Posted on 08/17/2004 10:45:08 AM PDT by sox_the_cat
The Vietnam War rages on. Witness the barrages being fired by Viet vets on the right and the left: "George W. Bush is a draft-dodger"; "John F. Kerry isn't a war hero."
Once again, that tragic war divides America – and this time around, it's vet pitted against vet.
Sure, Bush dodged the draft, along with a reported 14 million other Americans with the savvy to work out that Vietnam was a no-win, sorry war. But although he had the luck and the connections to land a spot in the Air Guard, he did put his butt on the line flying a machine for which he was entitled to hazardous-duty pay – and that's because zooming around in a jet fighter was and still is highly dangerous.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
I like Hack but he seems to keep evading the point that it's an issue cause Kerry is basing his entire campaign on those short four months in country.
Who couldn't take the heat for his views and ran away from his country.
Just another Fning self aggrandizing perfumed prince wannabe.
If this were true JFnK wouldn't be threatening to sue TV stations he would be suing these men!
Hack never looks at the facts. The boats came within 25 feet in some cases.
The navy's medal process was not followed in this case.
So why did the Kerry Campaign have pictures of all the commanding officers of the Swift Boats, listing them as the Band of Brothers, at least until they demanded it be taken down.
Bill Clinton was a draft dodger and proud of it, so why should this even be an issue with the RATs and the DUmbasses?
Hackworth is a hero, but even heroes can be idiots. Why is the word of a very few who ask the Kerry campaign before they answer and the DOZENS who do not?
I sent hackworth an email asking him if he's read the book or at least listened to any interviews.
He signed up for the Air National Guard, presumably because he wanted to be a pilot.
At any time, the President could have called up the Guard and sent them off to combat.
You're not hiding from combat by volunteering for the Guard - ask any of the brave Guardsmen who are currently serving in Iraq.
I didn't know Hackworth is a lawyer.
Why can't the Kerry defenders persuade the perfumed prince to release his military records instead of attacking his accusers. If, as Hackworth says, Kerry served honorably and hasn't lied, his record will bear that out and we'll never hear of O'Neil again.
Not a single one of Kerry's minions has called on him to do that;not a single one. That's very instructive, I think. Hackworth probably knows in his heart of hearts that Kerry has grossly fictionalized his time in Viet Nam just as he did the Christmas in Cambodia story(which Hackworth conveniently avoids mentioning)and a release of his records will only bear that out.
Please. The rabid left isn't interested in hearing any facts. They're still stuck on "Gore won"!
Hack is a "hack" and will never be anything but a hack.
A hack for what I don't know, but a hack nonetheless.
I used to visit his website quite often, but it became clear soon enough that his website wasn't for giving out good useful info, it was about building himself up in others eyes.
That was my impression anyway.
Amazing that that didn't concern Hackworth when he was hounding Borda.
So I guess to summarize Hackworth's thinking...
(1) If you joined the National Guard during a war you're a coward.
(2) If you've been to war you can claim anything and no one can or should question the truthfulness of your claims.
(3) The 7-8 Vets who surround Kerry are more credible than the 250 who say things didn't happen as Kerry claims. Does that mean that you can be a bald face lier if you served in the 'Nam?
(4) That labeling your fellow "Band of Brothers" as war criminals, as Kerry did, is OK and we should just all "hug and move on".
(5) That you can lie about war stories like being in Cambodia on Christmas 1968 and claim Nixon put you there, when Nixon wasn't even President yet. "Hey, man, Kerry was in the Nam." Right!
Hey, Hack, please explain to us all why the military is so overwhelming pro-Bush? Also, show us any credible evidence that Bush used influence to enter the Guard and avoid Vietnam.
What an F-ing fraud you are Hack. Please go do a toke for us somewhere else. You hatred for Bush is showing. At least be honest about it and not defend Kerry.
BFM
De Oppresso Liber
(Also a Veteran)
I think Mike Savage had as a guest someone who served on the same boat as Kerry, and from what this man said Kerry scammed the injury system.
I guess Hack worth feels bad about what happened to Adm. Boorda and doesn't want to expose Kerry in any way.
But although he had the luck and the connections to land a spot in the Air Guard,
DID Bush dodge 'Nam or was he trying to get into a fighter slot? I mean it isn't easy to become a 'fighter pilot'.
I got no prob if he didn't want to go to VietNam but was he dodging or picking what he wanted to do?
Because Bush is not one of them!
Hack, thanks for your noble service. Now, as Teresa would say, shove it.
Actually, Bill Clinton drove a huge wedge into the heart of this nation, and Al Gore finished driving it through with his whiney rendition of 'The Hanging Chad Blues'.
If the Dems ever grow up and get over the fact that Clinton was impeached and Gore lost the 2000 election, the divide might not be so deep.
Remember that the "exciting" Swift Boat clips are shot from the stern of the lead Boat. They normally show the following Boat, but in one clip there is a second following Boat. In short, these Boats were as close in operation as riflemen in squad in action.
So, Hackworth is either a fool or a liar. Either way, he's around the bend and should be ignored.
Congressman Billybob
Latest column, "Says the Wuss: Ma, He's Touching Me"
If you haven't already joined the anti-CFR effort, please click here.
I stopped reading at that point. Realized it was Hackworth.
I need to wash my eyes...
After hearing this stuff for weeks now, I must state, "I really don't care."
I believe that most Americans desire to know what both candidates plan do accomplish if elected.
Furthermore, it appears that neither has much confidence in their proposal for the next 4 years or that is ALL we'd be hearing about.
Bottom line, I'm sick of hearing about the exploits of these two from back in the sixties.
For all the people that are into the rich helping each other- why didn't he go work for an airline? He went to west Texas to find oil. Tougher work than being a civilan jet jockey. /rant off
The military is something you do when it is needed to defend your country from an aggressor. It isn't really a viable long term profession, unless you start wars from time to time to keep it all going. (Which apparently, we do.)
We need a standing army, sure, and we need "lifers" in the service as a cadre around which a rapid mobilization can occur, but God only knows why any of us ever listens to their "polictial" opinions. The Military life and governmenet life is a perfect example of "state socialism", where all the needs of the individual are fully met (exceedingly met) by the state and paid for out of taxation receipts.
These are not the folks, however brave they might be, we should really be getting our idealistic guidance from. Their job is to make sure we aren't blown up while we debate the course of the nation among ourselves, the private sector "citizens" of this country.
My personal feeling is that no "full time" government employee should be allowed to vote, since they all have a "vested interesst" in more taxes and buigger government.
I also think they should not have to pay taxes, since all it is for them is a rebate of the tax money they already took out of the tax receipts bucket for their salary. What's the point?
So here's the plan: Go into Government service, we take care of you, and you can vote again when you get off the payroll.
ps: De Oppresso Liber, also a vet.
So Hackworth's a lying maggot bottom-feeder.
Hackworth is a puke but the claim that he hounded Boorda is pure BS. Lt. Col. Roger Charles USMC Ret. exposed Boorda as well as several other flag officers for wearing medals/devices they were not entitled to by simply filing FOIA requests. Boorda was not and is not, despite the Clinton/Dalton/Zumwalt/Boorda family spin, entitled to wear the Combat V on the Navy Commendation Medal or Navy Achievement Medal. So says a unanimous vote by the Board for Corrections of the Naval Records. As is so often the case, Hackworth was a Johnny-come-lately to the Boorda story.
Boorda, as well as several other flag officers, was outed by Lt. Col. Roger Charles USMC Ret., not Hackworth.
I believe that this is one of the main reasons Kerry has supporters from the strangest sectors....Officers who used fraud to obtain medals...and dont want to be exposed or to expose those who conspired with them to obtain medals....
A big can of worms...one they dont want opened....one that would give the military a serious 'black eye'...
imo
Those pukes should think long and hard about Shalikashvili's stroke and wonder if that was an omen.
It seems to me that Hackworth, (who I assumed to be conservative because of his opposition to opening ground combat units to women) is saying that he supports Kerry w/o actually saying it.
1. He doesn't address the Christmas in Cambodia issue
2. He parrots the leftwing canard that Sen Cleland was defeated because of allegedly shameful GOP ads attacking his commitment to national security. Even Zell Miller, who campaigned for Cleland out of personal and party loyalty despite ideological differences, said that what really cost Cleland that election was his high-profile leftwing votes on key social issues. He didn't say specifically, but I think he was referring to votes Cleland made against a partial birth abortion ban, and in favor of the homosexual lobby over the Boy Scouts. You can't make such votes in Georgia and not have it come back to haunt you.
3. He ignores completely the substance of what Kerry actually said in his role as an anti-war Vietnam vet. Hackworth says that he to came to oppose the war, but did he publically accuse his fellow vets of acting like Genghis Khan?
4. It seems to me that Hackworth was positive about Rumsfeld in the beginning saying he was what is needed to bring the military into the 21st Century. But I think he has turned against him and the Administration largely because of Iraq.
What I don't get is why Hackworth just doesn't publically endorse Kerry.
Amazing that that didn't concern Hackworth when he was hounding Borda.
It also didn't concern Hackworth when he criticized what he called the rampant "medal inflation" that took place in Vietnam in his book About Face.
I disagree. I believe that most Americans want to know what kind of person they each are. That is more important when the chips are down than mere "plans" which can, and frankly must, change with circumstances. More important is what the general beliefs of the person are, because those beliefs and general philosopy will guide his actions as President.
Bush has been talking about his plans and his beleifs, Kerry has been bashing Bush's plans, belief and just him in general. He's mostly running on his record in Vietnam.
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