[Dean's World] Dean: Overblown Altered Memo & "Flappy"

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Posted by Dean:
Overblown Altered Memo & "Flappy"
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1180715890.shtml


   I got a note recently from someone working in Iraq about the recent
   brouhaha over over "flappy" and the supposedly fake, but actually
   real, memo about food disruptions for some serving in Iraq:

     The blogosphere has already made way too much about the embassy
     memo regarding food supply delays, to say nothing of the abusive ad
     hominem garbage that has passed for commentary on this subject. but
     for the record, it was real -- the whole thing, "hummel figurine"
     and all. If you like, I can send you the emailed version I and the
     countless other employees at the embassy here received -- with your
     word that you will not publish my name or email address. But
     suffice to say, what was sent as an "all hands alert" was exactly
     as it appeared on Iraq Slogger and on Larry Johnson's blog. I work
     on the military side, rather than state, so I couldn't begin to
     explain all the oddities of the memo. But I will say that the
     impression people have of US Embassy Baghdad employees being uber
     professional -- having been disabused of that impression myself --
     is quite erroneous.

     Yes, the right wing bloggers are correct when they say that this
     story has been blown out of proportion -- it was a minor
     inconvenience, merely limiting the choices at the DFAC for a few
     days. The possibility of embassy staffers having to resort to MREs,
     as Johnson alleged, was minimal. Ironically, it's people like Ace
     and Dave Price who own the most guilt in giving this story more
     attention than it deserves. Well played, fools.

   Well I'll let Dave and Ace answer for themselves. I just thought the
   whole thing was kinda funny, and obviously overblown.

   He did send me the memo as he received it, and it looks legit to me.
   And he is clearly writing from a legit email address to prove it (not
   the first I've gotten from that particular domain, either).

   It's apparent that the lefty side of the blogosphere overreacted as
   much as the right; the food disruptions were minimal and temporary,
   not a "still more proof of the utter fiasco in Iraq" that they're so
   desperate to promote. On the other hand, the forgery wasn't a forgery,
   just unprofessional, and the righties jumped a little too quick on
   what was probably an email signature or something.

   "Flappy" still made me laugh a lot though.

   (By the way, the very fact of this correspondence blows me away. The
   21st century is already starting to make the 20th century look like
   the stone age.)