a fisking and a digging following the return of Jonathan Charles on the BBC’s From Our Own Correspondent – a taster:
I emailed Dr Solis to ask if Jonathan Charles had represented his views accurately. Here’s his response in full:
I do not recall saying anything like, “all they’re thinking about is getting home alive,” although I did say that which precedes that phrase. I don’t believe I would have used the term “trigger happy.” I did say something to the effect that any lessons learned through classes on battlefield conduct would soon be forgotten and soon there would be further incidents involving the deaths of noncombatants.
I say “I do not recall” not as a weasel-worded phrase, but because I have recently spoken to many reporters, hosts and interviewers and it is impossible for me to recall with exactitude each phrase I may have used. But I am confident that I would not have said anything about getting home alive and I doubt that I would have used so trite a phrase as “trigger happy.”
Oh dear, has Mr Charles been sexing up his reports again? One might even begin to think that he has some sort of agenda.
Do read the whole thing.