Brian Williams and NBC Lacking Integrity?

Poor Brian Williams. Remember in 2012 when he asked Mitt Romney if Romney was looking for "an incredibly boring white guy" for his vice-presidential running mate?

Romney quick wittedly replied: "You told me you were not available."

Well, Brian Williams tried to buff his boring white guy image by introducing a narrative of coming under enemy fire in 2003. The only problem is it wasn't true.

The new Brian Williams started to emerge in a blog post he wrote in 2008:

Let's take a moment to de-construct this: a young soldier, who is, like me, from the Jersey Shore, reads my blog entry last week during a break while on active duty in Iraq. The last time I saw him, I was with my friend and NBC News Military Analyst Wayne Downing, a retired 4-Star Army General. Wayne and I were riding along as part of an Army mission to deliver bridge components to the Euphrates River, so that the invading forces of the 3rd Infantry could cross the river on their way to Bagdhad. We came under fire by what appeared to be Iraqi farmers with RPG's and AK-47's. The Chinook helicopter flying in front of ours (from the 101st Airborne) took an RPG to the rear rotor, as all four of our low-flying Chinooks took fire. We were forced down and stayed down -- for the better (or worse) part of 3 days and 2 nights.

The account expanded in 2013 on the David Letterman Show. (about the 3 minute mark)

"We were in some helicopters. What we didn’t know was, we were north of the invasion. We were the northernmost Americans in Iraq,” he told the late night host. “We were going to drop some bridge portions across the Euphrates so the Third Infantry could cross on them. Two of the four helicopters were hit, by ground fire, including the one I was in, RPG and AK-47."

Then last week, January 30th, he repeated the false account and was called on it. He apologized this week.

"I want to apologize," Williams said on Wednesday night's broadcast of NBC Nightly News. "I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire. I was instead in a following aircraft."

One is tempted to feel sorry for Brian Williams. Telling a lie that embellishes his part in the Iraq war seems somewhat harmless.  Except, Williams and NBC have piled on in trying to destroy others who have made mistakes or even poor turns of phrase in their answers over the years--especially conservatives. NBC and MSNBC are in the gotcha business. If one don't give mercy to others, do they really deserve mercy when they stumble?

For Kris Paronto, a former Army Ranger and surviver of the 2012 Benghazi consulate attack, Williams' lying narrative demonstrates both Williams' and NBC's lack of integrity.

"What concerns me as well is how much has he and/or NBC lied about over the years? In my opinion, and that's all it is, both are fully compromised news organizations and should no longer be a credible source for news for many years to come," he stated. "Keep in mind, if military personnel would've done this, he/she would at very least be given an Article 15, busted down in rank, and possibly pay withheld until a full investigation was completed."