Jon Ronson’s The Men Who Stare at Goats makes many startling claims; the film based on the book goes even further, though granted the film’s not meant to be non-fiction. But the book IS meant to be non-fiction, and some question Ronson’s representation of the ‘facts.’
Jim Channon, the retired Army colonel featured in both the book and film (in the movie, his character is called Bill Django, played by Jeff Bridges) has spoken often on this topic. Here’s a few selected bits from The First Earth Battalion’s website; these FAQ’s are written by Lt Col Channon (retired) himself:
WHAT IS THE MOVIE “THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS” AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO THE FIRST EARTH BATTALION?
The movie evolved from a book of the same title written by British satirical writer Jon Ronson. It stars four of the most creative minds in Hollywood today: George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges and Ewan McGregor.
HOW ACCURATELY DO THE BOOK AND THE MOVIE PORTRAY THE REAL STORY OF THE FIRST EARTH BATTALION?
Though they both claim to be based on a true story, author Jon Ronson and screenwriter Peter Straughan took wide artistic license blurring the lines between fact and fiction in order to create a somewhat dark Hollywood comedy. Here are some important facts:
• Channon retired from the military in 1982 and did not serve in Iraq. (Ronson speculated that the sound healing therapies detailed in Evolutionary Tactics evolved into torture techniques in Abu Graib or Guantanamo. This is total speculation since sounds have been used since the beginning of armed struggle to influence moral or frighten the enemy.
WHAT ABOUT THE GOAT LAB AT FORT BRAGG, DID THEY REALLY KILL GOATS THERE?
Jim says he hasn’t a clue. John Alexander another battalion member, mentioned below, says Ronson called himself a documentary film-maker
and then took extra-ordinary license with whatever he wanted.
Even John Sergeant, Ronson’s friend and fellow film maker, had some dispute with the film, though this was more over credits than claims.
Sergeant told The Independent: “I worked intensely through 2003 and 2004 on it.” He said that, had the material remained within the context of a documentary, he would happily have let the matter go.
“I never formally agreed for the material I unearthed to be used in other media,” he added, “and I was extremely uncomfortable when it was, especially when I was airbrushed out of things. Ewan McGregor is playing this character who finds the story. [Jon] presents that person as [himself] but really, it is me.”
To Ronson’s credit, he did dedicate the book to John Sergeant and mentioned him in the afterword of the novel. But the movie credits offered zero mention of Sergeant at all… just Ronson.
