Posted on 09/21/2004 2:26:29 PM PDT by pissant
John Kerry is being pilloried for his shocking Senate testimony 34 years ago that many U.S. soldiers—not just a few "rogues"—were committing atrocities against the Vietnamese. U.S. military records that were classified for decades but are now available in the National Archives back Kerry up and put the lie to his critics. Contrary to what those critics, including the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, have implied, Kerry was speaking on behalf of many soldiers when he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 22, 1971, and said this:
They told stories that at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam, in addition to the normal ravage of war and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.
The archives have hundreds of files of official U.S. military investigations of such atrocities committed by American soldiers. I've pored over those records—which were classified for decades—for my Columbia University dissertation and, now, this Voice article
read article here: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0438/turse.php
And what did those investigations reveal? And one of those who testified to atrocities has now stated that Kerry and VVAW members coerced his testimony.
The author neglects to mention in how many cases the accusations were found to be true versus baseless. And that doesn't change the fact that Kerry lied about such things, and encouraged others to lie.
here is my response to this rag:
"Dear editors,
I think you need to send Nick Turse out to join Hanoi John's campaign. He can read his "Swift Boat Swill" article to the crowd at each whistlestop, or better yet, make a TV commercial from it. That oughta get Kerry elected.
Over 13 years, we had hundreds of thousands of troops in Vietnam. To even hint that atrocities were the norm, not the exception, is a vile defamation to our armed forces. Yes, I'm sure there were hundreds of atrocities committed. Same can be said for Korea, WWII, WWI, the Civil War, as well as the War of Independence.
War is an ugly, messy business. What the left fails to understand is that there is almost always a good guy and a bad guy in these conflicts. In the case of US, we are the good guy and we tend to discourage and prosecute war crimes. If you think the North Vietnamese commies and the Viet Cong were the good guys, you are too far removed from reality for redemption.
If we were really the "Jengis Khan monsters" that Kerry so eloquently described in 1971, why is he running around with a band of bros. claiming hero status now? The answer is because even Kerry now realizes that the US military is one of finest forces for good the earth has ever seen.
Only despicable chomskyites and mooreites see it otherwise.
Cheers".
My only comment is that what has happened to American politics where we have veterans fighting each other. What's next cops fighting each other, etc etc
Damn politicians and Political parties.
Does anyone know if Noriega is still alive and tucked away in south Florida somewhere? I'm surprised he hasn't been the subject of Bush memos? Something like Noriega was little shrub's cocaine dealer or something?
There were attrocities committed by US soldiers in Vietnam, and no one disputes that.
Kerry's big lie, is that attrocities were the common experience of the US soldier, and not the ugly extreme.
Wait until they see #6
mms://a1281.v125028.c12502.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/1281/12502/v0001/eaglepub.download.akamai.com/12502/Friends.wmv
Should be on swiftvets.com by tomorrow.
In case you haven't seen the new SwiftVets ad:
mms://a1281.v125028.c12502.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/1281/12502/v0001/eaglepub.download.akamai.com/12502/Friends.wmv <-- Direct link
Interesting that WW1, WW2 and Korean veterans never stooped to attacking each other in political forums.
Is every election going to be turning one group against others in the group based on their party.
Sad day in America.
All I know is that it was the left wingers, not the right wingers who started this "babykiller" and "war criminals" bullsh*t in the 1960s that survives in the liberal media to this day. Remember, the NYTimes ejaculated for weeks on end with the Abu Grahib story.
N'uff said about war atrocities. War is an atrocity. The word means cruelty or great wickedness or brutality. I'd say that pretty much sums up a war when atrocity swapping starts.
Perhaps the Village Voice talked for its "verification" to one Al Hubbard, former chief of the "Vietnam" "Veterans" Against the War when Kerry was active in this outfit. "Mister" Hubbard testified passionately about the atrocities committed by American soldiers that he'd "witnessed". As I understand it, Mr. Hubbard turned out to have been an AF supply sergeant who had never set foot in Vietnam or any other combat theater, other than perhaps a few girly bars stateside.
I really don't see veterans attacking veterans. I see political operatives and those motivated for personal gain disturbing the memories of good men who would prefer to remember their recent grandkids visit last Christmas instead.
I read letters to the editors where veterans embarrass each other and their service. Will they start fighting each other in the VA hospitals before it all ends.
Politics is power and power corrupts.
Dr. Carolyn Westhoff, testifying in the New York trial, spoke of how it is "necessary to insert our forceps, open them as wide as possible to try to capture the head within the opening of the forceps and then crush the head using external force applied against the head." She admitted there is "usually a heartbeat" when she performs a partial-birth abortion, and that even when she collapses the skull, the baby is still "living."Another New York witness, Dr. Timothy Johnson, was asked to describe what doctors use to crush the head. He described the instruments as "tongs" but "thick enough and heavy enough that you can actually grasp and crush with those instruments as if you were picking up salad or picking up anything with...." Here he was interrupted by Judge Richard Casey, who interjected, "Except here you are crushing the head of a baby." "Correct," said Dr. Johnson.
(source)
"Cut off limbs"
COURT: . . . [W]hen you tell them about pain and such that you were talking about before, do you also tell them . . . that the D&E . . . involves dismemberment? Do you tell them that you tear the limbs off the fetus?A: I don’t use that term, as I say it.
(source)
Senator Kerry, you've had multiple opportunities to protect innocent Americans from having their heads and limbs removed - actions you abhor. In light of your words from 1971, would you mind telling us how you have voted in the Senate on such matters over the last two decades?
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