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John, I would urge extreme caution on this story. All we have to go on are a lot of vague anonymous sources, as well as a wedding registry that only has six items on it (a bunch of Turkish bath mats, a clock, and a fan) and therefore could easily be fabricated. To be clear, I am not saying I think the site is bogus. I have absolutely no idea. But it certainly should not be viewed as hard evidence. Furthermore, a lot of the speculation that has been made by conservative bloggers, including, for instance, the insinuation that Scott Thomas wasn't actually a soldier in Iraq, has turned out to be false. While conservative bloggers may smell blood, I think some humbleness and caution would be advisable. Also, I'm with John Podhoretz on this one. Even if it is true that Beauchamp was recommended because he was married or engaged to a TNR staffer, it has absolutely no bearing on the central and only important issue--that is, whether his reports from Iraq were accurate. Bloggers who are eager to attack TNR for shoddy fact checking should apply the same journalistic standards in pursuing this story that they demand of others.

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Iraq