Pilot claims Kerry committed treason

St. Paul Pioneer Press ^ | August 14, 2004 | PATRICK SWEENEY

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Former Air Force pilot Scott O'Grady, a high-profile volunteer in President George W. Bush's campaign, accused Sen. John Kerry on Friday of committing "treason" in opposing the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and early '70s.

Speaking at a St. Paul news conference to announce a pro-Bush veterans group in Minnesota, O'Grady criticized Kerry for meeting with a Viet Cong emissary in Paris in the waning days of the Vietnam War and testifying before Congress about atrocities committed by U.S. troops.

A leader of a pro-Kerry veterans group denounced O'Grady's accusation and said it was outside the bounds of proper campaign dialogue.

"This is a despicable and obscene comment to call John Kerry a traitor and accuse him of treason," said Tom Kayser, a St. Paul lawyer and retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve who is supporting Kerry.

"John Kerry was in Vietnam," Kayser said. "He saw what was happening, and he made his comments based on what he saw."

Steve Schmidt, a national spokesman for the Bush campaign, said the comments by O'Grady, a retired Air Force captain from Dallas, were personal.

"Clearly what Captain O'Grady said today was not consistent with the campaign's position," Schmidt said.

Schmidt did not say if the Bush campaign would continue to invite O'Grady to speak at Bush-Cheney events. But he repeatedly said the campaign was pleased to have O'Grady as a volunteer.

O'Grady appeared on the cover of Time magazine after he parachuted to safety when his plane was shot down in Bosnia in 1995.

He has campaigned across the country on behalf of Bush, and Friday's news conference was not the first time he has accused Kerry of treason publicly.

The news conference was evidence of the high-stakes competition between Bush and Kerry for the votes of America's military veterans. And O'Grady's comments reflected the raw nerve that Kerry's anti-war activities still represent for many veterans.

O'Grady leveled the charge at a news conference called by the Bush campaign to announce the formation of a Minnesota Veterans for Bush group. About 60 people, many of them veterans, attended the news conference.

When questioned about his charge, O'Grady said it was a personal opinion.

Other participants in the Republican news conference Friday accused Kerry of flip-flopping between supporting and opposing the current war in Iraq.

But their strongest criticism concerned Kerry's post-Vietnam years when he returned to the U.S. as a decorated combat veteran and took part in Vietnam Veterans Against the War activities.

Dan Weiberg, of St. Paul, a retired Internal Revenue Service agent who served in the Army in Vietnam at the same time Kerry did, said he agreed with O'Grady's characterization of Kerry's post-war actions as treasonous.

"John Kerry is the New England traitor, not the New England patriot," Weiberg said.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick Sweeney covers state government and politics. He can be reached at 651-228-5253 or psweeney@pioneerpress.com.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

A passage from, Unfit for Command.

***On March 15, 2004, Admiral Hoffmann's telephone rang again. Once again, the caller was John Kerry. Kerry had clinched the Democratic nomination, and he knew that Hoffmann was organizing Swiftees to bring out the truth about him, his exaggerated military record, and his antiwar lies that had slandered his fellow veterans. Kerry made the admiral an offer: If you will back off and drop your efforts, I will ensure that my biography, Tour of Duty, which I know is unfair to you, will be changed to make it accurate in a revised edition. Here is my secretary's number - you can get me anytime.

The offer from the Democratic presidential candidate was an attempt to flatter Hoffmann, a warrior whose coin is not power or wealth, but honnor--an honor deeply impugned by Kerry's book. Hoffman, after all, is a wounded survivor of the amphibious assault at Wonson, Korea, where his minesweeper still lies below the frigid waters of Wonson Harbor. Kerry knew that winning Hoffmann over to his side would thwart the Swiftees' efforts to discredit him. Hoffmann told Kerry that he and the vast majority of his shipmates could never forgive him for his defamation of our Navy and other U.S. Armed Forces by his slanderous and undocumented accusations of unspeakable atrocities in Vietnam before the U.S. COngress in 1971, his leadership in the VVAW, and his association with the traitorous Jane Fonda and others of her ilk. Surprisingly, Kerry responded by simply saying that he "was expressing his conviction."

If Admiral Hoffmann were truly a butcher whose conduct "sickens" John Kerry to this day, an impression one could easily gain from reading Tour of Duty, then why did Kerry offer to change inaccuracies he knew were in Tour of Duty in exchange for Admiral Hoffmann and the Swiftees ceasing their activities? In emails on May 3, 2003, and on May 7, 2004,trying to dissuade Swiftees from joining Admiral Hoffmann, Wade Sanders referred to the group as "bitter drunks," something the sailors involved deeply resented. Moreover, Sanders referred to Joe Ponder, a seriously disabled Swiftee who cried when talking about Kerry's charges, as "a whining crybaby."*** - pages 68-69

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Give veterans a say on Kerry - Hear them out

[Jet Jaguar]

I gotta get that book...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I had to wade through all the "Hate Bush" books to find it. Borders had them hidden on a table with a gazillion other titles, while all the "Bash Bush" books were prominently displayed, and the number of them is shocking.

The clerk who checked me out could hardly tolerate me making this purchase. His contempt for having to handle the book, put it in a bag and wish me a good day was palpable.

[snopercod]

I hate to say it, but none of this matters. The RATS are going to vote for Kerry regardless. Facts mean nothing to them - hatred is in control of their minds.

[Jet Jaguar]

The B&N near me said they did not have it and would not until August 20. The guy was not happy seeing my interest in it.

[coconutt2000]

Al Gore - "He betrayed this country!"


Democrats silent, support Al Gore's hysteria.

[Jet Jaguar]

There are alot of Vets that would have voted for Kerry. With his record exposed, it may make a real difference.

[Grut]

No friend of Kerry here, but this business of 'making the government look bad equals treason' is lunatic fringe stuff.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The B&N near me said they did not have it and would not until August 20. The guy was not happy seeing my interest in it.

I bet it's in the back.

When I first got to Borders, I couldn't find it. When I got someone to help me she said, "Oh they're in the back. I'll go get you ONE." I said, "Bring out a bunch!"

When she came back without them and said there should be 10 somewhere. I said, "Someone has probably put them in the humor section." I have seen this "miss-stocking" before. But then I saw it buried in with a bunch of other titles on a huge table.

The book SHOULD be in the stores now.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

???

[raisincane]

A Vietnam vet told me yesterday that J F'n should have been taken down by his own men back in 1968.
Obviously, this man is not voting for J F'n.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

No doubt there.

[anniegetyourgun]

How 'bout his self-admitted war crimes, while indicting most others around with the same? If true, he's unfit to command. If a fabrication (implicating other who can prove otherwise), he's unfit. Either way....

[bootyist-monk]

[Quilla]

I went through the same ordeal when trying to locate Neil Cavuto's book More than Money at Books-A-Million. The clerk stated they had several copies in the business section, so I took the long hike to "business" in the back of the store - no book. So I waited in line a second time, inquired once again, and was told it was in the biography section. Similar hike - no book.

All this time, I'm passing by neck high stacks of My Life and becoming a bit testy (my children claim I was getting loud). I finally found Cavuto's book - in the New Age section - right next to a book on tarot cards. In my frustration, I accidentally knocked over one of those other stacks as it grazed my neck. My kids say they will never accompany me to BAM again.

[Elkiejg]

Sometimes when I'm in one of these book stores that favor the liberal lies - I revert back to my childhood and turn all the liberal lies book backwards on the stand. Makes me feel better!!!!

[demlosers]

LoL!

[Beckwith]

If Kerry's "Band of Brothers" back up Kerry's memory of Christmas in Cambodia, then, they are in fact all liars.

Kerry is a liar.

The "Band of Brothers" are liars.

It's the Swift Boat Vets who are the straight-shooters here.

[stockpirate]

bump