During the past week Axis of Logic has received many letters from readers inquiring why articles authored by Jay Shaft, Editor of Coalition for Free Thought in Media (CFTM), have been removed from our website. Many of them have questioned the veracity of several of Mr. Shaft�s articles posted on Axis of Logic. We have been posting, (and in some cases publishing), articles by Mr. Shaft since October, 2003. CFTM is a Yahoo Group to which Axis of Logic has contributed in the past and also one of many groups through which Axis of Logic publications have been distributed.

Prior to the removal of these articles, we received what we consider to be credible information, raising serious questions about the veracity of the Mr. Shaft�s interviews with U.S. military personnel. Following receipt of that information, we have conducted a careful investigation of these articles. That investigation included one discussion with Mr. Shaft by telephone in which we asked him to provide concrete evidence that demonstrate the veracity of the interviews he has reported and have been published on Axis of Logic. He has not been forthcoming with evidence that has satisfied our need to verify these interviews. We base this decision primarily, but not exclusively on our analysis of Mr. Shaft�s article published February 6, 2004 on Axis of Logic:

Published on Axis of Logic on February 6, 2004

US Soldier: "Sometimes it is a soldier�s duty to tell the truth, no matter what": US Army high level commander on why he has chosen to speak out

Based upon the results of our investigation, we have removed the interviews and all articles authored by Mr. Shaft. This was a decision shared among the Editor of Axis of Logic and all Contributing Editors. We did not arrive at this decision easily. We believe that Mr. Shaft has had good intentions, but intentions that were misplaced and executed in poor judgement.

I have also served as one of the monitors on CFTM whose task it was to remove articles from CFTM which were inappropriate in one way or another. I have discontinued my service to and any affiliation with Coalition for Free Thought in Media.

We deeply regret publishing and/or passing on to Axis of Logic Readers the interview-article, cited above, which we now believe to be a complete fabrication. Our commitment is to the truth, regardless of where the truth might lead. Anyone who has followed our work at Axis of Logic will know that we have no interest whatsoever in supporting the cynical use of the U.S. Military that has become the instrument of indiscriminate destruction and killing in Iraq and elsewhere. Moreover, we have absolute sympathy and empathy for all those U.S. military personnel who are putting their lives on the line and too often being maimed and killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world. We believe that young men and women who are recruited by U.S. military recruitment officers are victims of a ruthless machine whose only interest in them is one of use and abuse. We believe that the only honest way to "support our troops" is to bring them home now from the dirty, corporate-driven Bush wars.

Unfortunately, we cannot fact-check everything that is posted on Axis of Logic. We have never claimed to agree or disagree with anything written by other authors and posted on Axis of Logic. We do not necessarily agree or disagree even with articles written by our Contributing Writers (Listed under "Contributing Writers on the front page of our website). However, we view stories that are fabricated to be a grave injustice to the Reader and to the individuals represented in a fabricated story (in this case U.S. Military Personnel). However, we absolutely stand behind the factual foundations of what we publish as the Editor and Contributing Editors of Axis of Logic (also listed on the front page under "Contributing Editors". On rare occasions we have received letters that challenged certain facts that we have published as Editor and Contributing Editors. If we find errors in what we ourselves have written, we publish retraction and apology for those errors.

Because of our commitment to U.S. soldiers at home and abroad and our commitment to the Anti-War Movement, we have removed Mr. Shaft�s work.. We believe that fabricated stories and interviews are damaging to the very U.S. soldiers we strive to support, and to the entire Anti-War Movement. Below are some of the reasons we have concluded that Mr. Shaft�s reported interviews were not based on facts.

The following analysis was sent to us, but also to Mr. Shaft (explaining why some of the statements/questions are addressed to Mr. Shaft in the first person). If you wish to review Mr. Shaft's article, we have released it on a temporary basis.  It will be removed again after this matter has been resolved.  The author of the following analysis comes from what we consider to be a credible and qualified source. The source is a powerful voice in opposition to the current U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and to war in general as a solution to international conflict. We publish this analysis - as received by Axis of Logic - without any editorial changes:

Title: US Soldier: "Sometimes it is a soldier�s duty to tell the truth, no matter what": US Army high level commander on why he has chosen to speak out

Author: Jay Shaft, Editor, CFTM
Submitted By: Jay Shaft, Editor, CFTM
Date of Publication: February 6, 2004

1) What is the rank (High Ranking Commander usually means a Major (Troop Command) or Lt. Colonel (Battalion) of the officer interviewed?

(He stated he was : "[I am] in command at a higher level than the company command." ...which would make him at least a Colonel! (A full-bird Col.!)... and what branch of the service is he in, US Army doesn't tell us anything? Rangers (I know many of the Rangers as they are from Ft Lewis where I have many friends and contacts) 101st Airborne (which I was in myself and the losses wouldn't surprise me any here) or the 82nd, 173rd, Armored division, infantry, airmobile? The story has to have more background.

2) He, or you stated, he had lost over 100 troops in Iraq, ...were these ground combatants, enlisted personnel or everyone combined? (100 soldiers killed under the command of one officer amount to about 1/5 of all the U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq to date.)

3) Why is he back from Iraq while his unit remains in Iraq?

4) He stated he has 15 years in service and was in the first Gulf War...? As a private first class (You cannot serve in a combat zone if your rank is under Pfc)? and in just 15 years he rose to the rank of what? -- Lt. Colonel or even a full bird!? That in itself is an amazing career, (what a story! He makes Wesley Clark look he was on the slow boat rather than the fast track!) ...and to risk giving that up, to speak to you rather than, say, Retired Col. Robert K. Brown of Soldier of Fortune Magazine who has probably ten reporters "on the ground" with the troops, (in every US Division) and therefore including assigned to this officer's unit, ....that was a real risk wasn't it?

5) He says he saw "officers with two or three combat tours just freezing up and getting this baffled look of panic and fear."? Really? Where did they serve "in combat in the last 15 years" since the Gulf War, where there was, by the way, very little actual combat at all, as the Republican Guard never put up a fight and we never went to Baghdad? Were they, or he; in Somalia, where we know exactly which units were in combat and who died by name. Or Grenada, where there was barely even a firefight; or was it in Panama where more Panamanians died in one day than Americans in Iraq to date? Or was it in Bosnia? Where we didn't lose one soldier but bombed (Ala Wesley Clark) the Serbs into submission?

6) I have the list of every single name of every single soldier who has died in Iraq and their unit designation, (It is public record) I cannot find 100 all from the same unit? That would be then -- 1/5th of all deaths (20 %) were under his command. Has he been relieved of command for incompetence, is that why he is home but his unit remains?

7) This High Ranking Commander states: "Most of the guys that were in Afghanistan are able to cope with it a little better, but the majority of them "were involved with combat" and not the civilian control and policing." This is a strange statement coming from such a knowledgeable source given that American troops faced little or no opposition from Al Qaida or the Taliban as they gave up every logistical position, in favor of tactical retreat, to fight again another day. According to military analyst Craig B Hulet in his piece On Tactics and Strategy (www.Axixoflogic.com) it was Special Forces that primarily saw combat while they directed Northern Alliance Afghan fighters, that did the actual combat, ... SF troops targeted opposition with laser guided targeting of artillery and missile attacks? What US units' "saw combat" in Afghanistan that "then were sent to tour Iraq" that we are unaware of?

8) This High Ranking Commander (HRC) states: " You won�t find a whole lot of support for the way Bush and the Pentagon are running this war, not in the military anyway. Someone has to come out and tell the truth so that the rest of the troops will not be afraid to be honest with themselves and the American public. There is such an under current of fear among the troops about what might get you in trouble. There are soldiers worried that something they say in a letter or on the phone will get them court-marshaled or thrown in the brig for treason. " That seems to me to an understandable statement in a sense, but can we name one officer or soldier who has been sent to the brig or court-marshaled? Hundreds have written home complaining, Greg Palast and Robert Fisk has interviewed many, we have the names of many who have spoken on camera, and none have been punished as he stated. can he supply names of those persecuted so and if so let us then do something about it ASAP!

9) The HRC states: " I went to a journalist with a major US newspaper and offered to talk to him under anonymity and he told me he wasn�t looking to take that kind of heat from his paper." Why didn't he try the British Press or Irish radio where his colleague former Marine Captain, weapons inspector Scott Ritter has openly ridiculed the president and the war from day one? How about Robert Fisk, Greg Palast, Seymor Hearsh at the New Yorker, yeah Hearsh? Or Craig B Hulet and Frank Sontag (No. 1 rated show in his time slot) on 200,000 watt KABC/KLOS; every month they do an expose on Bush and the whole gang at the White House and have been since Jan.1, 2000? What about Michael Moore, 60 minutes, Jay Leno, or the Aberdeen Daily World, in Aberdeen Washington, I have an "in there" with the editor? In fact, That is what we'll do for him this High Ranking Commander who want to tell the truth about what's going on in Iraq.

In fact any time he wants to go public and have the protections guaranteed under proper journalistic criteria, I can do that for him if you have "him call me."

10) He stated, this HRC: "I looked at all the reasons to keep quiet, and the need for the truth outweighed any personal consequences." There could only be personal consequences "if he gave his name rank and serial number" which you say he will not do, therefore his story cannot be told in any reputable medium, because he is not willing to suffer the consequences to "help his men that are dying......"?

11) I had one correction but it may have been a typo he stated or you wrote " There is a military term we have for this type of thing. FIDO: FUCK IT and Drive On!" I must admit I ran this by a few troopers and I think he meant FUBAR or maybe SNAFU, but FIDO nobody has heard of before?

12) He states his older brother is a Vietnam Vet, and again he, our HRC, is a "over15 year veteran" going back to the first Gulf War, his brother, ... not his father? his brother? is that correct? Of his father he stated "My father has had some of his healthcare benefits cut and had to wait three months to see his doctor." His dad too was a veteran and he is still alive? This would make a great story all three veterans on a show together denouncing Bush's war! One 55, the father, what, 80, and our HRC, what? a 35 year old full bird Colonel. I can get these guys on a show ASAP.

13) He states: "I feel that I needed to get all this in some kind of recorded form, and bring out the truth even if they come after me. I don�t want to be publicly identified because I have a family and a new baby at home. I don�t want to get in trouble unless I can avoid it. I had thought about going on record with my name, but it is still way too dangerous right now." He went to a newspaper (he doesn't name) before? He is speaking to you now? Is he serious? The Pentagon cannot determine who this HRC is (there are so very few of them as commanders [in fact Soldier of Fortune magazine can identify every single one that is in Iraq right now!] how can anyone thing the Pentagon cannot figure out who he is. In fact they must already know precisely who he is already...if he really is who you say he is?

Finally, we apologize again to our readers for publishing this article and for posting or publishing other interview-articles authored by Mr. Shaft in the past.  We will continue to strive to provide only reliable, well-researched, well-written articles that are based on facts.

Sincerely,

Les Blough, Editor Axis of Logic
Boston, MA (USA)
www.axisoflogic.com
rmcmail@speakeasy.net