I’m one that never really trusts a reporter until I’ve had some personal interaction with them, but I consider Michael Yon a pretty decent guy having not interacted with him. That is why I haven’t completely written him off as yet another guy with a pen or a blog that has gone over the edge with too much time in country and not enough time decompressing.
You can see a man that is teetering on the edge by just looking at his Facebook page from the last several days. He is all over the place claiming Gen McCrystal can’t be trusted.
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.
What has prompted Michael to lose it in such a public fashion? It may just have something to due with being kicked off his fourth 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?
There are more examples like him going completely nuts over a Canadian general accidently discharging his weapon while on base. Yeah, it’s a pretty dumb thing to do especially as a general, but Michael’s conclusions of the general’s ability to lead are highly flawed. Not to mention there are many better things he could be writing about instead of focusing time and energy on a man who made a mistake. Oh, and that mistake is currently being investigated and probably won’t end well for the general.
Now, the point of this isn’t to just fire away at Michael in hopes of destroying him. Instead, the goal is to encourage Michael to take a couple of steps back and examine what is going on around him. He needs to acknowledge his mistakes that lead him to be removed from this embed and the previous three. Michael has done great work in the past and I won’t begin to hide that. However, there comes a time that you have to ask him when will it become clear that it’s you, not them?
I’m not the only one that has noticed Michael on the edge of self destruct. This list will likely grow over the course of the day and you may find more up to date lists on some of these other blogs. I highly suggest you also read what they have wrote for additional and different perspective.
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Actually its much more than his going crazy over a Canadian General accidentally discharging his rifle.–there were many cases of US generals and soldiers doing the same, that Mike chose NOT to write about. THe MELTDOWN occured when Yon LIED about Canadian BG Menard and Canadian soldiers who HE held responsible for a bridge being blown up by the Taliban. Yon LIED. HE knew who the General was that was in charge of the Bridge and it wasn ‘t Menard. When he was called to the carpet by the US General responsible for the bridge incident he praised that General ad nauseum calling him heroic while he had DEMANDED the firing of General Menard.
And he went NUTS because the General and Canadian soldiers were watching the Olympic Hockey Playoff between Team USA and Team Canada.
He made a point of saying this is a war zone and there’s no time to be watching frivoulous games. EXCUSE ME!! Their were HUNDREDS of US soldiers in Iraq and AFG that were also watching the game, and can I mention all the times US soldiers in theater have watched the Superbowl while suicide bombers continued to wreak havoc… not a peep from Yon about that.
You can read my posts on WHY Yon lied, and what his end game was – I wrote three pieces on my blog in March.
Also a great post was written about the alleged apology Yon wrote to Menard ( It wasn’t an apology it still blamed him) which appeared on Big Government and Big Hollywood. The rebuttal to Yon’s alleged apology was written by someone who has been praised by both the US and Canadian military for his experitise and knowledge and first hand experience in the AO that Mike was writing about. He actually proved that Yon had NO idea about the AO he was reporting from and Yon was trying to sound smart in the hopes that the average reader would NOT know enough to realize how little Yon knew.
I will provide links to that rebutal on my blog later today.
When I tweeted about Mike’s lies re Menard, Yon’s sycophants mercilessly attacked me, Yon banned me from furhter commenting on his Facebook page, deleted all my comments which exposed his lies.
I told each person that wrote me, than Yon would lose his embed over this, I even wrote McChrystal personally and had my email sent to him by a LT Col who knew him personally, and knew me personally.
I also told each person that wrote me that Yon would then attempt to denigrate McChrystal, and would attempt to discredit him, as a shot across the bow, in order to bully his way back to an embed.
I was right.
Below is the comment I left on Blackfive today:
Some of you know that Mike and I have been very close for many years, I spent time with him in Seattle, when he researching background for his first book after returning from Iraq in early 2006, prior to him leaving for AFG on a non embed trip;I spoke to Mike daily, not just during 2006 when he was stateside, but also when he was traveling in SE Asia prior to returning to Iraq in late 2006/early 2007 – he emailed me daily and also called me frequently from Iraq during 2007 and 2008, and I often edited many of his dispatches in spite of Yon having some one on his payroll who was paid to do that.
Several months ago Mike wrote me from AFG and said some ugly and disparaging things about Canadian troops, and we had a full blown email fight. Full disclosure: I am Canadian. I am also American. I have dual citizenship, and unlike Mike, I know many of the Canadian troops on a personal level.
And I know when Mike is not being intellectually honest.
He finally revealed what was really bugging him in that email “conversation”. Mike Yon did NOT like that the US troops where under the command of the Canadians in that AO because Canada was not extending its commitment beyond 2011. Bear in mind, Canada extended its commitment 2 other times. Yon felt if Canada was going to be “cowardly”, and abandon the mission & not extend beyond 2011 – they should go home now and leave the war to the real soldiers.
THOSE were HIS words. It effectively terminated by friendship with him.
So 2 months later when he started up on Facebook/Twitter with his LIES about BG Menard, and his INSULTS of the Canadian troops – I counter attacked by exposing his intellectual dishonesty and lies on twitter and his Facebook page.
Yon banned me from commenting on his FB “fan page” because people started to “hear” what I was saying and wanted to know more — some were his sycophants demanding for me to prove Mike was lying about Menard and demanded to know why he would do so – when I identified WHO was in fact the Commander responsible for “Bridge fiasco” – and began to share parts of the email conversation, and backed it up with links to dispatches on HIS site that substantiated what I was saying— and offered more proof – he banned me and began a campaign to delete the comments I had written. Several others noticed this and began to question his integrity and he banned them.
Yon knew then and knows now tht I m one of the few people who had proof he was lying. I also knew McChrystal knew the truth about Mike’s lies – since I asked a favor from a Lt Col that knew both McChrystal and me to get an email to McChrystal expressing my fury at Yon’s behavior, his lies, his unfounded accusations, and his merciless attacks on Canadian troops in general and expressed my concern that if Mike’s embed was cancelled and further embed’s denied, that McChrystal would be Mike’s next ” verbal target’.
It appears that many within the US Military & understandably the Canadian Military were angered for the same reasons as I and had expressed that to McChrystal. Trust me – it did not bode well for the US Military that someone who Petraeus had endorsed was disparaging, lying, and mercilessly attacking the Canadian military. We have been a very important part of NATO in Afghanistan and have suffered many losses. I also explained in my email to McChrystal that Mike was angered about Canadian’s decision not to extend beyond 2011 and that some of this anger had prompted his vitriolic unfounded attack on BG Menard.
Several Canadian bloggers who had in fact embedded with Canadian troops were FURIOUS— and one Canadian in particular even called Mike out on his lack of knowledge about many details in the AO Mike was reporting from – especially evident in Yon’s so called “apology” to BG Menard ( it was NOT an apology at all) that appeared on Big Hollywood and Big Government. This Canadian bloggers work was praised by Petraeus, and Tom Ricks, Mark Steyn and many others – as an honest detailed voice, and a rare Canadian voice that was allowed to speak his mind honestly. I will be providing links to his critiques of Mike’s work and how he exposes the lack of knowledge that Mike has about the AO he was working in.
When several of Yons fans attacked me personally on FB and via email thru my website – I warned them that once Mike Yon’s embed was terminated that he would then lash out at McChrystal, questioning his integrity and ability and likely claim in time that Afghanistan was ‘Being Censored” – I sent them links to Yon’s piece titled ‘Censoring Iraq” and explained to them that Yon wrote that piece to try to get his embed status re instated.
I also highlighted the parts that I KNOW were misleading, and intellectually dishonest, and the parts that were purely speculative on Yon’s part —
Yon wrote that piece after all attempts failed at getting his embed reinstated throughout 2006. He figured he could bully the Military into re instating it by sending them a message ” Either you’re with me or against me – and if you’re against me I will destroy you”. Honestly – that’s exactly what he told me as the purpose of “Censoring Iraq”.
But Mike didnt stop there – when Roggio read the piece – he called out Mike on his intellecutal dishonesty– Roggio knew that Yon was soley to blame for his embed being denied and he told Yon that if this piece was published he would likely counter it publically, exposing Mike’s intellectual dishonesty. It was at that moment that Mike went crazy and began an email campaign intent on destroying Roggio – personally & professionally. That email campaign include emails to Jimbo, Matt, Michelle Malkin, and several others Milbloggers.Its sole purpose was to destroy Roggio’s credibility and it backfired.
Yon’s work use to serve the greater good – it now only serves himself.Yon is no longer in this for the troops, he’s in it for himself.
After Yon was caught lying about BG Menard, he wrote that he would issue an apology to BG Menard within 48 hours. He never did.
If a man cannot honor his word, than how can any of his words be honorable?
He waited three weeks, then issued an inflammatory piece on Big Governnment that still indirectly laid the blame on BG Menard and on Canadian troops. Proving once and for all to McChrytal and others, that Mike Yon’s words can no longer be trusted, and his intellectual honesty is in serious question.
Here’s Michael Yon’s response to the “kind supportive and respectful attempt” at an intervention.
It’s posted on his Facebook page (where else) in response to the love letter.. errr “Defense of Michael Yon – An Open Letter to Milbloggers” which he also posted on his Facebook page.
I told you he would spin all this to make you and the milblog community look misguided at best— or in this case ” A hurricane of Hot Air” and that no one should take you and the milblog community seriously or to quote Mike “People who are seriously tracking the war seriously don’t track these guys”
The Captain’s Journal » In Defense of Michael Yon: An Open Letter to Milbloggers
http://www.captainsjournal.com
You can read Hershel’s piece attacking the milblog community in its entirety but here’s Yon’s response:
Michael Yon
Herschel Smith sent a kind email.
Thank you, Herschel,
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
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I know and have worked with RADM Greg Smith while we were both in Baghdad. He was in charge of strategic communications for the Multi-National Force and I was doing public affairs work for the Department of State. Greg Smith is top notch and I will never question his integrity or skills in public affairs. Prior to Baghdad he was the Chief of Naval Information – the top public affairs officer in the US Navy. He’s been in this business a long long long time and was so good at his job that GEN Petraeus asked him to move to CENTCOM to be his top public affairs guy. Then Greg went to AFG to work strategic communications there. I don’t know Michael Yon, but based on his writings and my own experiences as a USMC PAO (active duty 92-96), USAR PAO (Kandahar Air Field 02-03) and then an embassy PAO (Baghdad 06-08), I think I will cast my lot with Greg Smith. Michael Yon is delusional is determining his own self worth and the worth of public affairs guys like RADM Greg Smith. Once his latest incident has concluded, I think will no longer read his blog or buy his books.