Lynch update

last updated 8 January 2015

Washington, D.C.

The true story of the capture and rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch is “far more complex” than first reported, The Washington Post said this week. When Lynch was rescued in Iraq, journalists reported that she had fought to the last bullet when her unit was ambushed, then endured torture in captivity. Then BBCnews.com reported that the spectacular rescue had been staged, complete with commandos firing blanks, to boost morale. Both versions, the Post said, are wrong. Lynch never fired a shot, and was severely injured when her Humvee crashed. After her capture, Lynch was initially “mistreated,” but Iraqi doctors gave her the best care they could. A U.S. colonel said it wasn’t the military that embellished the tale. Once reporters got the story, he said, “it took on a life of its own.”