TNR identifies the pseudonymned Scott Thomas as a "freelance writer and soldier currently serving in Baghdad." A recent column he has written recounts troubling examples of his fellow soldiers' conduct--accounts that didn't sit well with some readers.
"Shock Troops" showcases a soldier who enjoys swerving his Humvee to hit dogs, an incident of corpse desecration, and the intentional humiliation of a woman whose face had been disfigured by an IED.
The Weekly Standard's Michael Gordfarb began the onslaught, calling it a "mission for milbloggers" to dig into the background of the article. The conservative blogosphere swarmed to the case, with the Mudville Gazette, Blackfive, Power Line, the National Review's Corner, Ace of Spades, Michelle Malkin, and others answering Goldfarb's call to keyboards like a virtual army on a recon mission.
Though difficult to conclusively determine if the accounts are indeed fake, the results of the mission certainly didn't warm Goldfarb's heart to the Baghdad Diarist. As ABC News reports:
Goldfarb and his staff attempted to verify the accounts, learning from the New Republic that the chow hall incident took place at Forward Operating Base Falcon in southern Baghdad. "We spoke to many soldiers and no one can recall this woman, who had half her face melted," he said.As for the description of a mass grave, one contractor told Goldfarb about a children's cemetery near FOB Falcon but claimed that all the remains were handled responsibly. "Everyone says that this account is absurd, implausible. It's entirely possible that it happened and no one's come forward to say."
TNR editor Franklin Foer's response to the crisis has created no fans, and his defense of "Thomas" has sparked some derision. After the New York Times altered published a quote by Foer to reflect "absolute" instead of "near" certainty that Thomas is a soldier in Iraq, Ace of Spades accused Times editors of caving under pressure from TNR.
Foer had initially announced when the debate erupted that he intended to undertake an internal investigation into the matter. If Foer has achieved certainty that the Baghdad Diarist is legit, it would seem the case is closed in his mind.
Foer told ABC he has met Thomas here in the US and that he is "absolutely certain" that he is a soldier in Iraq. "Not an ounce of doubt," he said. Asked about how he attempted to verify Thomas' military credentials, Foer said, "I've got many, many data points to back that up" although one of those proofs didn't include a military e-mail account.
The data points may reassure Foer, but they're not likely to calm the virtual army.
