Ersatz Army Corporal Jesse Adam MacBeth's Tale Lives On

Whether the ersatz Army Corporal Jesse Adam MacBeth meant to or not, he's handed the people who want to make the U.S. military, and America in general, as a horrific threat a wonderful bit of propaganda.

I mentioned MacBeth/Al-Zaid's video interview in an earlier post. His bogus claim that he participated in the murder of hundreds of helpless civilians - and burning them - and hanging their bodies in a mosque - has been translated into Arabic and sent 'round the world on the Internet.

Apparently, the translation isn't just a dry transcript. The video was translated: whether dubbed, or with captions, I don't know.

American anti-war groups took down their celebrations of "Army Corporal Jesse Adam MacBeth" and his American atrocities when MacBeth/Al-Zaid's status became obvious. And, when the atrocities turned out to be as real as his status as a Ranger.

I don't blame them: accurate information about MacBeth/Al-Zaid is now easily available in the English-reading world, and particularly in America.

I'd guess that MacBeth/Al-Zaid's atrocity tale will have a much longer life in the Middle East.

Again, in fairness, MacBeth/Al-Zaid has said that he's sorry. "I'm sorry not only for lying about everything and discrediting anti-war groups, but also for defaming the real heroes, the soldiers out there sacrificing for their country," he said. "I was trying to pull a fast one, to make money to get off the streets."

Too bad that he provided fanatic Muslims with a wonderful piece of propaganda.

Finally, one detail that would have made me question his story without any other evidence. MacBeth/Al-Zaid has been widely quoted as saying, ""We would burn their bodies ... hang their bodies from the rafters in the mosque." That ellipsis may have contained an explanation for a minor mystery.

I've lived in agricultural areas for much of my life: and my understanding is that burned carcasses fall apart easily.

How could someone hang burned bodies from rafters, or anything else?