Bobby Caina Calvan…Back Online

When last we meet Mr. Calvan he was blogging on what he thought was essential knowledge for U.S. Soldiers in Iraq, namely the ability to identify employees of major newspaper chains. When people took issue with Mr. Calvan’s priorities and people skills, he removed most of the post and eventually his entire blog.

Well, Bobby’s back and he’s kinda sorta sorry and humbled:

Consider this my apology.

Overwhelmed by the e-mails, many of them vitriolic, I initially edited the post, then blocked further comments. Finally, I took down the site. Unfortunately, my actions were yet another faux pas, I was told; I should have left up the post and created a new one to share my reactions and issue an apology.

Yes, I am getting well-deserved criticism. But surprisingly, not all of the subsequent e-mails I got were vitriolic. Some were thoughtful. A few gave good advice.

There are many fine men and women serving in Iraq. There is no doubt about that. I’ve spoken to quite a few of them in my brief time in Baghdad. They have done their best to help many of us do our jobs. It is an environment that is extremely stressful and challenging.

The soldier at the checkpoint to whom I referred to in my earlier blog was doing his job. That much I do know. I was trying to do mine. In the end, he let me and my security guy in — after rightly taking the necessary steps to verify our identities.

For that I should have been thankful. My blog should not have upbraided the soldier. My personal reflections — ramblings, if you will — about the incident should have been kept private.

Perhaps any future incarnation of this blog should be private, too.

It seems he more sorry for getting caught and breaking blogging etiquette than acting like a self-important jackass but whatever. He's also put back the post and comments that started it all but given the fact that docweasel and others had them all along, Bobby doesn't too much credit for that.

I hope I can now go back to never thinking about Mr. Bobby Caina Calvan…Star Reporter for McClatchy News.

I know I should let this go but this guy just bugs the shit out of me. He says in his apology, “The soldier at the checkpoint to whom I referred to in my earlier blog was doing his job. That much I do know. I was trying to do mine.” Really, not so much. According to the original post:

Most of my entries into the Green Zone had been by car. I was running late to cover a news conference (because one of my security folks was late for work), and we decided to take a short cut through the Green Zone, instead of driving all the way around to get to the Iraqi foreign minister’s office. We had no trouble getting in. (Read the story here.)

We parked the car, and I headed out of the Green Zone (along with one member of my security staff) to attend the news conference. Getting out is seldom ever a problem.

When the news conference was over, we headed back.

That’s when trouble started.

So Bobby and his security guys parked in the Green Zone as a connivance while attending a meeting outside the Zone itself and then had trouble getting back in to get to his parking space. Is that ‘doing his job’? Bobby makes it sound as if he had to take on the Soldier to get a hot story and uphold the 1st Amendment. In reality he just wanted to get back to his car as quickly as possible and this soldier had the temerity to interfere with Bobby Caina Calvan’s ability to do that! For that unforgivable offense he had to be hassled and mocked.

Whatever Bobby, whatever.

posted by DrewM. at 12:33 AM

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