Now About That IVAW Bus That Caught Fire

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I posted a brief snippet about the IVAW bus that caught fire while parked at a truck stop or rest stop. Some on the Left were claiming it was arson and the perps were the Brown Shirted Wingnut Bushites. A member of VVAW actually claimed it was firebombed but that was later retracted.

Well my good buddy Denis did some followup on the case since no one has been arrested for attempted murder. Surprise Surprise - it was far from a deliberate attempt to silence the anti-war voices on the left.

With that lack of follow-up and no regular media reporting on what would be a significant story if it indeed were a politically motivated arson, I tried to find out on my own. Photos of the bus being towed showed that the tow truck belonged to Riehl's Towing & Maintenance, which I found out was in Clarksboro, NJ. Riehl’s told me that the responders were members of the Carney’s Point Fire Department. When I contacted them, the Deputy Chief told me that there was no arson investigation and would not be. The fire began in the closed engine department and burned outward, and was believed to have been caused by an equipment malfunction or failure. There was no indication of, much less evidence of arson.

They knew that weeks ago. The day after the fire Riehl’s towed the truck to a salvage yard, not a facility where criminal evidence would be kept.

So why has IVAW and others let the story and assumption of an intentional crime linger, when they could have cleared it up?

Damn those facts have gotta hurt.... But nothing fires up the masses like tossing out a claim of arson and attempted murder and then letting it just hang out there. Kinda like all those claims from Fallujah in April 2004 and Haditha.

Will anyone issue a retraction or clarification or even an apology for the knee-jerk reaction? I will not be holding my breath....