Seriously, Ann Coulter is a Liar

Y’know why Ann Coulter called her book Slander? Because if she’d gone as far as to call in Libel it might have hit a bit too close to home.

A few years ago Coulter decided to attack Democrat and Vietnam Veteran, Max Cleland. Since he’s not on her side politically, then surely anything goes in tearing him apart… including calling into question his injuries sustained in Vietnam. You see, in Coulterland it’s perfectly acceptable NOT to support the troops, providing they disagree with you.

I decided against commenting about her when she actually said it, as what she said was horribly tactless, ridiculously overblown and dreadfully Coulter-esque. However, today I noticed that she’s decided to bring it up again. This is the exact text taken from her website:

Then we learned Cleland was a victim only of his own clumsiness and had dropped the grenade on himself in Vietnam after stopping for a beer.

First let me begin with what’s obviously wrong with that statement. No account of Cleland’s injury, not even the one Coulter quotes herself, suggest that he was injured “after stopping for a beer.” This, along with the carefully chosen use of the word “clumsiness” implies to the casual reader that Cleland was intoxicated after having a drink and accidentally injured himself with a grenade. That, my friends, is the definition of manipulative language, and as far as I’m concerned, a case for libel.

Note: This is NOT taken out of context, click right here to read the entire article.

Where did Ann get her information? Well, here’s the text she used on her own site to defend her allegations, taken from her own site (see this link to read it, I want to make sure that all of my facts are presented):

“Finally, the battle at Khe Sanh was over. Cleland, 25 years old, and two members of his team were now ordered to set up a radio relay station at the division assembly area, 15 miles away. The three gathered antennas, radios and a generator and made the 15-minute helicopter trip east. After unloading the equipment, Cleland climbed back into the helicopter for the ride back. But at the last minute, he decided to stay and have a beer with some friends. As the helicopter was lifting off, he shouted to the pilot that he was staying behind and jumped several feet to the ground.

“Cleland hunched over to avoid the whirring blades and ran. Turning to face the helicopter, he caught sight of a grenade on the ground where the chopper had perched. It must be mine, he thought, moving toward it. He reached for it with his right arm just as it exploded, slamming him back and irreparably altering his plans for a bright, shining future.”

Now, I ask Coulter apologists to explain to me how staying behind to have a beer, seeing a grenade on the ground, picking it up and permanently injuring yourself (the exact information on which she based her claim) can turn into “…Cleland was a victim only of his own clumsiness and had dropped the grenade on himself in Vietnam after stopping for a beer.”

That’s a lie.

Plain and simple.

Unfortunately, it’s a trend among too many conservatives in this country. I’m not calling out all conservatives by any stretch of the imagination. Most right-wingers I know have ultimate respect for military service, no matter which political stripes you wear or what ideology you subscribe to. However, for too many of the “support the troops” banner wavers, it’s just a slogan.

For once I’m not talking about pulling troops out of the war or anything of the sort. I’m talking about respecting people that were injured while in harm’s way, no matter how it may or may not have happened. Frankly, from this point forward I’ve lost all respect for anyone that supports Ann Coulter taking an injured man, whether firebombed by the Vietnamese Army or otherwise, and attempting to craft him into a clumsy drunk. That is simply unacceptable.

That’s the type of political discourse that I’d expect from this woman, who undoubtedly “supports the troops” while making light of one man’s injury while in service.

Quite frankly, I’ve never served in the military (and I’d wager neither has the above woman), which makes it completely impossible for me to mock another man’s service. While I sit on my couch, watching tv, countless young men and women are dodging bullets in a foreign land. And I guarantee to you, whether they’re injured by friendly fire, enemy fire or just a simple accident, I respect and mourn for their loss just the same. Personally, I don’t care whether or not they agree with me, I just hope they’re safe.

But who am I to comment on this, why not let someone that was there when Cleland lost his limbs do the talking for me, for us, and for the at least mildly sane portion of our country:

The 2nd of the 12th Cavalry was engaged in a combat operation at the time of this incident. Max Cleland was with the Battalion Forward Command Post in heavy combat involving the attack of the 1st Cavalry Division up the valley to relieve the Marines who were besieged and surrounded at the Khe Shan Firebase. The whole surrounding area was an active combat zone (some might call the entire country of Vietnam a combat zone). (Is Iraq a combat zone?) Max, the Battalion Signal Officer, was engaged in a combat mission I personally ordered to increase the effectiveness of communications between the battalion combat forward and rear support elements: e.g. Erect a radio relay antenna on a mountain top. By the way, at one point the battalion rear elements came under enemy artillery fire so everyone was in harms way.

As they were getting off the helicopter, Max saw the grenade on the ground and he instinctively went for it. Soldiers in combat don’t leave grenades lying around on the ground. Later, in the hospital, he said he thought it was his own but I doubt the concept of “ownership” went through his mind in the split seconds involved in reaching for the grenade. Nearly two decades later another soldier came forward and admitted it was actually his grenade. Does ownership of the grenade really matter? It does not.

Maury Cralle’
Battalion Executive Officer
2d/12th Cavalry Battalion
1st Air Cavalry Division
During the assault on Khe Shan