The Fog of War

Or the fog of deceit?

Last Thursday we were at the New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden when the Gardenvision cameras broadcast a tribute to retired U.S. Army Command Sargeant Major Tim Terpack. We all stood and applauded, yet I felt for Terpack who looked very uncomfortable under the media glare. The following night, NBC News anchor Brian Williams broadcast this segment on the NBC Nightly News.



Now Terpack's discomfort makes sense. Williams wasn't telling the truth. Yes, he and his NBC News crew were in a Chinook helicopter that day in Iraq in 2003 but they landed an hour later and were nowhere near the helicopter struck and grounded by RPG and AK-47 fire. Veterans who were there and heard Williams' report cried foul. On his NBC Nightly News broadcast last night, Williams was forced to make this tortured apology:

"On this broadcast last week, in an effort to honor a veteran who protected me and so many others after a ground fire incident in the desert during the Iraq War invasion, I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago. It did not take long to hear from some brave men and women in the air crews who were also in that desert. I want to apologize. I said I was in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire. I was instead in a following aircraft. We all spent two harrowing nights in a sand storm in the Iraq deset. This was a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran and by extension our brave military men and women veterans everywhere -- those who served while I have not. I hope they know they have my greatest respect and now my apology. When we come back . . ."

The Stars and Stripes has the real story, where Williams explains that "I would not have chosen to make this mistake, I don't know what screwed up in my mind that caused me to conflate one aircraft for another."

Huh?

Stop dissembling, Mr. Williams. Get over yourself, you and your ego were caught in a lie.

Was Williams humbled? Nope, there he was at the Garden again last night, feeling no shame and yucking it up with Tom Hanks.

P.S. If you can bear it, listen to Williams describe the incident in a March 2013 interview on Late Night with David Letterman. His practiced modesty and verbal flourishes like "We were over Indian territory" indicate a narcissistic personality disorder.