Posted on 02/21/2004 6:45:10 AM PST by thesummerwind
In a stark about-face, Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry is now denying that he ever accused U.S. soldiers of committing war crimes in Vietnam, despite amply documented comments - some televised, others delivered while under oath - where he did exactly that.
Asked on Thursday whether he had accused his fellow soldiers of committing war crimes in Vietnam during his April 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry told CNN's Judy Woodruff:
"No, I was accusing American leaders of abandoning the troops. And if you read what I said, it is very clearly an indictment of leadership. I said to the Senate, where is the leadership of our country? And it's the leaders who are responsible, not the soldiers. I never said that."
However, a transcript of Kerry's April 22, 1971 testimony contains accusations that his brother-soldiers committed all manner of atrocities; charges he based on interviews of returning Vietnam vets earlier that year at the Winter Soldier Investigation, an event Kerry organized with anti-American actress Jane Fonda.
Kerry told the Senate that Winter Soldier witnesses "testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command."
Speaking under oath, Kerry continued:
"They told stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires with portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan."
A few days before his Senate testimony, Kerry gave the following account on NBC's "Meet the Press":
"There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages."
The future presidential candidate added:
"All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down."
Appearing on "The Dick Cavett Show" in July 1971, Kerry admitted that he'd never actually seen some of the atrocities he testified about, but still maintained that U.S. soldiers fighting in Vietnam routinely violated the Nuremberg Principles.
"I personally didn't see personal atrocities in the sense I saw somebody cut a head off or something like that," he told Cavett. "However, I did take part in free-fire zones, I did take part in harassment and interdiction fire, I did take part in search-and-destroy missions in which the houses of noncombatants were burned to the ground."
Kerry continued:
"And all of these acts, I find out later on, are contrary to the Hague and Geneva conventions and to the laws of warfare. So in that sense, anybody who took part in those, if you carry out the application of the Nuremberg Principles, is in fact guilty."
CNN's Woodruff declined to confront Kerry with his previous comments accusing his brother soldiers of committing war crimes in Vietnam.
What rules? How ? ???
Fire directed to an area to keep the enemy from using that area.
Interdiction fires are used to disrupt, delay, and destroy enemy forces that cannot fire their primary weapon system on friendly forces because of range limitations or intervening terrain. Field artillery cannon and missile battalions are responsible for most ground interdiction fires. Mortar sections and platoons fire limited, specific types of interdiction fires on likely or suspected enemy assault positions or assembly areas. As the advancing US forces close on an objective, mortar fires can be shifted from preparatory or suppressive fire (close support fires) to interdiction fires targeted on likely enemy withdrawal routes or suspected rally points. Normally, the benefits gained from unobserved mortar interdiction fire intended to harass the enemy do not outweigh the costs of ammunition expended and the increased danger of counterfire. Dismounted infantry, decisively engaged with an enemy on close terrain, can employ harassment and interdiction fire to its advantage. In some cases, when the enemy avenue of approach is canalized within deep defilade, such as a ravine or a street between high buildings, mortar interdiction fire may be the only way to attack him.
Open Letter to Senator John F.Kerry ........ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1079110/posts
It's great. If every American voter was given one of these, G.W. would win easily. We have to do it neighborhood by neighborhood ............. the media won't help, they are the enemy of America.
The average American is a lot smarter, and a lot more skeptical, that those in "non-flyover country" give them credit for. They just need educating.
If he refuses to vote, his absenteeism and prevarication becomes a huge campaign issue for the GOP.
The article quotes some, and the link to the audio and the transcript is available here on FR or the internet:
However, a transcript of Kerry's April 22, 1971 testimony contains accusations that his brother-soldiers committed all manner of atrocities; charges he based on interviews of returning Vietnam vets earlier that year at the Winter Soldier Investigation, an event Kerry organized with anti-American actress Jane Fonda.
Kerry told the Senate that Winter Soldier witnesses "testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command."
Speaking under oath, Kerry continued:
"They told stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires with portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan."
~snip~
I haven't read that, but in my opinion he should have been court marshalled for what he did. If he didn't disobey a standing order, he most certainly used very poor judgement in doing what he did, and indeed risked the safety of his crew, the boat and the mission.
An example...after returning from patrol, normally 36 to 48-hours in length, we had to clean up the boats to turn them over to our relief crew...each boat had two crews assigned. This clean up process was typically very thorough...many boat officers thought their Swift Boats were miniature battle ships and when they were turned over they were CLEAN from stem to stern.
One of the boats used to drop anchor in a quiet little shallow bay on an obscure island where the crew used to scrub the boat down from bow to fantail...even washed down the hull. One time the tide went out and the boat was aground...stuck! The crew had to call for help and three boats were pulled off regular patrol to guard the beached guys until the tide came back in. The guns and ammo were transferred off the boat...the whole deal. The officer of this crew was nearly relieved of command when the CO got through with him...it was absolutely forbiden to beach a boat for any reason.
Kerry is an empty suit...I actually despise him more than I do Clintooon...something I didn't believe possible.
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