The Weekly Standard is having a field day with The New Republic’s “Baghdad Diarist” problems. As you’ll recall, the liberal-leaning rag’s editor Franklin Foer is being called out for what many claim are gross exaggerations made by the column’s author, pseudonym Scott Thomas, who is supposedly a current U.S. soldier. And TWS’s more conservative editors want the soldier outed and, more than anything, for the competition to be embarrassed.

From yesterday’s WaPo reports comes this update from the Times‘ Louise Story today:

“Now that these questions have been raised, we’ve launched an inquiry. We’re putting the full resources of the magazine to look into the story,” Mr. Foer said. “It’s taking me a little bit longer than I wish it did. The author, not to mention some of the participants in the anecdotes he described, are active duty soldiers and they’re on 20-hour active combat missions sometimes, and it’s very difficult for me to get them all on the phone to ask them the questions that I’d like to ask.”

We can imagine. If there’s one policy we hold steadfast around Jossip HQ, it’s “don’t pick up international calls. Or numbers that begin with 212, 646, or 917.”

Original post by Perez Hilton and software by Elliott Back