UK - BBC fabricates Army desertion story

Folks here is a classic example of the BBC fabricating a "news" story.

The BBC headline blares "More than 1,000 desert UK forces"

If you read or listen to the BBC you already know the reason. But just in case you missed it, the BBC tell you why they think soldiers are deserting.

More than 1,000 members of the British military have deserted the armed forces since the start of the 2003 Iraq war, the BBC has discovered.

Oh my God! You're thinking. That's terrible. Our armed forces must be on the brink of revolt. Just to make sure you get the picture the BBC add this.

During 2005 alone, 377 people deserted and are still missing. So far this year another 189 are on the run.

Some 900 have evaded capture since the Iraq war started, official figures say.

Read those figures and dates again. Keep them in mind for they are going to be very important in a minute.

Just in case you think you might do a little research on your own, the BBC tell you not to bother.

The Ministry of Defence is very secretive about the number of men and women who desert from the armed forces.

Well gee then, I wonder how the BBC came up with these figures, don't you? The fact that the BBC don't want you to investigate is all the more reason to. For me, the mere fact that the BBC report on Iraq is reason for me to be suspicious and ivestigate.

Again, just to make sure you don't investigate on your own, the BBC repeat the figures.

'Definite increase'

But the BBC has been told that more than 1,000 military personnel went absent without leave and failed to return since the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003.

Some were subsequently arrested but about 900 have evaded capture, according to official figures.

During 2005 alone, 377 people deserted and are still missing. So far, this year, another 189 are on the run.

You see? The exact same paragraph repeated over again. Why?

Ok. I've kept you waiting long enough. Here's why from a blast from the past and the BBC itself. As you read, remember, this BBC report is from Sunday, 4 June, 2000 - before Afganistan or Iraq.

Here's the BBC headline for this 2000 report:

"Army desertions at record levels"

Official figures show that record numbers of soldiers are deserting from the British Army.

Hey, didn't the BBC just tell us that "The Ministry of Defence is very secretive" about these figures?

Since this report is from 2000, before Afganistan or Iraq, what reasons did the BBC give back then for the "record levels" of desertions?

Bullying within army ranks and pressures placed on soldiers and their families are some of the reasons given for the sharp rise.

A problem that still exists today.

Now for the bombshell. Remember all those numbers and dates from the first BBC report? Over 1000 deserted since the Iraq war began in 2003. That's over 1000 in 3 years or about 330 per year during the Iraq war.

Guess how many deserted in 1999, when there was no war going on? The BBC reports:

"There were nearly 2,000 recorded cases of desertion last year [1999]..."

Read that again. 2000 in just one year!!

And why did they desert?

"...some of which were spurred on by mistreatment or bullying by army superiors."

So, Army desertions have plummeted from 2000 a year during peace time, to 330 during a time of war.

But that doesn't stop the BBC from fabricating a story that the British Army is almost in revolt over Iraq. And they use some interesting people to bolster their claim.

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence from military personnel that they are demoralised by the continuing conflict in Iraq and the fact that, despite their best efforts, there's little improvement in the situation there.

Really? I've just given you evidence that Army desertions have plummeted from peace time records to war lows. Dispite claiming to have "plenty of anecdotal evidence" what does the BBC give us as their proof?

Ben Griffin was a member of the elite SAS. He told his commanding officer, earlier this year, that he was not prepared to return to Iraq because he said he saw American forces carrying out what he thought were illegal acts.

The BBC goes on to give Griffin plenty of air time. But note, Griffin never states what those alleged illegal acts were. He just didn't like the American troops.

Why did the BBC choose Griffin as their spokesman? Well, he was in, not just the Army, but the SAS, he served in Iraq and refuses to go back. Perfect for the BBC. Ah, but it gets better.

You see, Griffin is on tour with the Communist led Stop the War Coalition. Appearing in places like Wandsworth and Swindon where he appeared along side momma moonbat Sheehan and the cast of the anti-war elite.

Opening session: Andrew Murray, Tony Benn, Lindsey German, Kate Hudson, Professor Elaheh Koolaee, Phyllis Bennis, Sami Ramadani, Mazin Younis, Ayatollah Khalisi. [Both German and Hudson are Communists]

Military families: Cindy Sheehan, Andrew Burgin, Judy Linehan, Rose Gentle, Ann Lawrence, John Miller, Ben Griffin, Kelly Dougherty, Chris Nineham, Medea Benjamin, Peter Brierley, Judy Cuniglio and Reg Keys.

Holding Bush and Blair to account: Tariq Ali, Ann Wright, Paul Ingram, David Swanson, John Rees, Craig Murray, Walter Wolfgang and Amani Deghayes.

Building an international movement: George Galloway, Ishmael Patel, Herbert Docena, Judith LeBlanc, Sabah Jawad, Dr Azzam Tamimi, Jeremy Corbyn, Andrew Murray.

And one more thing. What is the truth of the state of the British Army? For that, let's ask the soldiers themselves.

But the MoD said almost two-thirds were very satisfied with their army career. The Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey also revealed that one in ten soldiers rated morale as very low, while 39 per cent said it was neither high nor low, while half of all officers and two out of five soldiers said their workload was "high".

Although 22 per cent of soldiers agreed with the statement "I intend to leave the services at the earliest opportunity", more than half disagreed.

The British Army has problems to be sure, they need to get aggressive and put a stop to the bullying. But the dramatic drop in desertions during a time of war, prove the British Army is still one of the finest and loyal in the world.

The BBC owes the Army an apology.

UPDATE

Rather than apologise, the BBC have now heavily stealth edited the "story". So much so the reporter has had his picture and name removed from it!! Thankfully, Drinking from Home has the screen shots to prove it.

You think they read my blog?

This once proud institution of Britain is now the shame of Britain. Add this to my long list of evidence against the BBC.

UPDATE

Seems the BBC are following my expose on them.



Here's who the IP address belongs to.

inetnum: 132.185.0.0 - 132.185.255.255
netname: BBC
descr: British Broadcasting Corporation
descr: *******************************************************
descr: * This address space is used for BBC Staff members *
descr: * accessing the internet. In case of any problems *
descr: * with users of this address space (spam, attacks, *
descr: * illegal activity, etc) please email abuse@bbc.co.uk *
descr: *******************************************************

UPDATE

Folks, if you're new to my site and think this might be a one off by the BBC, you might want to read my huge collection of evidence that the BBC can't be trusted.

And you might want to visit Biased BBC where they have a great team that has been exposing the BBC for longer than I.
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