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...
You warm this accountant's heart, Cowgirl.
You're right, and of course there were.
I believe, BTW, most of the "bombing" was in NE Cambodia where a leg of the HCM Trail was.
Douglas Brinkley better have documents to back up this new story.
I can't explain the lighting. Kerry and the man next to him have the same nose shadows and appear to be from the same negative. The guy in the middle has a different nose shadow even though his head seems to be at the same horizontal angle to the camera as Kerry's head. The other two have shadows more or less consistent with the middle guy and the three look to be from the same negative.
I couldn't say its a fake, but I can't explain the lighting either.
Probably because it was mundane, not exciting. His records show that he did drop offs for Seals.
Hey, it's no surprise, what was Rassman doing on the boat?
but we'll see. Maybe Kerry's got a story...
It was another year and half later until Nixon said the words seared into Kerry's memory.
NIXON PRESS CONFERENCE, November 1971
PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON
Now let's look at Cambodia. We've made a conscious decision not to send American troops in. There are no American combat troops in Cambodia. There are no American combat advisers in Cambodia. There will be no American combat troops or advisers in Cambodia. We will aid Cambodia. Cambodia is the Nixon doctrine in its purest form. Vietnam was in violation of the Nixon doctrine because in Cambodia what we are doing is helping the Cambodians to help themselves.
I can sort of sympathize with the guy. I have this searing memory of being in Syria one time (or was it the Golan Heights?), anyway there were people from three different countries shooting at me, but I just can't remember what month it was. I think it was April '84. No that was the month I got my teeth cleaned. Maybe it was May. See what I mean? When you go back that far all those things just kind of run together.
I love it! "the tale of a magic ship..."
We know that Kerry ferried Green Beret Rassman to some missions, so it's possible that he ferried CIA operatives as well. It's also possible that one of those agents was on his way to Cambodia, and that Kerry ferried him some of the way on that mission. It's also possible that Kerry made the whole thing up.
Unfit for Command mentions the XMAS in Cambodia story and Kerry's testimony on the Senate floor saying it was seared into his memory.
The only thing that matters is whether the story is true or not. Nobody will care if it turns out to be January instead of December. The good thing is that it may require Kerry/Brinkly to release some of Kerry's journals to resolve the issue, and if they do they will probably have to release all of them.
He better not be lying about Navy SEALS.
They have no sense of humor about phonies. If they went over the border in a PCF they will have the records. Someone will check on it for sure. Kerry doesn't want a blast from the SEAL Team members for Truth.
FWIW - IF I were going to insert SEALs or GB for recon of the Ho Chi Minh trail, I'd drop them in by para, and extract by chopper. A PCF sounds like a tractor trailor on the highway. No stealth there.
True .. But Kerry kept a very detailed journal
Zelig has struck again.
Someone on that thread mentioned that he thought the 2 figures on the left, one of which was Alston, had been doctored into the photo, due to the sharp shadows to the right of each of them, because those sharp shadows didn't make any sense as the photo now stands.
I can't explain it either, it's just a bit off.
You warm this accountant's heart, Cowgirl.
LOL, that so-and-so had better watch his footwork, 'cause Cowgirl's got him covered!
Looks like he's going to use Kerry's journal. Evidently the CIA hat story and everything is in that journal but Brinkley simply did not use it before.
~cough~
It's not that way. Journalists all swear to each other's "objectivity" because they're afraid to pick a fight with the rest of the journalists. And liberal politiicans herd right along with the gutless journalists. No money changes hands, it's just that everyone gets along and goes along.It practically takes Ronald Wilson Reagan to make things real. GWB has his hands full.
We don't need the BS Meter graphic for Kerry at this point. We need a Laugh Meter Graphic!
But it's supposed to pertain to the "seared" into his brain story...that's what they're saying now...not "mundane" to Kerry. And the magic hat that he takes with him everywhere...not "mundane" to Kerry.
We'll see, but it took Brinkley a few days to appear on the scene to "clear up the confusion".
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