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JANUARY -- NOT CHRISTMAS -- KERRY IN CAMBODIA (More Flip-Flop Spin!)
Drudge Report ^ | 8/12/04 | Matt Drudge

Posted on 08/12/2004 7:13:16 PM PDT by wagglebee

**Exclusive**

TOUR OF DUTY author and John Kerry historian Doug Brinkley is rushing a piece for the NEW YORKER: to set-the-record-straight on Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia tale, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Kerry has turned to author Brinkley for a "modification" after it was exposed that Kerry was not in Cambodia during Christmas of 1968, as he once claimed from the Senate floor.

The Brinkley piece for the NEW YORKER will now say that Kerry was not in Cambodia during Christmas, but rather in January, publishing sources tell DRUDGE.

MORE

Since the early 1970s, Kerry has spoken and written of how he was illegally ordered to enter Cambodia. Kerry mentioned it in the floor of the Senate in 1986 when he charged that President Reagan’s actions in Central America were leading the U.S. in another Vietnam. Here’s what he said as excerpted from the new book, UNFIT FOR COMMAND:

"I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared--seared--in me."

John O’Neil’s, author of UNFIT FOR COMMAND, comments on the “clarification:”

“John Kerry describes Christmas Eve in Cambodia as a critical turning point in his life. We now know that his story is completely false. My question is how many people do you know have invented a turning point, one that is seared in his memory? While it makes sense for John Kerry to come clean about the Cambodia story, it is one of several tales that the Kerry campaign will have to face and clarify.”

“By claiming we were engaged in a war crime and crossing international borders, John Kerry damaged the credibility of all the commanding officers above him and insulted the sailors who served with him,” said John O’Neill, member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.”

Developing...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2004; aidandcomfort; antiamerican; betrayal; bronze; cambodia; christmasincambodia; christmasncambodia; credibilitygap; dougbrinkley; flipflopslop; hanoijohn; hanoikerry; iaintfondajohn; iwasinbietbodia; johnkerry; kerry; kerrylieddotcom; kerrylies; ketchup; ketchupmoney; liar; liarliarliar; lyingliar; makekerrycryhard; military; militaryrecord; newyorker; nixonblaming; purpleheart; scambodia; sedition; skerrykerry; swift; swiftboat; swiftboatvets; swiftvetsdotcom; tang; tellingawhopper; thatstheticket; traitor; treason; unamerican; unfit; unfitforcommand; vet; veteran; veterans; veteransforbush; vets; vietnam; warcrimes; warcriminal; whenever; wintersoldierdotcom
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To: lemura

How can he brag about his exploits and vilify the military at the same time? John Fn Kerry should know you can't have it both ways.


221 posted on 08/12/2004 8:37:37 PM PDT by austingirl
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To: TASMANIANRED

Very funny!


222 posted on 08/12/2004 8:38:34 PM PDT by austingirl
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To: TomGuy

It was NEITHER December 1968 nor January 1969. Nixon didn't order any troops into Cambodia until April 30, 1970. OVER a year later.


223 posted on 08/12/2004 8:38:44 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
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To: rocklobster11
My guess is that they must have some proof of a mission in January, or David Brinkly couldn't come out with a revision based on Kerry's journals.

O'Neill wants to see Kerry's journals in the worst way. More than likely, they would prove that he was delusional. There could be no other source for Brinkley's assertion than Kerry and perhaps his journals. I wonder if the crew would go along with such BS stories. At the risk of repeating myself, anyone tasking Kerry would have to go through his superiors. Moreover, it would have to be more than one boat and a PCF would not be the vehicle of choice.

The bombing of Cambodia started on March 9, 1969, so it makes sense that there might have been some secret intelligence gathering missions into Cambodia prior to that.

Any operation of that magnitude would have to involve ADM Hoffmann and LCDR Elliott. If they said it didn't happen in terms of ferrying operatives into Cambodia using PCFs, are we to draw the conclusion that Kerry was dealing directly with the CIA, et. al. This scenario is worthy of Secret Squirrel or a Peter Seller's movie.

On the other hand, if they do prove the Cambodia story, it will be used by the Kerry side to bash the SwiftVets for Truth guys into the ground.

Unfit for Command mentions the XMAS in Cambodia story and Kerry's testimony on the Senate floor saying it was seared into his memory. Now Kerry/Brinkley are moving the goal posts and fabricating another story. It will be up to them to prove it and not the SBVFT to disprove. Brinkley has a vested interest in trying to protect his reputation as a serious historian. I am hard pressed to figure out how they are going to prove it aside from Kerry's journals and his Stepford Band of Brothers.

224 posted on 08/12/2004 8:39:22 PM PDT by kabar
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To: texasbluebell
Ah yes, the photo of Alston and Kerry and several other guys on the boat.

There was quite a bit of discussion yesterday on another thread about that very photo.

It seems the case can be made quite believably that the photo was tampered with...

The shadows are all wrong on it, and as one poster described it: "There were 2 suns in the sky that day!"


Hadn't heard that. Interesting theory. Sounds like a bit of a stretch, but it should be easily proven if the picture is a fake.
225 posted on 08/12/2004 8:40:19 PM PDT by AaronInCarolina
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To: bagman

You are absolutely right. CD 11 was at Phu Quoc (An Thoi is on that island) (Been there). CD 13 was at Cat Lo (Vung Tau - Also been there). CD 14 was at Cam Rahn Bay (never got there).
When he was transferd to CD13 from CD11 he actually was sent to Cat Lo, not Cam Rahn Bay. I actually take it as a typo.
What I do not understand is that his "citations" read, While serving as a member of Coast Division ELEVEN, blah blah blah. Yet I see nothing indicating that he was reassigned to CD11. (Apparently they wanted to get rid of him). I remember reading he protested the transfer because he didn't want to sail against the monsoon seas. This was on Dec 13. Problem is that the monsoon season down south is August. December is the 4th driest month of the year, drier than June in Mass.


226 posted on 08/12/2004 8:41:05 PM PDT by ProudVet77 (So many questions for Kerry - so few answers from Kerry)
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To: AaronInCarolina; claudiustg

The link to the thread discussing that photo with Alston has been posted in #199.


227 posted on 08/12/2004 8:41:41 PM PDT by texasbluebell
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To: TASMANIANRED
Don't forget his exploits with the Brits during the Falkland Islands War when those nasty Argentinians declared war on the Brits!
228 posted on 08/12/2004 8:42:28 PM PDT by Tarheel (The Tarheel--N.C. First in Flight)
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To: NonValueAdded; PJ-Comix
How about Apocalypse Then and Now? (In keeping with his little trick of trying to cover all bases.)
229 posted on 08/12/2004 8:45:52 PM PDT by texasbluebell
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To: AaronInCarolina
I think you're pursuing a wild goose with this one. There are several pictures that exist with Alston standing behind Kerry on his boat. The only way you're theory would pan out is if Alston was just a visitor on Kerry's boat.

Alston could have served some time on Kerry's PCF-44. If Alston was wounded in the head on January 29 as a member of the PCF-94 crew under Peck, and evacuated for treatment, he would have a very short timeframe to be part of Kerry's crew on the 94. Kerry left the PCF-94 effectively on March 17. Someone needs to find out when these varioius Band of Brother's served with Kerry. Most served with him less than two months.

230 posted on 08/12/2004 8:45:55 PM PDT by kabar
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To: kabar

Where are the "crew" that were in Boston???


231 posted on 08/12/2004 8:46:19 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (Thank You Troops : Present, Past and Future)
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To: Wolverine

And as my first act of office, I am sending
Kerry's Swift Boat to this spot in Cambodia.

232 posted on 08/12/2004 8:47:13 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
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To: wagglebee

Bet he got "covert Purple Hearts" too!


233 posted on 08/12/2004 8:48:20 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (Thank You Troops : Present, Past and Future)
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To: ProudVet77

According to Kerry's fitness reports, he was transferred to Coastal Division Eleven on December 14.


234 posted on 08/12/2004 8:49:46 PM PDT by kabar
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To: JustaCowgirl
Keep us posted on your project. But it seems to me that if you have to hire this Brinkly guy to do the 10th re-write of your story, it is prima facie evidence that you are lying. There is precious little wiggle room here to begin with. He said he was in Cambodia, on Christmas Eve (1968), sent there by Dick Nixon. This is seared-seared in him. He can try to claim that his recollections may have been a little foggy, but in '86, he had metaphysical certitude of the claimed events.
235 posted on 08/12/2004 8:49:51 PM PDT by fhayek
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To: AaronInCarolina

Take a look at the later posts on that thread, the one linked in post 199 on this thread.

There's a lot of interesting discussion about the shadows.


236 posted on 08/12/2004 8:50:20 PM PDT by texasbluebell
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To: PJ-Comix

HAR HAR


237 posted on 08/12/2004 8:51:35 PM PDT by Wolverine (A Concerned Citizen)
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To: wagglebee

While visions of sugar plums danced in his head.


238 posted on 08/12/2004 8:52:09 PM PDT by GailA ( hanoi john, I'm for the death penalty for terrorist, before I impose a moratorium on it.)
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

---Where are the "crew" that were in Boston???---

Where indeed! We need to depose these people.


239 posted on 08/12/2004 8:52:18 PM PDT by claudiustg (Go Sharon! Go Bush!)
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

Kerry served on two boats, so there are two crews. Kerry's Band of Brother was with him in Boston, but in addition to crew members (minus Gardner and maybe others), there were people like Rassman and Hurley (an old VVAW guy).


240 posted on 08/12/2004 8:53:53 PM PDT by kabar
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