RIP Michael Hastings: Journalist who exposed American military killed in car crash
A hard-hitting journalist, war reporter and author Michael Hastings, whose revelatory article brought down a four-star general, the US military chief in Afghanistan, has died in a car accident in Los Angeles at the age of 33.
There are few details about the accident that killed the
journalist in the early hours of Tuesday. Police have determined
that speed was main factor. However, neither Los Angeles officers
nor the county coroner's office could confirm his death as the
body still has not been officially ID’d.
Coroner's Lieutenant Fred Corral said it was impossible
immediately identify the driver as his body was burned beyond
recognition. It would also take weeks to get results from
toxicology tests.
Despite the lack of official information, the family and
Hastings’ latest employer, BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith
have confirmed the journalist was killed in a tragedy at the
corner of Melrose and Highland Avenues in LA.
"We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings
is gone," BuzzFeed editor-in-chief said in a statement.
"Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible
instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his
readers care about anything he covered, from wars to
politicians."
Smith said he learned of the death from a family member.
Remembering Michael Hastings http://t.co/vVQJpF3NHRpic.twitter.com/qIl4DRrQjv
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) June 19, 2013
Michael Hastings was best known for his sensational,
award-winning piece 'The Runaway General' published in Rolling
Stone in 2010. It portrayed a commander of the US-led force in
Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal and “general's staff”
as “handpicked collection of killers, spies, geniuses,
patriots, political operators and outright maniacs”, revealed
openly disrespectful attitude to President Obama, administration
officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, and their war
policies.
As a result, less than 48 hours after Hastings’s article was made
public, McChrystal was summoned to the White House and sacked
from his position. Obama replaced McChrystal in Afghanistan with
David Petraeus, who later also become a central figure in another
Hastings revelatory article. Titled ‘The Sins Of General David Petraeus’ it gave
details of Petraeus' strategy for the war and touched closely his
private life. Petraeus resigned in disgrace in November 2012 after
admitting an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell, 20 years
his junior.
‘The Runaway General’, for which Hastings won a George Polk
Award, sparked debate in the media over war journalism. Hastings’
article also led to some restrictions narrowing access to
information, making reporting for many journalists more
complicated.
The war theme and McChrystal’s command then also became a base
for his bigger work – a book “The Operators: The Wild and
Terrifying inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan''.
Experienced war reporter, Hastings revealed shocking details of
military activities overseas.
"Michael Hastings' death cuts short a life dedicated to
speaking truth to power. He believed that journalists must be
more than bystanders; he was a truthteller, a charming
provocateur and a relentless seeker of decency in a nasty
world,'' said David Rosenthal, president of The Blue Rider
Press, which published "The Operators'' in 2012.
The war in Iraq personally affected Michael. In 2006
Hastings reported from the warzone, his fiancée Andrea
Parhamovich, followed him to Baghdad and was killed in an ambush
in January 2007.
Hastings wrote about the experience in a 2008 memoir, 'I Lost My
Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story.'
In his latest work Hastings’ concentrated on covering hot-button
topics including National Security Agency and the CIA.
His final piece for Buzzfeed titled ‘Why Democrats Love To Spy On Americans’
dates back June 7.
Hastings’ death has prompted conspiracy theorists to suggest the
car crash was more than an accident as the journalist’s last
works covered burning issues.
Shortly after his death Wikileaks twitted that Hastings reported to the organization’s lawyer that he was under FBI investigation.
Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 19, 2013
Hastings had written freelance stories for GQ, the Los Angeles
Times, Daily Beast and the Washington Post.
