After I wrote yesterday about questions surrounding a photo making the rounds on right-wing blogs, the originator of the picture has written to say it’s for real.
North Dakota radio host Scott Hannen, Michelle Malkin, the Powerline blog and other online conservatives featured the picture, which alleged to portray Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) eating breakfast alone at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
Shortly after I posted on the topic, Reader BL wrote me with a suggestion.
“The Kerry photo originated from the following blog by Ben Of Mesopotamia,” BL wrote. “Maybe someone should drop him a line about the photo.” “Ben” is CPT Benjamin G. Runkle, former speechwriter to president Bush and staff assistant to Defense undersecretary Douglas Feith, according to the 2004 Plum Book of presidential appointments.
So I dropped Runkle a line, and last night he wrote back. The photo is authentic, he said. “Although I did not personally take the pictures, I saw the person who did immediately after they took them and asked for a copy.”
He tried to put to rest the questions raised about the picture’s authenticity.
The date stamp showing the picture was taken January 9, 2006: “[T]he person whose camera was used had just arrived in Baghdad, hadn’t taken any pictures with it yet, and hadn’t set their date/time stamp yet. (Believe it or not, not all servicemen here are technological wizards. As my wife could tell you, I wasn’t able to figure out our DVR while home on leave). This, as you noted, also explains the seeming discrepancy between the date/time stamp and the commercial availability of the camera model.”
The presence of the Portuguese flag in the background: “well, okay, you got me there. My guess is that the contractors who run the DFAC either:
“a) Have no idea whose flag it is and whether they are still in country or not;
“b) Don’t care about the political implications of hanging that flag; or
“c) Don’t have anything else to fill the empty wall space.
“Either way, I will bring it to the manager’s attention at lunch today.”
To cement the photo’s authenticity, Runkle attached a photo taken in the same hall with someone holding a copy of the most recent edition of the Stars and Stripes military newspaper. As soon as our art guy comes in this morning, I’ll update this post with that.
Update: Here’s the pic Runkle sent:
