The researcher fired this week is the very same 26-year-old U.S. researcher that Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. John McCain cited during last week\u2019s congressional hearings regarding the use of military force against the Syrian government. The researcher has now been fired after it has been discovered that she was lying about having a PhD, reported Reuters on Sept 11, 2013.<\/p>\n
The news about the fired researcher, Elizabeth O\u2019Bagy, came to light on Wednesday when Elizabeth O\u2019Bagy was fired by the Institute for the Study of War.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Institute for the Study of War has learned and confirmed that, contrary to her representations, Ms. Elizabeth O\u2019Bagy does not in fact have a Ph.D. degree from Georgetown University,\u201d said the Institute for the Study of War in a statement. \u201cISW has accordingly terminated Ms. O\u2019Bagy\u2019s employment, effective immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before being fired, researcher Elizabeth O\u2019Bagy had written a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece which had formed the basis for the Obama administration\u2019s claim regarding its need to go to war against Syrian President Bashar Assad.<\/p>\n
Both Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. John McCain used the researcher as a \u201creliable\u201d source.<\/p>\n
As it turns out, Elizabeth O\u2019Bagy did not only misrepresent herself about having a PhD, she also misrepresented herself in her connections with Syria.<\/p>\n
The fired researcher is in fact affiliated with the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which supports Syrian rebel groups and which subcontracts with the U.S. and British governments to provide aid to the Syrian opposition against Assad.<\/p>\n