Sy's Symphony

Seymour Hersh is still at the pinnacle of journalism, so why is he being canceled?

A man and his son lie dead in the dirt. -Credit: Wikimedia Commons

“The only crime that I have committed is in judgement of my values. Apparently, I valued my troops’ lives more than I did that of the enemy.” -William Calley, ‘Charlie’ Company lieutenant

In 1969 Seymour Hersh broke the story of a massive coverup by the US military. Months prior, in March 1968, members of the US Army killed between approximately 500 Vietnamese women, children and men. Not only that, they raped women and children as young as age 12 before killing them. In large part because of Hersh’s investigation, 26 soldiers were eventually charged. However, only one was convicted; Lieutenant William Calley Jr. He was originally given a life sentence, but after serving about three and a half years of house arrest, his sentence was commuted by President Nixon. Horrible, right? Only 26 soldiers, out of perhaps dozens more involved, were charged in the illegal war crimes. Yet only one was convicted of any crime. One.

Nonetheless, we likely wouldn’t even know about this atrocity if it wasn’t for Seymour (Sy) Hersh. I spoke with a handful of people in the last week about the Nordstream 2 Pipeline “explosion” and how Sy Hersh had recently reported that, based on insider government knowledge, the story the public has been fed is not the truth. Most of those people have never heard of Hersh, and that may be the case for anyone reading here which is why I shared his expose of the Nordstream 2 attack as a preface to this brief piece. I can’t recall when I first learned of the My Lai Massacre, but I can tell you it has had a profound impact on me and how/why I have lived the way I do. I’m certain I learned of it before or during my time in the Army as it was a guiding force for me of the slippery slope that war is if those involved go down that dark path.

Calley is a primary example of despicable leadership. Perhaps some in his platoon were already prone to rape, murder and other malfeasance, however, his “leadership” only instigated those criminal traits. It is one of the main examples, at least to me, of how America is no better than any other nation and how those who are sworn to protect our Constitution trample that oath if it suits their immediate purposes such as rape and murder, as it did in My Lai. I likely will write more about this atrocity in the future as it has been one of the central military examples that have shaped my thought process in conjunction with my own experiences. The other primary example, should you be interested, is that of Reserve Police Battalion 101.

These two examples, when viewed separately, ought to be enough for any rationally brained human to conclude that all of us are capable of indescribable inhumanity. When viewed in conjunction, especially with countless other atrocities throughout history, I have a hard time comprehending how anyone can believe that they, or their countryfolk, are somehow immune from similar atrocities.

One of Sy Hersh’s other shocking exposes was that of torture and prisoner abuse by US Army members at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2004. Eventually, it was revealed that members of the Army and CIA had committed countless human rights violations and war crimes against these prisoners. These abuses included physical abuse, torture, rape and murder. Although disputed by groups like Amnesty International and Red Cross, the Bush (43) administration alleged that incidents such as this were isolated and aligned with US policy.

Years later the “Torture Memos” arose, which showed that the Department of Justice had authorized “enhanced interrogation techniques.” These techniques were later determined to include torture and the Supreme Court overturned such policies deciding that the Geneva Conventions applied to American policy. Again this is a story the American populace, and the world, would likely not have known about, or at least not to the extent that it did, without Hersh’s reporting.

US Army soldier posing with dead body at Abu Ghraib

35 years. That is roughly the span between My Lai and Abu Ghraib. Hersh has done far more in the interim. He extensively reported on Watergate. He reported that the official narrative of the killing of Usama bin Laden was a myth. He reported that the official narrative about Bashar al-Assad using chemical weapons against his own people was inaccurate. There have been others, but most recently he reported that the US was responsible for destroying Russia’s Nordstream 2 pipeline. If true, that not only is an act of war against Russia, which explains in part their recent overt alliance with China, but is also an act of war against Germany [and any other country who would have benefited from Nordstream 2 energy production]; an alleged ally of the US.

How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline

Hersh is perhaps the most renowned journalist in US history. Certainly he is that of the last few generations winning the Pulitzer Prize for his My Lai reporting, two national Magazine Awards and five George Polk Awards. Yet, he has been banished by the mainstream, including by outlets like the New Yorker and New York Times which used to gladly accept his work. Now, he publishes here, on Substack, a place for independent journalists, recluses, wannabes, indefinitely suspended FBI agents…and Pulitzer Prize winners like Hersh. Why? [The below video is essentially a must watch as to “why", including Biden himself saying we will be able to destroy the pipeline, amongst other damming information.]

It’s because he goes against the narrative. He’s been at this game a long time. He knows what he is doing. He is seeking the truth without partisan bent so people in government who actually cared about the oath they swore likely believe they can trust him. Based on that trust, he has sources in the government who have access to the types of information he is seeking and/or reporting about. Yet, no prominent “news” outlet will publish his work. He clearly is still sharp as a tack and has an impeccable reputation amongst anyone with half a brain. So why are major outlets not covering him, or outright cancelling him? You must decide what is the truth, or closest to the truth, as you can determine. People like Hersh, who have a tremendous track record in accuracy regarding their journalism, have nothing to gain by reporting a “complete fiction” as the Biden administration calls it. Those in Washington have everything to lose by allowing you, or the rest of the world, to know even half truths when it comes to your ever secretive “national security.”

Postscript

I “cross-posted” Hersh’s “How America took out the Nord Stream Pipline” last night. I received an email saying I cross-posted it, however, it is not showing up in the Last Line Substack feed for me right now, so I don’t know if you will have seen it. If not, this post may not make much sense! If that is the case, I apologize and will try to stop straying from what you’ve come to expect next week! See below for Hersh’s first interview regarding his latest anti-security state narrative story.