The Benefit Of The Doubt

A most thought provoking, intelligent & well written piece by Cassandra of Villainous Company

"Michael Yon & The Benefit Of The Doubt"

(...)Michael Yon is purportedly a professional journalist. As such, shouldn't he be held to some elementary standards of professionalism? But more importantly, how much sense does it make to extend the benefit of the doubt to Mr. Yon for what amounts to unsourced and unsupported allegations of criminal misconduct against a career soldier?

Is this where the bar should be set for professional journalists? Do they have no responsibility to back up such a serious charge with evidence? (...)

(...) It's not that leaders like BG Menard and Gen. McChrystal can't be questioned. But I think that the standard for a professional journalist ought to be responsible criticism. And I question the assumption that an embedded reporter who isn't privy to all of the intel and military briefings and has never had to make life and death decisions in a complex, multinational command environment in a war zone should be given the benefit of the doubt when he repeatedly sources accusations of incompetence and criminal neglect or misconduct in nothing more compelling than his personal opinion. (...)

I Stand Firm With The Manifesto 12

I wish to express my unequivocal support for the twelve signatories and my outrage at the Islamist movement's attack on them. I stand firm with the 12 against this reactionary movement. I join in their call to resist religious totalitarianism and to promote freedom, equal opportunity, human rights and secular values for all.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION.

STAND UP AGAINST ISLAMIC TOTALITARIANISM NOW!

General McChrystal.

So which 'truths' from Michael Yon do we believe?

THEN

(Andrew Sullivan rounds up blog reaction to McChrystal)

Michael Yon:

In regard to Lieutenant General McChrystal his reputation is enviable. McChrystal’s reputation is as solid as that of Generals Mattis or Petraeus, but fewer people have heard of McChrystal . I know some very interesting folks in the special operations world, and McChrystal gets a five-star rating out of five stars. That comes from officers and enlisted.

NOW

(From Michael Yon's Facebook Page after being fired from his embed)

McChrystal's crew has spoken: Embed is ended. This comes from McChrystal's own spokesman (through one CPT Jane Campbell USN cc RADM Greg Smith and COL Wayne Shanks USA). This lends confirmation to ideas that the disembed came from McChrystal's crew. (If not before, 100% now.) McChrystal cannot be trusted to tell the truth about this war. Packing my bags.

The disembed from McChrytal’s top staff (meaning from McChrystal himself) is a very bad sign. Sends chills that McChrystal himself thinks we are losing the war. McChrystal has a history of covering up. This causes concern that McChrystal might be misleading SecDef and President. Are they getting the facts?

Life was good before I went to Iraq. But after three friends were killed during the GWOT, and my growing mistrust for the media and for the US Government/Military, I quit traveling the world and went to war. The United States was in peril. I am American. Today, I do not trust McChrystal anymore than some people trust the New York Times, Obama or Bush. If McChrystal could be trusted, I would go back to my better life. McChrystal is a great killer but this war is above his head. He must be watched.

Which words of Yon should one believe? The words he wrote before he was fired from his embed ....or after?

It's not McChyrstal who can't be trusted to tell the truth...... it's Michael Yon.


Updated April 22

A most thought provoking, intelligent & well written piece by Cassandra of Villainous Company "Michael Yon & The Benefit Of The Doubt"

(...)Michael Yon is purportedly a professional journalist. As such, shouldn't he be held to some elementary standards of professionalism? But more importantly, how much sense does it make to extend the benefit of the doubt to Mr. Yon for what amounts to unsourced and unsupported allegations of criminal misconduct against a career soldier?

Is this where the bar should be set for professional journalists? Do they have no responsibility to back up such a serious charge with evidence? (...)

(...) It's not that leaders like BG Menard and Gen. McChrystal can't be questioned. But I think that the standard for a professional journalist ought to be responsible criticism. And I question the assumption that an embedded reporter who isn't privy to all of the intel and military briefings and has never had to make life and death decisions in a complex, multinational command environment in a war zone should be given the benefit of the doubt when he repeatedly sources accusations of incompetence and criminal neglect or misconduct in nothing more compelling than his personal opinion. (...)

Michael Yon: Millblogging community is a hurricane of hotair

Yesterday I wrote:

Mike doesn't care about the opinions of those who disagree with him or call him out on his lies and his irrational behavior. He doesn't care about kind, respectful, supportive interventions. He spins all this to make everyone seem misguided at best, and a liar at worst --- which is exactly what he did on his FB page when others tried a similar albeit smaller version of an intervention and which is what he'll do with Matt and the millbloggers who participated in the intervention.

And today Yon proves me right:

Bottom line questions: How many milbloggers who were not on active duty (hence sent to the war as a troop) have spent more than a year in the wars? I know of zero. Does one exist?

The milblogging community is largely a hurricane of hot air.

There are some ...good and responsible writers working milblogs but most of them are less accurate than the MSM they oppose.

Please name the top five milblogs -- and one person from each -- who has spent a year (less than 15% of the war) as a civilian journalist/writer in Iraq/Afghanistan.

Start with http://www.longwarjournal.org/ and Blackfive.

People who are seriously tracking the war seriously don't track these
guys.

Michael Yon

Michael Yon 's head remains firmly up his ass.

Michael Yon:UNHINGED. Milbloggers Intervention

As of yesterday Michael Yon is still lying & laying FALSE blame on BG Menard for something that BG Ben Hodges acknowledged was HIS responsibility

They were under command of BG Menard. Their battalion (2-508th Infantry Parachute Regiment of the 82nd Airborne) remains in one of the most dangerous places in Afghanistan, under command of BG Menard

This battalion should not be under command of a general who allows a strategic bridge to be blown up.

Then he writes this piece of insanity on the same day he gets dis - embedded ( translation he was kicked out of his embed and denied future embeds) for what is NOW the 4th time in his short lived career:

"Is there an Afghan Patriot? A Leader who cares more about Afghanistan than himself? Karzai's Afghanistan is not worthy of western support. If Afghanistan wants our support, they need to get rid of this guy. Karzai is an obstacle to progress."

According to Bruce over at FLIT,

Yon apparently can't see why enabling that sort of unique perspective of his would be a problem for American commanders right now.

Instead, he blames COMISAF personally, and goes on a bit of a tear. Apparently the American 4-star should be fired, too. Or executed. I'm not clear which:

McChrystal's crew has spoken: Embed is ended. This comes from McChrystal's own spokesman (through one CPT Jane Campbell USN cc RADM Greg Smith and COL Wayne Shanks USA). This lends confirmation to ideas that the disembed came from McChrystal's crew. (If not before, 100% now.) McChrystal cannot be trusted to tell the truth about this war. Packing my bags.

And then more lies as Yon slips closer to self destruction:

The disembed from McChrytal’s top staff (meaning from McChrystal himself) is a very bad sign. Sends chills that McChrystal himself thinks we are losing the war. McChrystal has a history of covering up. This causes concern that McChrystal might be misleading SecDef and President.
Are they getting the facts?

Followed by this insanity, proving to many that Michael Yon has officially become UNHINGED

Life was good before I went to Iraq. But after three friends were killed during the GWOT, and my growing mistrust for the media and for the US Government/Military, I quit traveling the world and went to war. The United States was in peril. I am American. Today, I do not trust McChrystal anymore than some people trust the New York Times, Obama or Bush. If McChrystal could be trusted, I would go back to my better life. McChrystal is a great killer but this war is above his head. He must be watched.

Words Fail!

But today there are plenty of words from the Milblog community that has FINALLY decided to go public with an 'intervention' in the hopes that Yon might see the light.

Got to wonder where they all were when Yon spent a month lying about BG Menard and Canadian Troops. Their silence back then was deafening.

While Matt (Blackfive) may not have been aware of the bridge incident and the lies Yon spewed about Menard, the idea that NO ONE else that writes for B5 or comments over there, had ANY idea about Yon's well publicized lies ----which not only appeared on Yon's Facebook page for over two weeks, but made the Canadian and UK papers, went viral on twitter and was discussed on several major Canadian Military website forums, andseveral well respected Canadian milblogs, even his his alleged apology appeared on Breitbart's website --- is a bridge too far for me to cross.

Especially since all Mike had to do was write ONE paragraph bad mouthing McChrystal and suddenly it makes the radar screen of Blackfive and company, and results in all this "concern" that necessitates an intervention from 10 milbloggers.

The Bridge incident was the beginning of the end for Yon & THEN would have been the time for this intervention by the milblog community. Instead, they had Mike speak at their event.

Meanwhile, those who were aware of the bridge incident, including many in the Military, reached out to Mike on his Facebook page at that time and tried to offer up their own mini version of an intervention by offering support for his previous work but expressing concern over these lies and the direction his work has been taking. They got banned and those that didn't just recently left and told Michael to remove them from his mailing list after having waited patiently for Mike to come to his senses only to hear him spew forth lies about McChrystal and lie about the reason he was fired from his embed.

Mike doesn't care about the opinions of those who disagree with him or call him out on his lies and his irrational behavior. He doesn't care about kind, respectful, supportive interventions. He spins all this to make everyone seem misguided at best, and a liar at worst --- which is exactly what he did on his FB page when others tried a similar albeit smaller version of an intervention and which is what he'll do with Matt and the millbloggers who participated in the intervention.

While their concern is admirable ---it is far too late. Mike has already slipped into the abyss. He's gone over the edge. Its like these milbloggers decided to bolt the barn door after long after the horse has escaped.

Over at Blackfive:

Michael Yon Wake Up Call
An Open Letter To Michael Yon

Milbloggers Intervention

Greta Perry: Yon Needs a Little R & R
Kanani Fong: Taking Out The Big Red Pen: Michael Yon
This Ain't Hell: The Long Cold Fall From Grace
You Served: Come Back From The Edge Michael
CDR Salamandar One Voice Is A Heads Up, Many Voices is an online intervention
The Donavan
Chuck Z - Michael Has Gone Nanners
The Brat


Related:

Michael Yon: Shameful Allegations
Michael Yon: Saving Face: Shameful Allegations
Michael Yon: Shameful Allegations to Self Adulation
Michael Yon: Lying or Just Poor Research: Pick Poison