Gauging Suspicious News on Netscape

We receive a lot of stories day to day on Netscape. They run the gamut: hard-hitting stories from well-known news sources like CNN and Fox News, stories from well-known and established blogs like The Huffington Post and Engadget, some very hands-on and personal blogging of breaking news, some interesting videos here and there, some conspiracy theories, and quite a bit of spam that we work to kill and remove from the system as soon as we spot it.

Amidst all these various stories, there are quite a few that pop up that are suspicious or questionable. These stories often come out of the blue from some unknown source and with little corroborating evidence to support the story.

Case in point, today we experienced a new twist on the unverifiable story. A Netscape member contacted our Navigator Ousama, along with several of the rest of our Navigators and myself, claiming that s/he has been sent to Iraq as a contractor, asking us to blog about his/her story, keeping his/her identity a secret, and noting that since s/he has arrived s/he has already been shot and has shot someone.

After the jump, you will find his/her story retold via Ousama. We have several reasons for doubting the story:

• After I began looking into this on behalf of the Navigators, I noticed that the member's IP address since deployment has remained the same as s/he used before leaving the U.S. The IP address is not an overseas address.
• The member shares an IP address with another Netscape member. Either they're the same person or they live in the same home or access the internet through the same service or router.
• If you were just shot in the chest, would you be contacting Navigators and Anchors on Netscape?
• An issue that was also raised was how a contractor could operate in Iraq and what type of role they could play, since the member states that s/he is a contractor not a soldier. This raised some flags since s/he states s/he has killed an Iraqi Insurgent. However, here is an older article talking about contractors' roles in providing security in Iraq http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june04/contractors_4-6.html. From that article, it's obvious that contractors do assist in running missions and providing security to the military and private contractors in Iraq [Major thanks to Ousama for digging this information up for us].
  

Read over the story and let us know what you think in the comments. Is this a true life story from a war zone or a hoax?
The following was written by Netscape Navigator Ousama:

A fellow member here on Netscape.com has recently been deployed to Iraq and decided to share with us his/her first hand experience from the front line. Since many of us regularly follow the news from Iraq, and rarely have the opportunity to hear it directly from a person there in the field, I am taking this opportunity to share our member's first day's experience in the field:

Fellow Netscape Member's Journey to Iraq:

The purpose of my visit was to examine the viability of working for a private security company. The opportunity arose quickly Monday, and I accepted the offer to view the compound, security detail members, aviation assets, and personal security levels. I flew from a town nearby Monday evening, and took a short flight from there to Pope AFB in N.C. and then to Iraq. The flight almost got turned around very shortly after takeoff, due to a malfunction in the nose landing gear door. After it was cleared, we continued on the journey. The communications officer on board the aircraft allowed me to connect to the internet, and I visited with some friends at Netscape while en route. After a while I tried to sleep (didn't happen too well) and before I knew it we were there in Iraq. The moment we hit the ground, I was met by some men from the 'company' and was given the most modern in tactical body armor, as well as a well-maintained H&K MP5. The environment there seemed very similar to when I left almost two years to the month. But there has definitely been a tremendous amount of rebuilding and new (never before) construction. The children are beautiful as ever, and in a situation that they have no control over, and as such I treat as many of them to the bags of treats I always bring when I come to their country.

I arrived at the compound and was seen to my quarters. For a combat environment, the quarters are pretty good. I have a high speed connection (non secure) in my room, The compound without revealing anything that would hinder their security is secured very well and manned by some of the most highly-trained, most experienced warriors the U.S. has ever created. (SF, Seals, Marine Recon, AF para rescue, former of course).

Early this morning after breakfast and the 'morning brief' we had an operation (called op) arise and this company was the closest and most prepared to execute the mission. Our goal was to go somewhere and get someone (in a group of someones); We received our mission brief and I had a few minutes to post to my friends at Netscape.com that the op was happening. I was very concerned, I did not know why, since everything was planned perfectly, the teams were sharp, and I was an extra Operator as backup. But something made the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

First Field Mission Report from Iraq

We arrived at the objective put out the outer cordon security, and the two entry teams entered the quad of houses. As the brief gunfight ensued inside, I was turning to an alley to take up a security position where we had no one. As I turned and began to face the alley about 50 meters away, the barrel of an AK-47 poked from around that corner to the alley, and as I raised my weapon, I was about 1/4 second slower. His weapon fired, the first two rounds missed from my left then closer, and the third round hit the lower left of the ceramic trauma plate in my body armor, followed immediately by a hit in to the upper left of my body armor. I was hit, well ****! This is a great way to spend my day less than 48 hours after arriving. I was still coming up to the target and fired, killing the man. Two to the chest center mass, and the third round severed his neck and killed him almost instantly. The adrenaline was flooding through me now, and I was still concerned about more in this ambush. I called 'ambush' over the net (radio) and the secondary team collapsed inward and tightened security, the medic for the team assessed me, and dragged me into the truck to check me out. My chest was (and still is) throbbing after just a minute or two. The two teams exited the structure, and there were no other injuries to team members. We grabbed the target, and loaded up and headed out. We arrived at the compound about 2:00 local time. My body armor was turned in to be returned for analysis by the vendor, and I was debriefed individually. I have been running the situation over in my mind hundreds of times in the past few hours, and I am trying to find something that I could have done differently. Nope, I did all I can do; but that was too close. I intended on remaining in the compound this week before returning Thursday or Friday, but the mission needed as many guns as possible, and I went. The bruising should come up over the next couple days, and as long as I keep breathing deeply intentionally over the next couple days, I should be fine, and not develop any respiratory problems. I thank my God deeply for the technology that saved my life once again, and the skill of the exceptional warriors that surrounded me today. The problem is the fact that the 18 years of training did not prevent my injury, but that my life was instead spared because of the technology that we possess. That 'ridiculous defense' spending we sometimes find ourselves complaining about, saved my life, and I am grateful. The rest of the day should be (hopefully) very boring. lol, and I look forward to returning home and then coming back in January or Feb to continue the mission.