Milblogger Matt Sanchez is posting that the 1st Infantry Divison has thoroughly reviewed the claims made by Scott Thomas Beauchamp and found them to be false. Here’s is Sanchez’ post in its entirity:

After a thorough investigation that lasted nearly a week the  4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division has concluded that the allegation made by Private Thomas Scott Beauchamp, the “Baghdad Diarist”, have been

“refuted by members of his platoon and proven to be false”

 

The official investigation the 4th IBCT Public Affairs Office qualified as “thorough and professional” concluded late August 1st.  Officials would not speculate on the possibility of further action against Private Beauchamp, nor would they confirm his current whereabouts or status. 

Sergeant First Class Robert Timmons, the acting pubic affairs official of the 4th IBCT, 1st ID, in the absence of Major Luke Luedeke, remarked that despite the high level of attention this case received in the American media, soldiers at the 4th IBCT, 1st Inf. Div, a “surge” Brigade, have not been distracted from their missions. 

In the month of July, Operation Dragon Hammer resulted in the capture of over 110 detainees and “no mission has been delayed or adversely effected by the investigation into Private Beauchamp’s allegations of misconduct among the soldiers of his unit the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment”, said Timmons.

The 4th IBCT, 1st ID Area of Operations, Rasheed District in Western Baghdad is one of the toughest and most violet districts in the Iraqi capital. 

Yet TNR-forgive me-soldiers on with their denials. Or rather,  attempts at them. They confirm some events with anonymous soldiers. These same soldiers confirm with Emails that one soldier did wear a piece of a child’s skull on his head and TNR further confirms the story by saying a forensic pathologists said it “could’ fit a an adults head.

They’re serious.

They also confirm the story of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle running over dogs first with one of their anonymous Emails and then with someone from the company that manufactures the Bradley’s who confirms that the vehicle “could’ do this. Read for yourself:

The last section of the Diarist described soldiers using Bradley Fighting Vehicles to kill dogs. On this topic, one soldier who witnessed the incident described by Beauchamp, wrote in an e-mail: “How you do this (I’ve seen it done more than once) is, when you approach the dog in question, suddenly lurch the Bradley on the opposite side of the road the dog is on. The rear-end of the vehicle will then swing TOWARD the animal, scaring it into running out into the road. If it works, the dog is running into the center of the road as the driver swings his yoke back around the other way, and the dog becomes a chalk outline.” TNR contacted the manufacturer of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle System, where a spokesman confirmed that the vehicle is as maneuverable as Beauchamp described. Instructors who train soldiers to drive Bradleys told us the same thing. And a veteran war correspondent described the tendency of stray Iraqi dogs to flock toward noisy military convoys.

The Ist ID’s report stated that soldiers were interviewed in Beaucahmp’s own platoon (up to 50 total) and Beauchamp’s essay’s were found to be false, yet TNR uses even more anonymous sources in hope it will go away. The “fake but accurate angel will be next.”

Here’s Jeff Emanuel from TAS. 

Confederate Yankee slams the disfigured woman story.

Michael Goldfarb of the Weekly Standard, who’s been in the lead on this story, has another letter that refutes the TNR correction.

Hat tip to Charles Johnson

Gutsy Brian Lawrence won today, allowing three runs on eight hits. But he didn’t walk anybody, gamely pounding the strike zone with sinkers and breaking balls that barely got there.  Welcome back to the big leagues, Brian.

David Wright and Jose Reyes accounted for 5 of the 12 Met runs. It would have been enough to win today against a game, but unraveling Milwaukee Brewer club. Manager Ned Yost and catcher Johnny Estrada had to be seperated in the tunnel during the game.

Today’s game revealed just how good Wright and Reyes are and how much they mean to the Mets. Chric Capuano frustrated Reyes early, even throwinh his bat and helmet after an inning ended strikeout. yet he ralied to homer in the ninth to help put the game away. The amazing Wright had four hits and scored three times while homering. Even losing one of the leagues best players in Carlos Beltran hasn’t hurt the Mets because of Wright and Reyes.

Sages continue to say how weak the Mets are in their bullpen. And maybe this will prove to be so at Wrigley Field this weekend in Chicago. But the Mets who play in the field-lead by Wright and Reyes- are proving to be the National Leagues best.

Against one of the NL’s best leftthanders in Chris Capuano, they delivered 10 hits in six innings.  Historically, lefthanders have troubled the Mets, but not this team. Even with Carlos Beltran out, the men who Willie Randolph have played in center in Lastings Milledge have produced and contributed to wins.

Why? Its because of the presence of the two men whom the Mets so wisely bought out their arbitration years and signed to make the cornerstones of the franchise. Wright and Reyes are having MVP seasons. The rest of the line-up could not have performed as they have without them.  And both have performed in a manner which must brighten even the most hopeful dreams of Fred and Jeff Wilpon.

I blogged about this last season and got ripped to shreads. But The Post’s Kevin Kernan was on ESPN this morning and speculated the reason Omar Minaya wouldn’t deal any of his young outfielders was that he would need them to get Johan Santana this off-season.

These are the kind of moves the Mets historically make and are not afraid to make. Here is where the Mets can commit their chips.

I believe they will continue to prove the experts wrong and win the division this season and will be formidable in the post-season, too.  Much has been made of the bullpen, but as I blogged yesterday, the numbers support them actually doing pretty well. Please note Mota’s strong outing yestertday. Anyday the Mets can win a close game without having to burn another inning out of Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano is a plus.

I watch too much poker.

I’ve read some commentors who wanted to press the issue why Randolph played Marlon Anderson in CF last night instead of Lastings Milledge. While Anderson’s night justified Randolph’s move, it should be pointed out that Milledge had dropped off a bit over the last week as well. Let this one go.

To be fair, I thought if it had been a competition out of spring training, Milledge wins an everyday OF job. He’s providing some much needed spark right now.

With all the speculation that the Mets would be bringing in an arm for its bullpen, its small wonder that last night’s loss would be pinned on the bullpen. But is it really fair?

After Tom Glavine after six, the Mets bullpen was charged with protecting a one-run lead. The game ended in the 13th on Geoff Jenkins two-run homer against little used Aaron Sele. The Mets bullpen pitched in seven innings and gave up runs in two of those innings meaning they shut the Brewers out in five.

The Mets took the lead in the sixth on a David Wright single and a Moises Alou sacrifice fly. They didn’t score again in seven reamaining times at bat, making them scoreless in 12 of the 13 innings they batted.

When on the road, if your staff hold the other team to 2 runs through nine you should expect to win. It was the Mets’ bats that failed last night and not so much the bullpen.

But the perception is that  Omar Minaya failed to get help for a bullpen that was struggling. Perception will become reality and thus the narrative the rest of the season.

But reality is that the Mets bullpen is terribly overworked. Last night marked the 106 game. Five Mets relievers have already pitched in 41% of the team’s games, with Aaron Heilman pitching in 49% of those. Lets put these five pitchers total appearnaces to date next to their projection they will have at the end off the season if they continue at this rate. Joe Smith will be included in this list as his return is likely and, well, his appearnaces still count in AAA to wear and tear.

Joe Smith: 46/70

Scott Schoweneweis:45/69

Pedro Feleciano: 50/76

Billy Wagner: 43/66

Aaron Heilman: 52/79

What to do with these numbers?

First off, only two other NL teams have five pitchers with 40 or more appearances-Milwaukee and Washington. The remainder have either 4 or 3. This means the Mets bullpen is sharing the load and that Randolph has five guys he can trust.

Good, right? The Met still have the league’s best record. Okay, but can they sustain it at this pace with the amount of responsibility the Mets put on their bullpen. And how much are they putting on their bullpen compared to the rest of the league? Lets look at a few numbers.

First, experts say the Mets have problems with their rotation. Well, maybe. If this is so, why do their starters lead the NL in quality starts with 63. And the amount of holds their bullpen gets is 40, the lowest for a team with a winning record. This means that compared to the rest of the NL, the Mets are asking less of its bullpen than the rest of the league. You can draw the same conclusion when looking at the numbers together.

So is pitching as big a problem. No. Not when you look at the numbers.

I admit to being critical of the way that Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson had managed their bullpen and was looking for numbers to support my thesis. What I found was opposite of that.

To conclude, the bullpen is just fine, and help will be here. Baring a set back Pedro Martinez will be back and may provide some sort of relief. Joe Smith will return-probably well rested. Mike Pelfrey could provide some innings and so could Willie Colazzo who is pitching well in New Orleans.

Moreover, the acquisition of Luis Castillo greatly improves the teams defense up-the-middle which is a help to a staff that save John Maine, Oliver Perez and Billy Wagner, rely on being able to allow contact.

What the Mets cannot lose is everyday players, Carlos Beltran’s presence in the line-up last night might have delivered Tom Glavine’s 300th win. Same with Paul LoDuca as he has 7 hits in 19 at-bats against Jeff Suppan this season.

Perception may dictate the narrative today. But the numbers do not match reality.