Blatantly Biased BBC

The BBC is apparently under fire for refusing to air a documentary on the latest recipient of the Victoria Cross, Private Johnson Beharry of the British Army.

Private Johnson Beharry's courage in rescuing an ambushed foot patrol then, in a second act, saving his vehicle's crew despite his own terrible injuries earned him a Victoria Cross.

For the BBC, however, his story is "too positive" about the conflict.

The corporation has cancelled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain's youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq.

Says an un-named, inside source:

"The BBC has behaved in a cowardly fashion by pulling the plug on the project altogether," said a source close to the project. "It began to have second thoughts last year as the war in Iraq deteriorated. It felt it couldn't show anything with a degree of positivity about the conflict.

"It needed to tell stories about Iraq which reflected the fact that some members of the audience didn't approve of what was going on. Obviously a story about Johnson Beharry could never do that. You couldn't have a scene where he suddenly turned around and denounced the war because he just wouldn't do that.

An un-named BBC spokesperson said:

...that it had abandoned the VC project but refused to elaborate.

Receiving the Victoria Cross from the Crown is like receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor in the US. These medals are awarded for bravery and courage that go way, way beyond the call of duty, and they aren't handed out like lollies. Private Beharry appears to be the real deal.

Pte Beharry, 27, who was awarded the VC in March 2005, was the first person to receive the country's highest award for valour since 1982 and the first living recipient since 1965. He was honoured for two acts of outstanding gallantry which occurred just over a month apart while he was serving with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, in the Iraqi town of al-Amarah, in 2004.

He was cited for "valour of the highest order" after he drove a Warrior tracked armoured vehicle through heavy enemy fire in May 2004 to come to the rescue of a foot patrol that had been caught in a series of ambushes. The 30-ton Warrior was hit by multiple rocket-propelled grenades, causing damage and resulting in the loss of radio communications. Pte Beharry drove through the ambush, taking his own injured crew and leading five other Warriors to safety. He then extracted his wounded colleagues from the vehicle, all the time exposed to further enemy fire.

The following month, Pte Beharry was again driving the lead Warrior vehicle of his platoon through al-Amarah when his vehicle was ambushed. A rocket-propelled grenade hit the vehicle and Pte Beharry received serious head injuries. Other rockets hit the vehicle incapacitating his commander and injuring several of the crew.Despite his very serious injuries, Pte Beharry then took control of his vehicle and drove it out of the ambush area before losing consciousness. He required brain surgery for his head injuries and he was still recovering when he received the VC from the Queen in June last year.

It's pretty pathetic when the spineless jellyfish, Vichy propagandist surrender monkeys at the BBC just won't come right out and admit their anti-war agenda. They obviously care more about their lefty viewers than the non-lefties, so those viewers aren't going anywhere. And by their own decision to not air the film the BBC has alienated plenty already (and for those who don't watch the BBC because of their left-wing bias, this is just further confirmation.) So who are they worried about offending? I don't really care. Fuck the BBC and their fellow travelers.

This soldier has more courage and dignity in his thumb than that entire organization of Fabian socialists. Men like Pvt. Beharry are real heroes because in the face of overwhelming adversity and imminent death as each second passes, they don't shrink from the danger. They rise above their fears and face the danger head-on with little or no regard for their own well-being. They put it all on the line (and not in the cowardly, mindless fashion of the suicide bomber, in case any of you lefties want to make some idiotic comparison between "us" and "them"). They don't do it for a quick 15 minutes of fame. They do it out of integrity, a sense of duty, honor, loyalty, and commitment to their fellow soldiers.

Hopefully, ITV will pick-up the rights and finish production, which was indicated in the article as a possibility. Johnson Beharry deserves to have his story heard by all who want to listen. I suspect there are quite a few, and I am one of them.