Monday, May 05, 2003

We know that the tale of the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch was melodramatic, and inspiring to a lot of Americans -- almost too good to be true. And we know that The Times of London, The Washington Post, and now The Toronto Star all say that, yes, it was too good to be true -- Pfc. Lynch was treated very well by Iraqi hospital staff and wasn't being held under duress when she was "rescued." So isn't it odd that suddenly, according to Fox News, "Lynch  says she can't remember anything about her time in captivity in Iraq"?

Call me a conspiracy-minded paranoid, but I think someone in the Bush administration has been following the story of the Central Park jogger, who is now promoting a memoir and who really can't remember anything about being attacked (she was left with far more horrific injuries than Lynch). Is it crazy to think that the administration might have gotten word to Lynch that she's under orders to say she remembers nothing (or, perhaps, that she should remain silent while ever-loyal Fox News floats the amnesia tale)?

I'm sure the Bushies think the original Lynch myth is potentially of political use to them. Do I think they'd order a soldier to lie, or refuse to tell what she knows, for political gain? Sure. Why not, with these guys?

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