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A Shameful Past: Don't play the Vietnam card with me, John Kerry
WSJ ^ | 3-1-04 | LAURA BARTHOLOMEW ARMSTRONG

Posted on 03/01/2004 9:32:37 AM PST by jmstein7

Edited on 04/23/2004 12:06:33 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

The Vietnamization of the 2004 presidential campaign has unfortunately begun, thanks to the likely Democratic nominee. But John Kerry's service--Vietnam, in case you haven't heard--doesn't exist in a vacuum. His 19-year Senate record is at long odds with that short naval career, just as his vote to send troops to liberate Iraq is at odds with his later vote not to fund the mission. His supporters ask us to note his heroism in combat. We have, ad nauseam. But more important, and the thing he doesn't want discussed, is the well-documented though less well-known hypocrisy of those who use his service to further their antimilitary agenda.


(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial
KEYWORDS: 2004; kerry; militaryrecord; vietnamveterans; vietnamwar
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To: jmstein7
Thanks for posting this.   I am one who would have missed it.

It is a stirring piece and I'd like to see President Bush read it during a televised debate with Kerry.

21 posted on 03/01/2004 9:55:41 AM PST by jigsaw (Taglinus FreeRepublicus #33 -> http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1088058/posts)
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To: JeeperFreeper
You're absolutely right, hiding under the 'freedom-of-the-press' banner they are in fact, determining elections. Many in our dumbed down society would'nt know 'what' Vietnam is, let alone where it is! the dummies are gonna' wipe us out.
22 posted on 03/01/2004 9:58:33 AM PST by Eighth Square (All the people, all of the time!)
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To: jmstein7
Kerry a war hero?
What's so heroic about running behind a hut and shooting a dead body that was already riddled with .50 cal fire, getting an early trip home for three paper cuts and then turning around to viciously lie about his former fellows in uniform?
23 posted on 03/01/2004 10:08:00 AM PST by Darksheare (Fortune for today: Magicians' flash powder isn't an effective nasal decongestant)
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To: jmstein7
I should have stuck in there that my post was more a question for Lib idiots.
(I just re-read it and noticed that I'm not very clear in post #23..)
24 posted on 03/01/2004 10:09:02 AM PST by Darksheare (Fortune for today: Magicians' flash powder isn't an effective nasal decongestant)
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To: All
It's not about Vietnam. It's about a nation at war and the mistakes made (or allowed?) a generation ago. Those mistakes caused the deaths of tens of thousands and caused the war to be lost here at home.

We cannot afford the likes of Fonda and Kerry to prevail now in this war. It's for all the marbles this time.

Dare I say, these are the same people who spat on our guys back in the 1960s and disdained them in the '70s.

It's not about Vietnam. It's about them and today's batch of them.

IMO it must be the issue.

25 posted on 03/01/2004 10:23:18 AM PST by WilliamofCarmichael (Benedict Arnold was a hero for both sides in the same war, too!)
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To: jmstein7
Most of our friends and family are vets. Some of them are Vietnam era. They hate and despise John Kerry with good reason.

This article needs to be shouted from the roof-tops.
26 posted on 03/01/2004 10:46:48 AM PST by tiamat ("Just a Bronze-Age Gal, Trapped in a Techno World!")
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To: jmstein7
Let's look at a little history, shall we? Let's remember what Democrat "leadership" is like..

(forgive me, I have posted this before...but there is always more to add!--)

Liberals claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war. They complain about his prosecution of it. They say that too many people have died. They say that "Iraq never attacked us" and weren't a threat to us. One liberal recently claimed Bush was "the worst president in U.S. history."

Let's clear up one point: Bush didn't start the war on terror. Try to remember, it was started by terrorists on 9/11/2001, when they attacked us, on our land.

Let's look at the "worst President" and "mismanagement" claims. Lets look at Democrats who have served as Commander in Chief of the military, and compare their decisions to those of President Bush.

Let's see....Franklin Delano Roosevelt (a Democrat) led us to fight the Germans in World War II. Germany never attacked us, Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year. American involvement in the war was strongly protested at home, by celebrities, some Senators, priests and businessesmen and others, including famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, who formed a group called, "America First Committee". An advertisement from the group said, ""The Last War Brought: Communism to Russia, Fascism to Italy, Nazism to Germany. What Will Another War Bring To America?"


Harry S. Truman (a Democrat) finished that war by being the only person in history to order down, WMD in the form of a Nuclear bomb on innocent civilians--twice. 270,000 Japanese civilians died in the bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman (a Democrat) got us involved in Korea. North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,333 per year.


John F. Kennedy (a Democrat) orchestrated an attempted overthrow of the Dictator of Cuba. Cuba never attacked us. They had no WMD's. The JFK administration orchestrated a military operation, using Cuban exiles, with the objective to overthrow the Castro government. Yet, when the exiles tried to invade Cuba, at the Bay of Pigs, the US did not back them up. We broke our promises. We stranded them. The JFK administration at first lied about their involvement. All of the Cuban exiles were jailed or lost their lives. Castro remained in power, and has abused his people for 40 years. 4 American pilots were killed. JFK (Democrat) involved our military in the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us. The "cold war" escalated during this administration.


Lyndon B.Johnson (a Democrat) turned Vietnam into a shameful quagmire. From 1965-1975, 3 to 4 million Vietnamese on both sides were killed, in addition to another 1.5 to 2 million Lao and Cambodians who were drawn into the war. Johnson (Democrat) never had a plan to win the war, or a stradegy for getting out.

Jimmy Carter (Democrat) pulled us out of the Olympics, and hurt the American farmer when he halted the sale of wheat to Russia in response to the soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He gave away the Panama canal. His brother was given $250,000 from the terrorist nation of Libya. He allowed 50 diplomats at our embassy to become hostages of terrorists in Iran. For 5 months Carter (Democrat) allowed those people to be held, while he attempted "diplomatic" and "economic" pressure to free them. This failed. His ill planned military rescue attempt ended with 3 damaged helicopters and 8 dead military troops. The hostages were held for over 14 months. When Ronald Reagan (a Republican) was elected President, the captors fearfully offered to negotiate release of the hostages. They were freed while Mr. Reagan (Republican) took his oath of office.


William J. clinton (a Democrat) went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent, Bosnia never attacked us. clinton (Democrat) lobbed a missile into Iraq, said to retaliate against an alleged assassination attempt on Former President Bush (41). It accomplished nothing. The alleged assassination attempt was never proven in a court of law. In response to terror attacks on our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, clinton (Democrat) became the first President to PREEMPTIVELY send missiles to "suspected terror targets" in Afghanistan and the Sudan, killing many civilians, and inflaming citizens around the world. The habit of missle attacks which were not approved of by the UN, were widely condemned by most international governments. Overwhelming world reaction determined that the missile strikes would either be "ineffective" in fighting the threat of global terrorism or would have the deleterious effect of unleashing even more "extremism" and "violence" against the United States. (ref: 9-11-01) It was never proven that these targets were weapons factories as the Administration claimed. No proof of weapons were ever found. clinton (Democrat) was offered Osama bin Laden three times by Sudan and he declined. In 1993, clinton (Democrat) expanded the limited humanitarian mission in Somalia, to include rebuilding the nation. The UN "peacekeepers" embarked on a war against Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed. clinton (Democrat) included our troops in this war. Aideed and the Somalis never attacked us. In October, the forces of Aideed brought down two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters, in Mogadishu and precipitated a vicious daylong firefight, wounding 77 and killing 18 Americans, whose naked, mutilated bodies were drug through the streets. This horrifying act was broadcast around the world. This, despite clinton (Democrat) sending former President Carter (Democrat) to negotiate peace talks with Aideed. Afterward, clinton declined to bring Aideed to justice, when offered his capture by frightened clan allies, instead clinton (Democrat) decided to cut and run--quit the mission in Somalia. In fact, two months later to the day, US soldiers were escorting Aideed to the Mogadishu airport by motorcade and flying him to Addis Ababa in a US Army airplane! Aideed remained in power until Aug. 1995. Clinton's retreat broadcast a signal of weakness around the world. It sent a message to our foes, that America will change her policies if terrorists kill our people. During the war with Aideed, the clinton administration sent Mohamed Aideed's son, Hussein to Somalia as a Marine Corps translator. He left the military, and remained in Somalia, becoming a warlord himself and being responsible for the deaths and displacement of 50,000 Somali's. clinton (Democrat) invaded Haiti. Haiti never attacked us. A brokered deal instigated by former President Carter (Democrat), allowed clinton (Democrat) to send in our military to place Jean-Bertrand Aristide in power, knowing full well what a despot the man was. This is one of foreign policy’s all-time worst liberal bungles. Today, the disastrous results of Clinton’s experiment in Caribbean colonialism are painfully evident.

Read more on clinton military policy here:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jcjoyce.htm


After being in office for only 4 months, President George W. Bush, (a Republican) had to deal with an international crisis. One of our military planes were intercepted by a Chinese aircraft. The Chinese crew died. The American crew had to make an emergency landing in China, where they were "detained" for 11 days. They were all released without international incident. In the two years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush (a Republican) has liberated Three countries from oppressive regimes, (Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti. He crushed the Taliban, crippled the terrorist organization al-Quada and put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot! Our POW's in Iraq were successfully rescued; while Saddam Hussein, a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people, was captured! We lost 600 soldiers, an average of 30 a year. Bush (Republican) did all this abroad, while not allowing another terrorist attack at home. Our nation was given a shot right in the heart of our financial district. The terror attacks of 9-11-01 could have caused a major collapse of our economy. But, through the efforts of President Bush (Republican) and his leadership, this did not happen. Taxes are lower, interest rates are lower than they have been in 50 years. The economy is in an upswing. Factories are operating at a 20 year high. The stock markets have been climbing, the DJIA is just a few hundred points away from a record high. New jobs are being created. And really, most of us do not have to live our lives any differently than we did before the attacks.

Worst president in history? Come on; use the intelligence God gave
you.

A REPUBLICAN (Lincoln)put an end to slavery. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would never have passed without A REPUBLICAN (Everett M. Dirksen ) and REPUBLICAN Senators who voted to end a DEMOCRATIC filibuster on the bill! A REPUBLICAN (Nixon) put an end to the Vietnam war. A REPUBLICAN (Reagan) put an end to the "Cold war", without firing a shot----

Remind your friends and relatives of this...
27 posted on 03/01/2004 10:48:15 AM PST by tuckrdout (Terri Schindler (Schiavo) deserves to have her wishes honored: Give her a DIVORCE!)
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To: Darksheare
The Vietnam war was a lucrative place for shameless self-promoters like John Fonda Kerry. It wouldn't surprise me to find that he wrote and submitted his own medal recommendations and citations.

I know. I was there and saw some real abuses of awards and decs.
28 posted on 03/01/2004 10:59:27 AM PST by RightWingConspirator (Glad that neither Ted nor Hillary are my senators.)
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To: RightWingConspirator
Wouldn't surprise me to find he wrote himself up for it either.
*sigh*
29 posted on 03/01/2004 11:27:45 AM PST by Darksheare (Fortune for today: Magicians' flash powder isn't an effective nasal decongestant)
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To: jmstein7
Amen

bless you family and service

30 posted on 03/01/2004 2:36:49 PM PST by CHICAGOFARMER (Citizen Carry)
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To: jmstein7
Amen

bless your family and service

31 posted on 03/01/2004 2:36:59 PM PST by CHICAGOFARMER (Citizen Carry)
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To: jmstein7

32 posted on 03/01/2004 8:52:43 PM PST by SAMWolf (I just blew $5000 on a reincarnation seminar. I figured, hey, you only live once.)
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To: tuckrdout
Very well put!
33 posted on 03/01/2004 10:20:02 PM PST by Valin (America is the land mine between barbarism and civilization.)
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To: jigsaw
I like your suggestion and ditto it!
34 posted on 03/01/2004 10:32:10 PM PST by proudofthesouth
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