When truth is not enough

The sad story of Dennis Edwards reminds us of how small the world has become, and what dangers that poses for those for whom the truth isn't quite good enough. The Boston Globe online carries the report today:

When Army Sergeant Dennis Edwards spoke at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School last month, 100 students listened in rapt silence as he told chilling tales of battlefield horror in Iraq and criticized President Bush's motives for going to war.

Edwards, 23, a Barnstable High School graduate, said he and two other soldiers shot and killed a 10-year-old boy in Iraq who pretended to be wounded and suddenly fired an AK-47 rifle. The boy was found to have explosives attached to his body, Edwards told the stunned audience.

Now, Edwards has admitted to his superiors in the elite 82d Airborne Division that the story about the shooting was a lie, Army officials yesterday. As a result, the veteran of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan could be charged with making false statements, face a court-martial, and be stripped of his rank.

We have no doubt that Sgt. Edwards had interesting stories to tell without embellishment (or resorting to Bush bashing), and in another time his tale would've flown under the radar of the national news establishment. He likely would have been one of those handful of "windy" former soldiers in every age whose stories get better with each repeat.

That is not to excuse him. The war is ongoing and the American public -- even elementary students -- deserve the facts, not the fiction, while men and women are still in harm's way. There will be time for tall tales after the war is over.