NBC's Brian Williams recants story about being in a helicopter brought down in Iraq

Driven by Stone Phillips

 

More likely Chris Hansen, on the hunt for Predator drones.

 

Hold the phone. Saw on CNN today that the pilot of Williams' chopper said the company did come under fire in a separate incident and they later came across the second company that was forced down while traveling the other direction. Williams' chopper was not hit by an RPG but did take gunfire. But the 30-60 minute lag and the disparity between his account don't seem quite so egregious if this is the case.

Controversy grows over Brian Williams' Iraq apology - Feb. 5, 2015

Rich Krell, who was piloting the Chinook that Williams was on, tells a slightly different story than the crew members who spoke to Stars and Stripes.

Krell referred to his Chinook as the "second bird" in the formation. The "first bird," right in front of the second, was struck by the RPG.

Due to his seat in the back, Williams was most likely unable to witness the RPG attack, Krell said.

All three of the helicopters were hit by small arms fire, Krell said, supporting Williams' past claims about that.

 

Then why did he apologize? Not buying. Too many conflicting accounts out there.

 

Because he still misstated the facts. His chopper was not hit with an RPG. But he also was not 30 minutes behind the attack. They apparently were separate attacks. Not sure I buy it either, but it makes it look a little better for him.

 

Where and when was he and when did he know what he knew?

We could use some Howard Baker to get to the bottom of this. I deliberately twisted the question up because of the confusion.

 

In that case, I think Commissioner Goodell owes Brian Williams an apology.

 

Hillary can't be thrilled with this becoming an issue:

It’s not unprecedented for a public figure to exaggerate his or her experiences, especially when it comes to military conflict. In 2008, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, running for president, acknowledged that she had misspoken when she described having to run across a tarmac to avoid sniper fire after landing in Bosnia as first lady in 1996. While running for Senate in 2010, Connecticut’s attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, falsely claimed to have served in Vietnam.

But for a journalist — and in particular, an anchor — to do so has struck many people in the news industry as a different sort of offense. While most were unwilling to publicly criticize a colleague, few were persuaded by Mr. Williams’s explanation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/06/b...enged.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytimes

 

Williams will certainly have a problem reporting on politicians who have exaggerated the truth.
They certainly come up with regular frequency.

 

Well, what happens if the Hillary story pops up during the campaign? How can you have him go on there and discuss it?

 

Or Biden plagiarism. That's a big effin story.