably want to regard those that actually read publications like TNR (for serious, concurring opinion) as individuals unsafe for any real responsibility.
Posted by: redherkey at August 7, 2007 09:11 PMSpeaking of Mary Mapes... is she working at TNR now?
Posted by: C-C-G at August 7, 2007 10:04 PMWhat do you know! The right side of the blogosphere
is covering the backs of the troops from the enemy within.
a little poem commemorating The "Scoop" Bochamp story
El Reeve's Tale
http://cruxy.com/info/10921
enjoy
and good work, folks
I have been in Iraq since Nov-04 - I have worked all over the country. What Mr Coughlin said is exactly correct.
In my almost three years in country (and my longest time away was three weeks) I have never ever seen anyone with anything that resembles what Beauchamp describes.
Let me go one step further: We live in a man's world and it is very, very unlikely that a non military female was put into a position where there could be a likelihood of such a horrific attack which would leave her deformed. I have never seen a female truck driver, PSD or remote site security personnel.
Three years in Iraq and this story does not pass my smell test.
Posted by: h at August 8, 2007 01:18 AM"The right side of the blogosphere is covering the backs of the troops from the enemy within."
good god, you sound like a nazi! "The dirty Joos at home stabbed our troops in zee back while they were in zee field fighting for the Vaterland!" and all that...
Posted by: j at August 8, 2007 01:19 AMNR is soooo busted!
Posted by: Tom C at August 8, 2007 01:51 AMThe NYT and WaPo are running stories on this today -- with the expected cognitive loopholes.
http://moralauthority.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/in-the-full-light-of-day-blindness-still-prevails/
Thanks for all of your work covering this.
Posted by: mesablue at August 8, 2007 04:23 AMI've read that BRAD THOR, a writer of fiction, has a story where a woman's face is deformed by an IED.
Perhaps, Beauchamp (pronounced Buttchump), was reading Thor's work while he was stationed in Kuwait? Or, he's read it in IRAK, but told TNR the "incident" occurred in Kuwait; since no one can corroborate it?
This is like a Chinese Puzzle I remember playing with when I was a kid. It's made of woven fiber. You stick a finger from one hand into the hole. And, then you stick a finger from your other hand in, on the opposite side. Every time you PULL to get your fingers out, however, the tube tightens up.
Posted by: Carol Herman at August 8, 2007 05:55 AM
