Beck Vastly Overstates Criticism In Order To Attack Rolling Stone Exposé

Today on his radio show, Glenn Beck took issue with a recent Rolling Stone exposé of military misconduct in Afghanistan, claiming that the article was evidence of "radicals making our troops look like baby killers to everyone else on planet Earth."

For those who haven't read the rather lengthy Rolling Stone article, it documents a small group of American soldiers in Afghanistan who allegedly staged attacks in order to arbitrarily murder Afghan civilians. Some are still facing charges, others are already convicted. In addition, some in the group reportedly took part in rather ghastly instances of battlefield misconduct: posing for photographs with enemy dead and collecting body parts as war trophies, for example. Beck supported his claim by citing an article by independent war journalist Michael Yon. Naturally, the article was also highlighted on Beck's website, The Blaze. Beck said that Yon had been embedded with the brigade in the Rolling Stone story, going on to assert that Yon "was there the whole time," "said none of that ever happened," and had called the story "completely a hack job." (Full transcript after the jump.)

Only Yon never wrote anything of the kind.

Far from suggesting that the entire Rolling Stone article is "completely a hack job," Yon wrote that "It does in fact appear that a tiny group of rogues committed premeditated murder." Yon further noted that while he was embedded with the brigade the soldiers were in, he "was not with the Soldiers accused of murder." Yon's major criticism of the article is that the brigade to which the accused were assigned largely conducted themselves professionally and ethically. Yon does take issue with the online version of the Rolling Stone story, specifically its inclusion of a video circulated by, but not featuring, members of the so-called "kill team." In Yon's view, it is unjust to associate soldiers conducting themselves lawfully and within rules of engagement with a mixed group of alleged or convicted murderers who, reportedly, committed a number gruesome acts that are, if not prosecutable war crimes, at least within the realm of what the common mind considers war atrocities. From Yon's article (emphasis added):

The story -- not really an "article" -- covers Soldiers from 5/2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) in Afghanistan.  A handful of Soldiers were accused of murder.  It does in fact appear that a tiny group of rogues committed premeditated murder.  I was embedded with the 5/2 SBCT and was afforded incredible access to the brigade by the Commander, Colonel Harry Tunnell, and the brigade Command Sergeant Major, Robb Prosser.  I know Robb from Iraq.  Colonel Tunnell had been shot in Iraq.

The brigade gave me open access.  I could go anywhere, anytime, so long as I could find a ride, which never was a problem beyond normal combat problems.  If they had something to hide, it was limited and I didn't find it.  I was not with the Soldiers accused of murder and had no knowledge of this.  It is important to note that the murder allegations were not discovered by media vigilance, but by, for instance, at least one Soldier in that tiny unit who was appalled by the behavior.  A brigade is a big place with thousands of Soldiers, and in Afghanistan they were spread thinly across several provinces because we decided to wage war with too few troops.  Those Soldiers accused of being involved in (or who should have been knowledgeable of) the murders could fit into a minivan.  You would need ten 747s for the rest of the Brigade who did their duty.  I was with many other Soldiers from 5/2 SBCT.  My overall impression was very positive.  After scratching my memory for negative impressions from 5/2 Soldiers, I can't think of any, actually, other than the tiny Kill Team who, to my knowledge, I never set eyes upon.

The online edition of the Rolling Stone story contains a section with a video called "Motorcycle Kill," which includes our Soldiers gunning down Taliban who were speeding on a motorcycle toward our guys.  These Soldiers were also with 5/2 SBCT, far away from the "Kill Team" later accused of the murders.  Rolling Stone commits a literary "crime" by deceptively entwining this normal combat video with the Kill Team story.

It's worth noting that Yon's feigned outrage over the video is not really merited: text that accompanies the Rolling Stone video clearly states that though the video was circulated by the "kill team," those featured therein are from "another battalion" in the brigade than those soldiers accused of atrocities. From Rolling Stone:

The clip presented here is excerpted from 'Motorcycle Kill,' a video collected and shared by members of the "kill team" of U.S. soldiers who murdered civilians in Afghanistan and mutilated the corpses. The jumpy, 30-minute video -- shot by soldiers believed to be with another battalion in the 5th Stryker Brigade -- shows American troops gunning down two Afghans on a motorcycle who may have been armed. Even if the killings were part of a legitimate combat engagement, however, it is a clear violation of Army standards to share such footage. ['Motorcycle Kill,' Rolling Stone, 3/27/11]

True, Yon's title, "Calling BULLSHIT on Rolling Stone," and his call to boycott the magazine's advertisers both seem to take a stab at the credibility of the entire article. Nonetheless, the text of Yon's post does not challenge the central facts of the Rolling Stone story. Gory details removed, the central plot is that a small group of soldiers broke the law and that, before a physician's assistant discovered welts left on a soldier beaten by the "kill team" intent on keeping him quiet, the officers in charge of them failed to stop their misconduct. Yon is upset that reporting these events reflects poorly on the bulk of the brigade that served honorably, but he does not contest those facts.

But none that information makes its way to Glenn Beck's audience, because none of those facts support Beck's bogus narrative that some vaguely defined group of "radicals" wants to convince US citizens and the rest of the world that US troops are "baby killers." There is no evidence of a conspiracy of radicals hell-bent on portraying our troops as vicious, indiscriminant monsters. The real narrative here is much simpler: there was despicable misconduct, charges were filed, and Rolling Stone reported it. End of story.

From the March 30 edition of Beck's radio show:

BECK: By the way, there's a story on TheBlaze.com that you must read today. It is "BS from Rolling Stone." This is a journalist that is attacking the magazine's "kill team" story. This is part of a theory that I have that -- in fact, Stu, see if you can get him on tomorrow, Michael Yon.

STU BURGUIERE (executive producer): Yeah. OK.

BECK: See if you can get Michael Yon on. He is a guy who wrote a story, and it's posted on The Blaze, and he's saying that the Rolling Stone magazine is committing a crime against our troops. He said -- journalistic crime. He said that, you know, the motorcycle video -- have you seen, have you heard anyone talk about the motorcycle video?

BURGUIERE: Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah.

BECK: And they just kill people on these motorcycles, right? Is that the way it's?

BURGUIERE: It's been the spin, yeah.

BECK: Yeah, that's the spin.

BURGUIERE: Part of the kill team. These people just drive motorcycles down the street, just get shot for no reason.

BECK: He said --

PAT GRAY (co-host): Civilians.

BECK: He was with that brigade. He was there the whole time. He said none of that ever happened. He said I had full access. He said the motorcycle -- he said, I had the tape before they had the tape. He said the motorcycle thing, that was -- that's within the rules of engagement. That's what they were supposed to do. Those were Taliban members. Shoot them. He said, so it was completely a hack job by the Rolling Stone magazine. What our troops are going through, we -- the last piece that they must have is the troops. They must bog them down. They must make them into baby killers. If they can't make them into baby killers to you, they'll make them into baby killers to everybody else on planet Earth. And that's what this story is all about. The radicals making our troops look like baby killers to everyone else on planet Earth. You must stand up for the troops as well. You've got to get out as much good as you can. You've got to tell them every time you see them. You stop them and say, thank you for what you do. Thank you. I know you guys are under attack and a lot of things don't make sense but we're with you. And make sure they know who you are. See it at TheBlaze.com.