Posted on 08/09/2004 6:14:07 AM PDT by Pikamax
August 9, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The television ad that aroused the wrath of John McCain and journalist supporters of John Kerry just begins deconstruction of the Democratic presidential candidate's war record. "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," a 214-page critique of his performance in Vietnam and the antiwar movement, is off the presses ahead of schedule.
I have read the book and found it is neither the political propaganda nor the urban legend that its detractors claim. It is a passionate but meticulously researched account of how Kerry went to war, what he did in the war and how he conducted himself after the war. The very serious charges by former comrades deserve answers but so far have produced only ad hominem counterattacks.
Why should details of what Kerry did more than 30 years ago be part of this election campaign? Only because the senator has made them integral to his strategy. Kerry as war hero received more attention at the Democratic National Convention than plans for the future. Thus, what he did in his shortened four months of combat becomes a valid campaign issue.
John E. O'Neill, co-author of "Unfit for Command," replaced Kerry as commander of Swift Boat PCF 94 in 1969 and has been confronting him since 1971. O'Neill told me he is no George W. Bush partisan and probably would have supported John Edwards had he been nominated for president, but is committed to keeping Kerry out of the Oval Office. Thus, reversing the usual formulation, the assault on Kerry is personal but not political.
O'Neill told me neither he nor his co-author (Jerome R. Corsi, a writer and expert on the Vietnam antiwar movement) has had contact with the Bush White House or the Bush-Cheney campaign. He said he and Corsi, on their own initiative, went to conservative Regnery Publishing to offer the book.
The co-authors paint Kerry as a reluctant warrior. Contrary to claims by Kerry's supporters that he served two combat hitches in Vietnam, his one-year term aboard a guided missile frigate was far from action. His four months in the brown water navy were terminated eight months early by a third Purple Heart wound, none of which required hospitalization.
The book's strength is the vehemence of testimony by swift boat veterans, alleging that Kerry "gamed" the system to win decorations and later betrayed comrades by charging war crimes. Typical is the quote by Bob Hildreth, commanding an accompanying boat: "I would never want Kerry behind me. I wouldn't want him in front of me, either. And I sure wouldn't want him commanding our kids in Iraq and Afghanistan." Some 200 "Swiftees" on May 4 signed a letter to Kerry demanding full release of his service records.
The book's weakness is support for Kerry's presidential campaign by his swift boat crewmates, presumably people who knew him best. O'Neill told me that these former sailors served with Kerry no more than five weeks. Jim Rassmann, now part of the Kerry presidential campaign, was a Special Forces lieutenant spending a few days with Kerry when he fell or was knocked off the swift boat while under fire and was fished out of the Mekong River by the future candidate.
The "band of brothers" was organized by Kerry, according to this book. It tells of a 2003 telephone call to Adm. Roy Hoffmann, who commanded swift boats in Vietnam, telling him he was running for president. Hoffmann, mistakenly thinking it was former Sen. Bob Kerrey, "responded enthusiastically." Once the admiral realized it was John Kerry, "he declined to give Kerry his support." Hoffmann is quoted as saying, "I do not believe John Kerry is fit to be commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States."
"Unfit for Command" sends a devastating message, unless effectively refuted. Perhaps most disturbing are allegations that Kerry's combat decorations are unjustified. His first Purple Heart, the book alleges, was accidentally self-inflicted. His commander, Grant Hibbard, is quoted as saying: "I didn't recommend him for a Purple Heart. Kerry probably wrote up the paperwork and recommended himself." Full release of documents demanded by his critics could settle this claim quickly if it is unwarranted.
You got any quotes? I have never heard him say this.
If this mouse was bigger could we call him a "dandy lion"?
They have plenty. Order one for yourself. : )
Hanoi Kerry spent 132 days in Vietnam
He spent 730 days trashing our sons, husbands, brothers, uncles and cousins
as baby killers and rapists, along with his best bud Hanoi Jane.
John Kerry : "war hero" or a "war criminal"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1186991/posts
Answer the question Kerry!
Did you lie about your "heroics" or the "war crimes"?
Can't have it both ways!
RELEASE ALL YOUR MILITARY RECORDS
INCLUDING YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS
THAT INCLUDE THE TREATMENT
FOR THE 3 PURPLE HEARTS.
BEFORE NOV 2nd!
(Bush never said he had all his military records
BUT you did.)
Unless you are hiding something?
Are you?
It's now Aug, where are ALL the records that were promised in April?
PS A "summary" is NOT what you promised.
WASHINGTON, April 21 /U.S. Newswire/ --
The Kerry Campaign announced today that online at
http://www.johnkerry.com
are the official Naval records and the after-action combat reports
that are part of the public record at the Naval Historical Center,
Operational Archives Branch in Washington, DC.
What follows is a summary list of the pages on the website
and a summary of the after-action combat reports.
The direct address for the official Naval records is:
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/military_records.html
NOVAK?! Oh my gosh!
Don't put no LION in HIS name, please. heh!
Kerry could be smart and realease his records and PROVE he is the "hero" he claims to be. This would not only clear his name, it would shut the "right-wing" up. No one would believe anything we say after that. The MSM would say, "see, there they go again with their lies, remember the swiftboat thing?....." It makes me wonder if this isn't "rope a dope".
We Don't want it to go away.
We want it to get as big and ugly as possible.
The more nails in the coffin, the better, and this is certainly a BIG nail.
Hanoi Kerry spent 132 days in Vietnam
He spent 730 days trashing our sons, husbands, brothers, uncles and cousins
as baby killers and rapists, along with his best bud Hanoi Jane.
John Kerry : "war hero" or a "war criminal"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1186991/posts
Answer the question Kerry!
Did you lie about your "heroics" or the "war crimes"?
Can't have it both ways!
RELEASE ALL YOUR MILITARY RECORDS
INCLUDING YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS
THAT INCLUDE THE TREATMENT
FOR THE 3 PURPLE HEARTS.
BEFORE NOV 2nd!
(Bush never said he had all his military records
BUT you did.)
Unless you are hiding something?
Are you?
It's now Aug, where are ALL the records that were promised in April?
PS A "summary" is NOT what you promised.
WASHINGTON, April 21 /U.S. Newswire/ --
The Kerry Campaign announced today that online at
http://www.johnkerry.com
are the official Naval records and the after-action combat reports
that are part of the public record at the Naval Historical Center,
Operational Archives Branch in Washington, DC.
What follows is a summary list of the pages on the website
and a summary of the after-action combat reports.
The direct address for the official Naval records is:
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/military_records.html
The only problem is that there are enough moron Democrats in this country to dismiss anything and everything as long as they get someone in office to hand out the freebies and back their twisted agendas. Most of them would still vote for Clinton, too, in spite of his history.
Since Kerry insists he was wounded so severely that "his blood pooled on the deck "( from his bio)
And yet he (IIRC) he only missed 2 days duty for all three of his purple heart.
Kerry has simply never had to undergo serious scrutiny. His anti war stance "made him" here in Massachusetts with the Boston Globe and other liberals back in the early 70s and he has been riding that popular image without objective criticism ever since.
Excellent! Glad to see Novak say it's not a hysterical rant and not political. I can't wait until I get my copy.
I'm beginning to think maybe but I'm still skeptical. Then I stop and get mad and think, dammit, why shouldn't the story have legs?
I mean, here is a guy running for President of this country when he did nothing during that entire Vietnam period but plot and scheme and fabricate. Because I surely believe those swift boat vets in that book. And some facts can't be denied, like how come out in four months unless it's true that Kerry actively campaigned for it.
But I ramble.
Since honest Willie's been a blot on our national psyche, the sorts of things that very much matter in a President become so much babble and media smoke screen. It's sad, because those Vets are telling the truth; there's too much documentation. And what it all tells this wise soccer Mom is that Kerry has and is but a fabricator and even a little out of touch with reality.
I'd dare to hope the story would have legs. And the only way that's going to happen if to keep banging on it and banging on it until finally even Katie and Matt have to talk about it. But I get two thoughts and you decide if I'm right.
Juanita Broderick and the Arkansas Troopers.
Bush is the rope-a-dope master. That's how we got Kerry to this point. I think Kerry thought the business with the doctor not signing the treatment form was going to be the rope-a-dope, but it fizzled.
He was only on the Gridley for five months, according to Tour of Duty: John Kerry in Vietnam. "In December of 1967 Ensign Kerry was assigned to the guided-missle frigate USS Gridley; after five months of service in the Pacific, with a brief stop in Vietnam, he returned to the United States and underwent training to command a Swift boat,..."
Any confusion about there being two tours is Kerry's fault. From his Senate website, kerry.senate.gov, today:
"I served two tours of duty, commanding a swift boat in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta as a member of the U.S. Navy."
"My two tours in Vietnam gave me a firsthand understanding of the sacrifice and courage of those who have served and fought to defend our country.
***Don't put no LION in HIS name, please. heh!***
How about "Dandy lie-on"
My daughter is back from Iraq on leave. Apparantly Kerry's purple hearts are a running joke among troops over there. Whenever someone stubs a toe or gets the slightest scratch, they say "can I get a purple heart for this? Kerry got one..."
Well, maybe because its been drummed into our heads by the Dems, leftists, and MSM that (1) Kerry is a “war hero” and (2) that Bush was AWOL.
Google says:
Results 1 - 10 of about 69,700 for Kerry + "war hero".
Results 1 - 10 of about 101,000 for Bush + AWOL.
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