Private Lynch: Media Stunt?

“I'd hate to believe this.

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The real 'Saving Pte. Lynch'
Iraqi medical staff tell a different story than U.S. military
'We all became friends with her, we liked her so much'


MITCH POTTER
MIDDLE EAST BUREAU

NASIRIYA, Iraq—The fog of war comes sometimes with a certain odour, and cutting through its layers, like cutting through an onion, can bring tears to the eyes.

Such is the case with what is far and away the most oft-told story of the Persian Gulf War II — the saga of Saving Private Lynch.

Branded on to our consciousness by media frenzy, the flawless midnight rescue of 19-year-old Private First Class Jessica Lynch hardly bears repeating even a month after the fact.

Precision teams of U.S. Army Rangers and Navy Seals, acting on intelligence information and supported by four helicopter gunships, ended Lynch's nine-day Iraqi imprisonment in true Rambo style, raising America's spirits when it needed it most.

All Hollywood could ever hope to have in a movie was there in this extraordinary feat of rescue — except, perhaps, the truth.

So say three Nasiriya doctors, two nurses, one hospital administrator and local residents interviewed separately last week in a Toronto Star investigation.

The medical team that cared for Lynch at the hospital formerly known as Saddam Hospital is only now beginning to appreciate how grand a myth was built around the four hours the U.S. raiding party spent with them early on April Fool's Day.

And they are disappointed.

For Dr. Harith Houssona, 24, who came to consider Lynch a friend after nurturing her through the worst of her injuries, the ironies are almost beyond tabulation.

"The most important thing to know is that the Iraqi soldiers and commanders had left the hospital almost two days earlier," Houssona said. "The night they left, a few of the senior medical staff tried to give Jessica back. We carefully moved her out of intensive care and into an ambulance and began to drive to the Americans, who were just one kilometre away. But when the ambulance got within 300 metres, they began to shoot. There wasn't even a chance to tell them `We have Jessica. Take her.'"

One night later, the raid unfolded. Hassam Hamoud, 35, a waiter at Nasiriya's al-Diwan Restaurant, describes the preamble, when he was approached outside his home near the hospital by U.S. Special Forces troops accompanied by an Arabic translator from Qatar.

"They asked me if any troops were still in the hospital and I said `No, they're all gone.' Then they asked about Uday Hussein, and again, I said `No,'" Hamoud said. "The translator seemed satisfied with my answers, but the soldiers were very nervous."

At midnight, the sound of helicopters circling the hospital's upper floors sent staff scurrying for the x-ray department — the only part of the hospital with no outside windows. The power was cut, followed by small explosions as the raiding teams blasted through locked doors.

A few minutes later, they heard a man's voice shout, "Go! Go! Go!" in English. Seconds later, the door burst open and a red laser light cut through the darkness, trained on the forehead of the chief resident.

"We were pretty frightened. There were about 40 medical staff together in the x-ray department," said Dr. Anmar Uday, 24. "Everyone expected the Americans to come that day because the city had fallen. But we didn't expect them to blast through the doors like a Hollywood movie."

Dr. Mudhafer Raazk, 27, observed dryly that two cameramen and a still photographer, also in uniform, accompanied the U.S. teams into the hospital. Maybe this was a movie after all.

Separately, the Iraqi doctors describe how the tension fell away rapidly once the Americans realized no threat existed on the premises. A U.S. medic was led to Lynch's room as others secured the rest of the three-wing hospital. Several staff and patients were placed in plastic handcuffs, including, according to Houssona, one Iraqi civilian who was already immobilized with abdominal wounds from an earlier explosion.

One group of soldiers returned to the x-ray room to ask about the bodies of missing U.S. soldiers and was led to a graveyard opposite the hospital's south wall. All were dead on arrival, the doctors say.

"The whole thing lasted about four hours," Raazk said. "When they left, they turned to us and said `Thank you.' That was it."

The Iraqi medical staff fanned out to assess the damage. In all, 12 doors were broken, a sterilized operating theatre contaminated, and the specialized traction bed in which Lynch had been placed was trashed.

"That was a special bed, the only one like it in the hospital, but we gave it to Jessica because she was developing a bed sore," Houssona said.

What bothers Raazk most is not what was said about Lynch's rescue, so much as what wasn't said about her time in hospital.

"We all became friends with her, we liked her so much," Houssona said. "Especially because we all speak a little English, we were able to assure her the whole time that there was no danger, that she would go home soon."

Initial reports indicated Lynch had been shot and stabbed after emptying her weapon in a pitched battle when her unit, the U.S. Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, was ambushed after its convoy became lost near Nasiriya.

A few days after her release, Lynch's father told reporters none of the wounds were battle-related. The Iraqi doctors are more specific. Houssona said the injuries were blunt in nature, possible stemming from a fall from her vehicle.

"She was in pretty bad shape. There was blunt trauma, resulting in compound fractures of the left femur (upper leg) and the right humerus (upper arm). And also a deep laceration on her head," Houssona said. "She took two pints of blood and we stabilized her. The cut required stitches to close. But the leg and arm injuries were more serious."

Nasiriya's medical team was going all out at this point, due to the enormous influx of casualties from throughout the region. The hospital lists 400 dead and 2,000 wounded in the span of two weeks before and during Lynch's eight-day stay.

"Almost all were civilians, but I don't just blame the Americans," Raazk said. "Many of those casualties were the fault of the fedayeen, who had been using people as shields and in some cases just shooting people who wouldn't fight alongside them. It was horrible."

But they all made a point of giving Lynch the best of everything, he added. Despite a scarcity of food, extra juice and cookie were scavenged for their American guest.

They also assigned to Lynch the hospital's most nurturing nurse, Khalida Shinah. At 43, Shinah has three daughters close to Lynch's age. She immediately embraced her foreign patient as one of her own.

"It was so scary for her," Shinah said through a translator. "Not only was she badly hurt, but she was in a strange country. I felt more like a mother than a nurse. I told her again and again, Allah would watch over her. And many nights I sang her to sleep."

In the first few days, Houssona said the doctors were somewhat nervous as to whether Iraqi intelligence agents would show any interest in Lynch. But when the road between Nasiriya and Baghdad fell to the U.S.-led coalition, they knew the danger had passed.

"At first, Jessica was very frightened. Everybody was poking their head in the room to see her and she said `Do they want to hurt me?' I told her, `Of course not. They're just curious. They've never seen anyone like you before.'

"But after a few days, she began to relax. And she really bonded with Khalida. She told me, `I'm going to take her back to America with me."

Three days before the U.S. raid, Lynch had regained enough strength that the team was ready to proceed with orthopaedic surgery on her left leg. The procedure involved cutting through muscle to install a platinum plate to both ends of the compound fracture. "We only had three platinum plates left in our supply and at least 100 Iraqis were in need," Raazk said. "But we gave one to Jessica."

A second surgery, and a second platinum plate, was scheduled for Lynch's fractured arm. But U.S. forces removed her before it took place, Raazk said.

Three days after the raid, the doctors had a visit from one of their U.S. military counterparts. He came, they say, to thank them for the superb surgery.

"He was an older doctor with gray hair and he wore a military uniform," Raazk said.

"I told him he was very welcome, that it was our pleasure. And then I told him: `You do realize you could have just knocked on the door and we would have wheeled Jessica down to you, don't you?'

"He was shocked when I told him the real story. That's when I realized this rescue probably didn't happen for propaganda reasons. I think this American army is just such a huge machine, the left hand never knows what the right hand is doing."

What troubles the staff in Nasiriya most are reports that Lynch was abused while in their case. All vehemently deny it.

Told of the allegation through an interpreter, nurse Shinah wells up with tears. Gathering herself, she responds quietly: "This is a lie. But why ask me? Why don't you ask Jessica what kind of treatment she received?"

But that is easier said than done. At the Pentagon last week, U.S. Army spokesman Lt.-Col. Ryan Yantis said the door to Lynch remains closed as she continues her recovery at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Centre.

"Until such time as she wants to talk — and that's going to be no time soon, and it may be never at all — the press is simply going to have to wait."”

“interresting. just a good reason to keep women out of combat situations if you ask me. none of that would have been necesary if the hostage was male. i imagine they(the US) were pretty worried that it was a trap. there were also, reportedly, several large battles started across town, before the rescue mission started, in an effort to distract attention from the hospital. 8 helicopters and 2 warthogs were assigned to the mission. that's like what...20,000 troops all together, at additional risk, to rescue her? i still fear that she was.....violated.


i'm glad she ran across some good people at the hospital. happy ending.”

“Somehow I don't think this is the version that'll wind up in the TV movie.”

“Ah yes, truth is the first casualty of war, as they say.”

“Ten bucks says this never appears on CNN or FOX.”

“Stratdewd- I don't see how PFC Lynch's gender has ANYTHING to do with this story, except for bonus media hype.

All in all, I'm not surprised to read this account. It sounds like par for the course with US Intelligence obejectives and media relations.”

“And now she can't remember her capture????”

“I don't think the issue is her not remebering anything. Its just that no one has access to her to find out the unpainted truth.”

“I read an article yesterday about it. But now I can't find it again. It was a press anouncement from her doctor. It also said she was doing pretty good and doing physical therapy twice a day.

I wish her the best of luck and I hope she gets better. It would just piss me off if the gov't is making her 'play' the "I can't remember" game.”

“The government is keeping her from the press until the American attention span is passed.”

“OK, our 30 minutes is up!”

“Huh, what happened?”

“Oh, time for Jeopardy.”

“30 minutes passed? And Domino's didn't deliver my pizza?”

“i'm always surprised at the mildly misogynistic paranoia i see here. her truck is hit with a rocket-launched grenade, she probably jumped out because the truck was likely to EXPLODE, she's seriously injured and then captured. she's what, 19 years old? i'm not surprised her memory is hazy.

if it had been a 19-year old boy, what would have been so different? he would have stayed in the truck because his testosterone made him hard as nails? at age 19? seeing his first combat? if he'd been taken captive with the same injuries, his sheer maleness would have allowed him to rise from the hospital bed and walk to safety?”

“Whaaaaat?”

“Yea I'm sure the Iraqis were giving the American POW special treatment at the expense of their suffering countrymen..ahem bull#&%!$..They probobly cooked smores with her and sang old Beatles tunes..Give me a break..The reason Fox and CNN won't report this is because it's crap!”

“Hadn't you heard? Testosterone allows one to manipulate the realities of space and time. You could, in fact, call it a metaphsical wonder.”

“damn my useless estrogen!”

“metaphysical...My philosophy of typing is a little skewed.”

“Anyone notice how the Iraquis came forward and told how good they were to her AFTER the U.S. announced we were prosecuting for prisoner mistreatment?”

“the truth is probably somewhere between the american version and the iraqi version”

“This is old news.”

“Yeah, I've seen this before too. As with any other story with two diametrically opposite versions the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.”

“I remember reading a WWII story akin to this... sorta.

An American found a diary on a dead Japanese soldier. An entry therein described how he watched in amazement as Americans made numerous attempts to rescue a downed American pilot(?) under heavy fire. He couldn't believe that the Americans were risking so many other lives to save just one. They pulled it off, tho, and rescued the guy w/o any additional casualties(?).

Our NJROTC Captain formerly stood at the helm of the Jesse O. Brown, a destroyer. It was named after the Navy's first black pilot.

Brown was shot down over Korea. His wing man CRASH LANDED his fighter in an attempt to assist Brown. When he reached Brown's wreckage, he discovered that Brown was dead. No matter. The crew of the carrier did an all-out rescue of both Brown's body and the wing man.

The Lynch incident will eventually fade into the long long tradition of American warriors doing anything and everything they can to bring everyone home.”

“Talk about looking at something in its best possible light.”

“What if it was you out there Phaedy?

There are some people better left for dead. Arm chair generals are at the top of that list.”

“Unfortunately the expectation is that things happen in real life like they do in the movies.

Phaedy watches too much T.V.

He insults everyone who ever fought a battle.”

“Bacpac, do you miss the point on purpose, or did your mother drop you on your head one too many times?

This isn't about whether or not they should have rescued her, it's about how the military portrayed the "daring rescue" of an American who was in, according to the article, no danger. It's about the manipulation of the media by the military, it's not about whether she should have been left there. Duh.”

“Are you so stupid that you think the American military is manipulating the media?

The American media is manipulating the American public.

Ya thing?”

“You watch too much T.V.”

“Care to throw a fact in there somewhere? Some type of citation to back up one of your opinions?”

“It's not 'manipulation of the media by the military'. It's manipulation of the facts by the media. The story got blown into an 'event' when each reporter tried to outscoop the other by embellishing. The adage is the truth is the first casualty of war, when in reality the truth is the first casualty of media competition.

reporters = paid professional liars.

liberals = gullible and naive enough to believe everything they read in the media (as long as it aligns with their preconceived bias and groupthink).”

“I'm curious to know why the military went in, if it's true, with two cameramen.

reporters = includes fox news and pretty much everyone esle but Rush limbaugh

Liberals = something I have yet to see defined by anyone who complains about "liberals".”

“i agree with gordon. we should not question our leaders, military, or media. we should fall in blandly like sheep. all liberals are evil. all conservatives are good and god loves only them.”

“We have all watched hours of Donald Rumsfield, Myers and Tommy Franks speak as well as many other military officers. Did they tell the truth about the Lynch rescue and got edited out, or did they choose to not contradict the media stories where it suited them? I want to believe the military, but there are many weird reports in the media stories, frequent retractions of misinformation, and unexplained holes in stories, with no clarification offered by the military. I realize that the military is busy with other things, but it seems that the American media would also have had interviews with Iraqi hospital workers in the news already. I was wondering about this before this thread popped up. There are a lot of Iraqis that could be interviewed about events reported on during the war, that may have been but it is being saved for a book or movie, or exposes earlier falsehoods, and is not being aired as current reporting.

In the previous Gulf War, wasn't the media making a big deal about the patiot missiles taking out the scuds and then it was later discovered that the patriot missiles were inaccurate and not the reason the scud missiles were exploding in the sky?”

“i think it goes back to what someone said earlier, i dont think this was a deliberate manipulation, just a case of "right hand not knowing what the left was doing". of course, telling the truth takes all the wind out of their sails, but not telling the truth makes them look worse. if they had told us the raid on the hospital wasnt necessary, the american public would have snicked and then forgotten about it. heaven forbid we should snicker at the military.”

“Did you guys ever wonder what those camera mounts on soldier's helmets were?

This entire war was on camera from the squad leader's perspective. The Pentagon released the video from helmet cams.”

“Good points, lyndy and 2scoops. The most concerning thing to me is that this might have been staged as a rescue in order to have footage to hand to the press.

The military was given information on what kind of resistance they would meet, and it sounded like a good bit of feature footage to some brass.

I hope that's not the case, but the answer won't come if the question doesn't get asked.”

“Dr. Mudhafer Raazk, 27, observed dryly that two cameramen and a still photographer, also in uniform, accompanied the U.S. teams into the hospital. Maybe this was a movie after all.

Read the article, bacpac.”

“Keep bashing the troops, Phaedy.

You are an ass.”

“Maybe I should review the text of the Iraqi information minister's speeches.”

“I'm not bashing the troops by any means. The upper brass, on the other hand - you know, the ones who won't see the front even through binoculars - know which side their bread is buttered on, and I'd bet they wouldn't mind seeing some good footage back to the states to make sure everyone's behind their bosses.

Funny how you dismiss the media when it suits you, but call it gospel when you feel like it.

Oh, and you'll notice the reporter does mention that he interviewed these people separately, and none of them had anything to do with the former Iraqi government.

Again, questions don't get answers if they don't get asked, and if you don't like democratic debate, go live in Algeria. We have a nice diactatorship set up there.”

“Bacpac, some of us are not military bashers by nature, but even you have to admit that some things are not adding up here, in the Lynch situation. The other former POWs from her unit are not allowed to talk to the media about their experiences. Lynch has amnesia. The Iraqi medical staff at the hospital have not been questioned on camera, and neither has the lawyer who relayed info to troops in order to have Lynch rescued. A reporter on TV just the morning after the raid, said that a woman had come up to him the day before and said "There is an American woman at the hospital. You need to go get her." It seems to me that the lawyer was not the only one trying to get Jessica back to the US forces.”

“assclowns like bacpac dont believe in critical thinking, just liberal-bashing.”

“whatever happened to that iraqi minister of information? that guy was pretty funny.”

“The press has had continuous access to the front line combat Sgts and Pfcs in this war.

To construe this as a Pentagon masquerade is an insult to every American who ever went into battle.”

“1) Questioning Bush's strategic plan for this exercise is not 'bashing the troops'.

2) Questioning the manner in which Rumsfeld et al have 'sold' the war to the public is not 'bashing the troops'.

3) Expressing amazement at the redwood-sized chip on Gordon's and Bacpac's shoulders is not 'bashing the troops'.”

“youre giving bacpac three things to think about at once. youre gonnna make his head hurt.”

“this is bashing the troops:

the troops suck! theyre murderers! theyre ugly and their momma dresses them funny!

thats bashing the troops

assclown”