A while back I posted about the immedia's unmasking of a leftist antiwar fabulist named Micah Wright who assumed the persona of a former Green Beret who had participated in the invasion of Panama, and used this stolen valor to berate and belittle pro-war bloggers. Turned out, the extent of Mr. Wright's service was kinda being in ROTC in college.

Over at Big Lizards, Sachi and Dafydd ab Hugh might have scented another Micah Wright. Watching the RAI crockumentary purporting to detail U.S. "atrocities" in Fallujah, their hackles were raised by the testimony of one Spc. Jeff Engelhardt, who says he served with "3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in Baquba, Iraq" and who claimed to be an eyewitness to the use of White Phosphorus weapons to massacre civilians in the assault on Fallujah. (The documentary is linked from BL's post; I should point out that I haven't yet watched the whole thing and won't have time to do so until at least tomorrow night, so I'm relying on their description of Englehardt's evidence.)

The Lizards noticed several inconsistencies, both between different accounts by Engelhardt (some of which are on his antiwar milblog) and also in his misuse of military terminology. Some of the whoppers are things that even moderately informed civilians might catch, like calling Bradley Fighting Vehicles "tanks" and describing Apache helicopters armed with "chain gun missile launchers". (They're armed with Hughes chain guns, yes, and they're armed with missile launchers, but there's no such thing as a "chain gun missile launcher.")

But one of the strangest flubs he makes is hearing an order over the radio to use the WP--he tells the RAI crockumentarians:

And as they'd say, “In five [inaudible], we're going drop some Whiskey Pete.” “Roger. Commence bombing.” I mean, it just comes across the radio, and like, when you hear “Whiskey Pete,” that's the military slang.

Bullshit. Even I know it's called Willie Pete, or sometimes Willie Peter. But just to make sure, I googled "Whiskey Pete" and found two sorts of hits---

1. Clubs and hotels in Nevada called "Whiskey Pete's", or a few odds and ends completely unrelated to White Phosphorus, and
2. Descriptions of the horrors of Fallujah on leftist sites, ALL DATED NOVEMBER 2005 or later, and obviously incorporating the Engelhardt/RAI interview's mistake.

Oh, and I also found this entry on Wikipedia, as a moderator there obviously ran exactly the same search I did in trying to authenticate the new inclusion of the term "Whiskey Pete" into the entry for White Phosphorus!

Without having seen the whole video myself, I will jump to no more conclusions for now other than to say that the bona fides of Spc. Engelhardt deserves some very close scrutiny, especially since he is accusing his fellow soldiers of the hideous and intentional massacre of huge numbers of Iraqi civilians. There are already serious problems with his story; a thorough look into his background is becoming overdue.

Posted by: seedubya at 04:46 AM | Comments (26) | Add Comment
Post contains 496 words, total size 3 kb.

1

I've been out of the Army since 1992, but the only slang that I remember for White Phosphorous is "Willie Pete". If they were going to call for it over the radio, they'd use "whiskey papa" which uses the correct phonetic alphabet for "WP".

Even so, I'd be surprised that they'd use voice to transmit a fire mission or that he'd be listening to that particular net.

Posted by: Mark A. Flacy at December 08, 2005 05:21 AM (Vrc8z)

2 Yeah, things don't add up with this guy. In fact the bulk of the transcript of the RAI "documentary" is a real head scratcher. In particular Engelhardt's description about how WP won't burn through clothes, but will burn right through a protective mask. Obviously cotton and polyester technology is much more advanced than I thought. Other point that's off is the narrator saying that tracers were used for illumination of enemy positions - huh? Mark's right about the radio discipline. Isn't the assumption that the enemy is listening in? So I doubt when calling in munitions, it would be done using a general transmission to everyone like Engelhardt describes.

Posted by: Graeme at December 08, 2005 07:11 AM (47jzq)

3 Things definitely don't seem to add up with Engelhardt. In fact the bulk of the RAI transcript is a real head scratcher. It's unbelievable (okay maybe not) that people jumped on this as fact. WP will burn through a rubber mask but will not burn clothes? Huh? Tracers being used for illumination? Huh? And that's just to name a few.

Posted by: Graeme at December 08, 2005 07:17 AM (47jzq)

4 Dammit, I hate it when comments suddenly come back from the dead like that.

Posted by: Graeme at December 08, 2005 07:18 AM (47jzq)

5 I too have been out of the US Cav since 1992, but IIRC, WP, or 'willie pete' was used to generate smoke. I do recall calling in smoke on arty strikes, but I can never recall one time using or hearing 'willie pete', 'whiskey papa', or WP to call in smoke rounds.

Posted by: Fersboo at December 08, 2005 09:16 AM (x0fj6)

6 The Winter Soldier parade/aspect of all this was evident early on. Its a fringe thing of the left. Thanks to the Internet and today's technology, it is a totally ineffective and idiotic approach - why some still attempt it says a ton about their own internal personalities and failings. RAI runs with it because they want to - if it blows up in their face - so what - they are playing to an Italian and European audience - no significant risk involved. The MSM here is leery about touching "them" - not because they don't want to - but the risks are enormous and embarrassing. So go for it Jeff! The reason he does it is to give him credibility for his crap. But strip away the credibility all he his left with is crap. Conservatives should remember - one of the reasons we are running the show (I think sometimes) not because there are so many of us - but because the left has has alienated and pushed so many others towards the right. So, come on left! Let's have another Winter Soldier repeat! We are ready for it! Come on Jeff - tell us about the orbital deathray platforms zapping Iraqi children by the tens of millions - the candies are locator beacons. Whiskey Tango Papa Mo Larry Curry Shabazz! And away we go!

Posted by: hondo at December 08, 2005 09:32 AM (3aakz)

7 fersboo Another Cav! Scouts out! Used WP for smoke - seen it used for LUM - and was taught how to use it for spot DEMO (usually on our own sensitive items left in place) - but that's about it.

Posted by: hondo at December 08, 2005 09:42 AM (3aakz)

8 Sometimes I have to wonder how so many people can be so stupid, and I actually have a hard time believing it, but they're either that stupid, or completely treasonous, neither of which is exactly forgivable, but especially the latter. I believe that unless the dhimmicrats lose massively in '06 and '08, and the MSM loses market share to an untenable extent, and America starts to straighten up, the butcher's bill will be heavy.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at December 08, 2005 11:05 AM (0yYS2)

9 Wright was a fake Army Ranger, not a fake Green Beret. For someone who's such a stickler for facts, maybe you should get yours straight? Besides, it was TWO FREAKING YEARS AGO. That's some hot news! Here's some other hot news: your President and Republican Congress is going to cut and run from Iraq by October of 2006, whether the job is finished or not.

Posted by: Late To Dinner at December 08, 2005 01:18 PM (T7Z7V)

10 I served with the First Infantry Division about a decade ago. My memory on the subject is somewhat fuzzy, but im dont recall First ID having a 3rd brigade.

Posted by: Jones at December 08, 2005 01:29 PM (jTpef)

11 Ooooops! sea-dubya made a boo-boo! A typo of a sort! How horrifying! Later to Dinner - What's Your Point (think there is a tie-in with lil' Jeffery E. on this board) My president - cut & run? - hardly - he's a rather obstinate kind of guy (you'd agreed on 99.9999% of everything else - right?) But don't worry! Now that YOUR behind us to stay the course he wouldn't dare! That is what your last line is saying - get the job done - right? Howard Dean! Is that you?

Posted by: hondo at December 08, 2005 01:33 PM (3aakz)

12 Ok my bad I guess they have had a third brigade since 1996. First ID has gone through some reorginization since my day. Well at least this guy is claiming to be from a real unit.

Posted by: Jones at December 08, 2005 01:44 PM (jTpef)

13 Late to Dinner can sell you some bird prints for all you bird watchers out there. They are most popular on his site along with the art decor....blah blah blah. Rusty, I don't know why the Jawa attracts those types. I guess because they have nothing else to do, the art business going to hell and all. Bush's fault, probably.

Posted by: jesusland joe at December 08, 2005 03:33 PM (rUyw4)

14 Boy that's a shock; a bedwetting, artsy-fartsy libtard making idiotic remarks on this blog. Never saw that coming. Hey Late, stick some of your art up your ass and take a picture of it, and you just might get an NEA grant.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at December 08, 2005 03:42 PM (0yYS2)

15 Checked out his site - well er, I am restoring a 120 yr old home and I am decorating - so if I check out and maybe buy some of his stuff ... you guys aren't going to give me a hard time now, are you?

Posted by: hondo at December 08, 2005 04:04 PM (3aakz)

16 Appropo of nothing: Whiskey Pete's is a wild west themed casino... in a castle. It has the Bonney & Clyde death car on display. It also has a decent wooden roller coaster.

Posted by: Leo at December 08, 2005 04:13 PM (8WK3z)

17 hondo, If I were you I would be careful with those decorators. They are real dangerous kinds of fellows and I wouldn't want something bad to happen to you, because hey, you're my favorite expert on pronouns. So watch your backside, hondo, and go to Home Depot for your decorating needs. A lot safer! HaHa!

Posted by: jesusland joe at December 08, 2005 04:19 PM (rUyw4)

18 Heck, I'm a reserve medic up here in the Great White North, and even I know that White Phosphorous isn't considered a chemical weapon. And this guy's saying it doesn't burn cloth but goes right through a rubber gasmask? Wow, must either be a real "smart" weapon, or must be some pretty high-end clothing... And "chain gun missile launchers"? Damn if that existed that would really wreck someone's day! I would have to say this guy is full of shit...

Posted by: LC CanForce 101 at December 08, 2005 11:29 PM (3smJS)

19 LC CanForce 101 Getting ready for bed - got a lot of snow shoveling to do tomarrow. If you get over to Gagetown anytime soon do me a favor. Go way up northwest where the rockhills are and shout "HEY MOOSE! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THERE!" Few years back some nastyass bull ate a box of cookies my daughter baked for me and my cellphone! (OK - he bit it in half n' spit it out). I told that son of a bitch I'd come back for him one day.

Posted by: hondo at December 08, 2005 11:57 PM (3aakz)

20 See Dub: Whoops, one correction: we did not (thank goodness) actually sit through a viewing of that Italian documentary. We read through the partial transcript posted at the hard, hard Left radio show (to the point of being Communist) Democracy Now. We liked to their website, where the transcript can be found. Other than that, great writeup! Dafydd

Posted by: Dafydd at December 09, 2005 02:30 AM (9eKoE)

21 Agent Jones suspects Improbulus is a Chinese Butcher.

Posted by: Agent Smith at December 09, 2005 06:44 PM (6LOUW)

22 Hondo: I will definately yell at the mooses (is plural of moose, mooses or meece?) if I'm there, but I doubt I'll be out there anytime soon. Sorry about the cookies and cellphone, but at least you have a funny story to tell.

Posted by: LC CanForce 101 at December 10, 2005 04:02 AM (3smJS)

23 You choose your destination, you choose your schedule, you choose which ticket price suits YOU best airplane ticket and when youre finished, you complete the transaction, right from the comfort of your own home. http://airplane-ticket.dkmhosting.com/cheap-airplane-ticket.htm

Posted by: Mike at February 28, 2006 01:02 AM (KznTu)

24 The accountant may register a profit in the books but the sales may not be generating sufficient cash to replenish the cash outflows required winning in the cash flow business for the production and investment. http://cash-flow.100megsfree5.com/real-estate-cash-flow-note.htm

Posted by: Mike at March 04, 2006 04:12 AM (KznTu)

25 Parents might want to set a time limit, or attach Neopets playtime as a reward after chores neopets site web and homework. http://neopets-site-web.cafe150.com/top-site-neopets.htm

Posted by: Eric at March 05, 2006 12:36 AM (KznTu)

26 CEO, Matt Moog, had been elected to direct response marketing the Direct Marketing Association s Board of Directors for a three-year term. http://direct-response-marketing.kogaryu.com/direct-response-marketing.htm

Posted by: Mike at March 17, 2006 05:05 PM (K0jrF)

Hide Comments | Add Comment