Book reopens Kerry's war wounds ( New Book questions Kerry's Nam injuries, etc)

VIETNAM has been the defining issue for John Kerry. His status as a decorated war hero has helped to propel him to the front of the pack of Democrat candidates seeking to evict George W.Bush from the White House. Conservative critics believe he has been given a free ride for too long on his war record, however, and are planning a fightback.

Support for their case is expected to come from a book to be published next month by reporters from The Boston Globe in Kerry's home state of Massachusetts. The book, JF Kerry, the Complete Biography, will question the extent of his injuries in Vietnam and whether he was entitled to an early release from the war.

Vietnam, The Washington Post opined at the weekend, "is a double-edged issue" for the 60-year-old Democratic frontrunner. Kerry has not authorised the release of his war records - a strange omission, say his political foes, given the ferocity with which his supporters have demanded to see every last document of Bush's military service in the Texas Air National Guard.

"Vietnam is such a crucial part of his background and his campaign, you would think he would want people to see them," said Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, a conservative journal. "There is going to be pressure on him to release them."

Kerry, who is surrounded on the stump by the "band of brothers" who fought with him in the Mekong Delta, became a fierce public critic of the Vietnam War after he left the navy.

A faked photograph of Kerry sharing a microphone with Jane Fonda was a warning of how his opposition to the conflict would be used against him. There also has been much criticism of the way he threw away another man's medals rather than his own during a 1971 protest demonstration.

Kerry's conduct during the war, however, was until now thought to be sacrosanct. Unlike many of his generation, he volunteered for service in Vietnam. He went on to perform heroically as the skipper of a Swift boat patrolling Vietcong-infested waters, and won a Bronze Star and a Silver Star for bravery.

Kerry served only four months of a year-long tour of duty after he received three Purple Hearts for being wounded in action. The injuries were not serious; by his own account, one shrapnel wound laid him off for two days and the other two did not interrupt his duties.

Five of his friends died in action and his medals show that, at the very least, he had several brushes with death. The future senator then invoked what he insists was a "three and you're out" rule enabling a soldier with three Purple Hearts to be sent home.

He requested a transfer and was given a plum job as an admiral's aide in Brooklyn. He returned to the US a bitter opponent of the war and was released from the army early.

In response to an inquiry from The Sunday Times, Kerry's campaign staff gave the newspaper a copy of naval regulations stating that "all naval personnel" who are "wounded three times, regardless of the nature of the wound or the treatment required for each wound" may be reassigned.

A spokesman for the US Navy said, however, that such redeployment was not automatic: "It would depend a lot on the nature of the injuries."

Ted Sampley, who runs Vietnam Vets Against John Kerry, said if a soldier could be sent home for minor wounds, "there would have been a lot of people claiming scratches, getting their Purple Hearts and getting out of there".

Sampley believes that the well-connected Kerry - photographed with president John F.Kennedy as a young man - simply received favourable treatment. "How many other people were able to get out of Vietnam early and be reassigned to a cushy post?" he said.

>> As faked as the four month tour of duty smear. Kerry served 2 tours of duty did he not?

The four month tour of duty is not a smear. You are correct that Kerry served 2 tours of duty. The first tour he did not see action. I believe Kerry has created the smear himself. 1.) He as not released his military records while President and CINC Bush has been hammer in the press about his. 2.) Kerry campagins on his war record and is a SELF-proclaimed war hero. Real war heroes don't need to build up their backgrounds. Others will do that for him. 3.) Being a war hero does not qualify one-self to be CINC. 4.) Being a war hero does not qualify you for never being a traitor to your country. Benedict Arnold was an American War hero, and then became a traitor. Most people don't even know that Arnold was a war hero, since he was remembered as a traitor. What Kerry did after he came back from Vietnam gave aid and comfort to the enemy. In my book that makes him a traitor. 5.) Kerry has consistently voted to dismantle the military, and has played a key role in weaking American intelligence. Kerry's record speaks for itself - his military record, which we can't see doesn't yet speak - it is only what Kerry wants to hear. But we can look at his voting record. Kerry show reckless disregard to our armed services. Not once has Kerry every shown any aptitude to be CINC. Here is his Senate voting record. After reading this, perhaps you understand why his military record should be release, and why Kerry doesn't want anyone to talk about the 1970s.
1996 - Kerry Introduces Bill to Slash Defense Department Funding

In 1996, John F. Kerry introduced a bill to slash Defense Department funding by $6.5 Billion.
(S. 1580, Introduced 2/29/96)

1995 - Kerry Votes to Freeze Defense Spending. In 1995, John F. Kerry voted To freeze defense spending for 7 Years, slashing over $34 Billion from defense.
(S. Con. Res. 13, CQ Vote #181, 5/24/95)

1993 - Kerry Introduces Plan To Cut Numerous Defense Programs:

Cut the number of Navy submarines and their crews

Reduce the number of light infantry units in the Army down to one

Reduce tactical fighter wings in the Air Force

Terminate the Navy’s coastal mine-hunting ship program

Force the retirement of no less than 60,000 members of the Armed Forces
in one year.
(S.1163, Introduced 6/24/93)

1993 - Kerry Votes Against Military Pay Raise
In 1993, John F. Kerry voted against increased defense spending for military pay raise. Kerry voted to kill an increase in military pay over five years.
(S. Con. Res. 18, CQ Vote #73, 3/24/93)

1992 - Kerry Votes to Cut $6 Billion from Defense,. In 1992, Voted To Cut $6 Billion From Defense. Republicans and Democrats successfully blocked the attempt to cut defense spending.
(S. Con. Res. 106, CQ Vote #73, 4/9/92)

1991 - Kerry Votes to Slash Over $3 Billion from Defense
In 1991, John F. Kerry voted to cut over $3 billion from defense, and shift money to social programs.
(H.R. 2707, CQ Vote #182, 9/10/91)

1991 - Kerry Votes to Cut Defense Spending by 2%. In 1991, Voted To Cut Defense Spending By 2%. Only 21 other Senators voted with Kerry, and the defense cut was defeated.
(S. Con. Res. 29, CQ Vote #49, 4/25/91)

Over Kerry's Senate Career, Kerry Repeatedly Votes to Cut or Eliminate B-2 Stealth Bomber
(H.R. 3072, CQ Vote #203, 9/26/89)
(H.R. 3072, CQ Vote #310, 11/18/89)
(S. 2884, CQ Vote #208, 8/2/90)
(S. 2884, CQ Vote #209, 8/2/90)
(S. 1507, CQ Vote #174, 8/1/91)
(H.R. 2521, CQ Vote #206, 9/25/91)
(S. 2403, CQ Vote #85, 5/6/92)
(S. 3114, CQ Vote #216,9/18/92)
(S. 2182, CQ Vote #179, 7/1/94)

Over Kerry's Senate Career, Kerry Repeatedly Votes to Cut or Eliminate Missile Defense
(S. 1507, CQ Vote #168, 7/31/91)
(S. 1507, CQ Vote #171, 8/1/91)
(S. 1507, CQ Vote #172, 8/1/91)
(S. 1507, CQ Vote #173, 8/1/91)
(H.R. 2521, CQ Vote #207, 9/25/91)
(S. 2403, CQ Vote #85, 5/6/92)
(S. 3114, CQ Vote #182, 8/7/92)
(S. 3114, CQ Vote #214, 9/17/92)
(S. 3114, CQ Vote #215, 9/17/92)
(S. 1298, CQ Vote #251, 10/9/93)
(S. Con. Res. 63, CQ Vote #64, 3/22/94)
(S. 1026, CQ Vote #354, 8/3/95)
(S. 1087, CQ Vote #384, 8/10/95)
(S. 1745, CQ Vote #160, 6/19/96)
(S. 1873, CQ Vote #131:, 5/13/98)
(S. 1873, CQ Vote #262, 9/9/98)
(S 1635, CQ Vote #157, 6/4/96)
(S. 2549, CQ Vote #178, 7/13/00)

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