Posted on 08/11/2004 12:02:30 PM PDT by Brian Mosely
KERRY/CAMBODIA UPDATE: I promised a while back to see if I could get a look at the Boston Herald story -- where Kerry says he remembers spending Christmas, 1968 in Cambodia and hearing President Nixon deny that troops were there -- in original form. The quote's genuine, and here's an image. Sorry it's a bit hard to read: it's a scan of a fax of a photocopy of a microfilm, sent to me by a helpful reader who works at the Herald.
But what's really interesting is the context -- see the full scan here -- which is all about Kerry's Vietnam experiences as they relate to Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Unlike Al Gore and Love Story, Kerry doesn't claim that the movie is about him -- but he sure draws parallels. In fact, the passage that everyone has been quoting actually reads like this, when you include the prior sentence that people haven't been including:
On more than one occasion, I, like Martin Sheen in "Apocalypse Now," took my patrol boat into Cambodia
In fact, I remember spending Christmas Day of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese Allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real. But nowhere in "Apocalypse Now" did I sense that kind of absurdity.
So Kerry's Vietnam experience was like Apocalypse Now, only it was more so.
How much this adds to the debate isn't clear to me -- but in case anyone was doubting the provenance of this particular quotation, well, I'm satisfied now that its authenticity, if not its veracity, is pretty clear.
Presumably, some big-time journalists are even now interviewing people and combing the records to see if this version of Kerry's 1968 Christmas was correct. (For other, inconsistent, versions, click here.) And for those -- apparently unclear on my age and suspecting me of draft-dodging -- who want to know where I was spending my Christmas in 1968, it was in Heidelberg, Germany. I got a train, and an SST model kit.
Which is suspiciously similar to what he did to his fellow soldiers in his Winter Soldier testimony before congress.
The line says killed those like............It could be argued that the wiggle room there states that who was killed were farmers like Viera and Romera. I would think that if that's the case that the author would come up with a few specific names, but I'm still waiting for 100,000 killed in mass graves in Bosnia and 100,000 additional cops where the Buffalo roam.
He lied in order to destroy papers detailing POW/MIA in 1993.
Nixon was the leader of the "secret government". In fact, when Kennedy ordered the troops into Vietnam, it was Nixon who actually did the ordering. Nixon managed to forge JFK's signature and sneak the order onto the oval office desk while JFK and Marilyn Monroe were underneath it. When JFK found out about it, Nixon had him killed and replaced with his lackey LBJ, who escalated the war at Nixon's direction.
I got into several arguments with editors over that. Careful parsing does not support the overall implication that Reagan was behind the murders but the impression was there.
Unfortunately, AlGore almost got elected, in spite of his rantings.
You may commence soldier.
But I used to translate Japanese technical manuals into english for a living. I am quite aware that our expected meaning of a phrase, particularly after it's been translated(changed) into english can mean something entirely different. The task from my employer was to clear up such numerous literary situations. Many of the things if translated literally could get an American firm sued by the resulting translation for false claims.
I would have to add stuff like may include, or possible causes, etc.... I remember a version of troubleshooting instructions which translated as "Rotate the Rotating Mechanism". I of course changed it to "Turn the Machine On"
It's very difficult to literally translate Arabic or Farsi. Anyone translating an Arabic text to english will not keep it's original meaning. It's especially true in a society where you must say one thing which may be needed for posturing purposes, but could be really saying something entirely different to a person not versed or even from the region.
We need one comprehensive thread for all the Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia stories/links/quotes.
These are several comprehensive threads on Kerry topics:
John Kerry's Flip Flops (extensive documentation)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1119904/posts
John Kerry's leadership - FOUR bills passed in 19 years. (4 resolutions as well)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1182739/posts
What Kerry Said and What You Need to Know ("MUST READ")
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1182752/posts
Policy Memo: Progress on Homeland Security (Most of Kerry's proposals already done...)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1183603/posts
Instapundit Has Pictures of Exact Page, Citation and Context of Kerry's Speech about Cambodia
[Comprehensive Thread for Various Versions of Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia Stories.]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1189622/posts
What I had failed to consider was that asking one person for absolute answers to something was not possible in Japanese Industrial Culture. It was considered irrational to ask just one person for company decisions. His "Yes" merely meant "Yes I heard you".
Now think of that in terms of "Admiral, shall I push this launch button?"
We know nothing of the Arab and Asian cultures we are presently kicking sand around. Not that understanding them would improve one's soul, but it helps when you're crawling thru their streets. The education system of America really needs to bone up on geography, world history, and world cultures. When I say that I don't mean in PC terms. I mean all the history of such places. The good, bad, and ugly.
This Cambodia story has more to it than I remembered. I had forgotten about this ridiculous Apocalypse Now remark of Stupid's.
Prairie
I e-mailed Teh Note people and got a reply that they are working on this.
Somehow I doubt it.
His finger? (Well, he's always pointing it; he must like something about it.)
Per this blog http://www.pdawwg.com/blog/ .
As of Aug 11th, Google only returned 71 articles on a search for "Kerry Cambodia".
I just got 98,900...
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