They Tried To Kill Me"
by digby

So apparently the NY Times journalist who reported the spitting incident apparently personally saw Cpl. Joshua Sparling getting spit upon. Hughes for America has the story:

The latest in a long line of controversies surrounding veteran Joshua Sparling, who lost part of a leg in Iraq, started with this New York Times article penned by Ian Urbina, with help from Sarah Abruzzese and Suevon Lee. "There were a few tense moments, however," the story read, "including an encounter involving Joshua Sparling, 25, who was on crutches and who said he was a corporal with the 82nd Airborne Division and lost his right leg below the knee in Ramadi, Iraq.

Mr. Sparling spoke at a smaller rally held earlier in the day at the United States Navy Memorial, and voiced his support for the administration's policies in Iraq. Later, as antiwar protesters passed where he and his group were standing, words were exchanged and one of the antiwar protestors spit at the ground near Mr. Sparling; he spit back."[...]

Adding to these important questions is the account of an interesting encounter Saturday between one protester and a woman claiming to be a reporter for the New York Times. The protester, in a letter to Urbina, wrote, "[Abruzzese] turned to me and told me she had seen a protester spit on a soldier and asked for my comment. I told her I didn't believe that, and she repeated that she had seen this happen. I told her the peace movement is more supportive of the troops than anyone who supports this war, because we want our troops to come home, while those who support the war are advocating sending them into harm's way.

So I really could not believe that anyone who opposed the war had spit on a soldier. My comments were not included in your story."

She continues, "I was upset when I read your story the next day to see this was an 'alleged' incident and the protester had supposedly spit on the ground in front of the soldier (which is quite different from spitting ON this soldier).

In other words, what was related in your story was not at all what that reporter had told me. So she either lied to me or your story is false."

In follow-up call with Urbina, the protester reports that he [Urbina] claims to have received 150-plus e-mails about the story. He also maintained that Abruzzese actually saw the incident and that the protester cited in the story spat on Sparling, not "at the ground near" him, which the Times originally reported.So there you have it. The NY Times reporter claims that Sparling was spat upon. Why she reported it as she did remains a mystery. But, I'll take her word for it that it happened. It would now be helpful if the paper of record could clear up some of the Rashoman aspects of this incident since the reporter was in the thick of it and could set the record straight. Sparling was everywhere relating his tale yesterday. Michele Malkin wrote about it on her blog and went on O'Reilly and talked about it.Here is the tale Sparling told on

Hannity's radio show:

Hannity: I read the reports that you got spit at.

Sparling: Yeah. That was the worst afternoon of being an American that I've ever had in my life. They actually made me ashamed to be a soldier. They kept calling me a baby killer and a murderer and said I was a disgrace, they wish I would have stayed in Iraq, that I have blood all over my hands.One guy, before the police blocked it off and it was just them on one side and us on the other about 10 yards apart, they were allowed to walk right on the sidewalk where we were and one of the fellas just spit right on me.The other people were too far away to hit me with theirs. But this guy did --- and the worst thing is that he had a little 82nd patch on his little backpack and I'm in the 82nd and that really got to me there.

Hannity: Did anyone see this or did you have any witnesses? Do you know who this guy is? Could you get him arrested?

Sparling: Uh, I don't know who the fella is. I just know him by his description. But I had my girlfriend there, my father was there and some of the other members of our group, the Freedom group and uh...

Hannity: Here you gave your life for your country, you go off and pur your life at risk for your country for the right of these morons to say whatever they like at their little peace rally there and the thanks you get for this is just like a lot of vets after Vietnam. You get spit at.

Sparling: You know, that's exactly ... I thought back ... and sure it wasn't as bad as it was back then, but it was like, wow, this is what what they felt like.And speaking to them over the megaphone I had, I was... I believe that if you speak calmly and rationally to people that they'll listen, that if you scream they're only gonna scream back and you're not going to get anything accomplished whatsoever.And so I was talking and there was people screamin "Oh you're just upset because you can't run!" Stuff like that. People were furious just so much, by me talking and saying that I was a vet and that I believe in my cause, that they were actually rushing the police to get to me and they were threatening that they were gonna kill me and all this. Three of these individuals were actually waiting for me to try to get me when the rally was over. They were gonna wait for me and then take me out after it was over.

Hannity: Well look, it's an incredible story, it's sad, but it's revealing. No kidding. Sparling appeared this morning on Fox and Friends, where he embellished his story further:

Obviously, I'm not going to judge all of them because there were a couple of peaceful people who just walked by.But for the most part, there was people just lining the fences, jumping over it, screaming and trying to get at us and there were a couple of people waiting with clubs to meet me with after it was over with and the police had to stop them from bull rushing us on the sidewalk.It's a wonder that they didn't call out the riot squad. Watch the interview. You will see Sparling's father appear and complain about being broke, which he has been doing on Hannity's show since at least January 2005. (Maybe Sean could fork over something more than an Ipod, the cheap bastard --- or help the old man get a job.)

Weirdly, while Sparling was telling his tale of slavering beasts jumping fences and threatening to kill him, there was a split screen showing the actual march. (And stick it out to the end, because you just won't believe it):
That's sweet, isn't it? (And I mean that.) I've come to believe this kid is just basking in the warmth of his FreeRepublic family and these stories are getting him lots of attention and love.

(His father, however, claims he was fired because his son was sick and he's been in DC for over a year while the kid is in the hospital. I can't help but wonder if he might have spotted an opportunity.)

But be that as it may, Sparling really is hurling some awful accusations and Fox News, the wingnutosphere and talk radio are airing it. I would be very interested to know if the NY Times reporter who witnessed Sparling being spit upon saw any of this other violent activity.

I wonder if the police remember any of it. Did anyone see this man with the 82nd Airborn patch on his backpack? Is that who the reporter saw, and if so, is it absolutely certain that it was a protestor and not someone who was affiliated with the Free Republic group?

Were other protesters spitting from farther away at the time and couldn't hit him, as Sparling alleges?

Lots of questions, few answers.

But the NY Times put its imprimatur on this young man's story, gave it credibility and now it has legs. They should take a look at Sparling's frequent run-ins throughout the country with rude and violent anti-Iraq war Americans --- people who are such cretins that they scream, "You're just upset because you can't run," to a man who lost his leg. They deserve to be exposed if they exist. I know that people out there must have video footage of the march and it would be probably be a good idea to start putting it up on YouTube.

We could not agree more! Let's find the people who spat upon a soldier or not.

Someone deserves an ass-kicking!

The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.