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Posted on 08/13/2004 4:03:01 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Election 2004: John Kerry was in Cambodia on Christmas Eve in 1968. Or he wasn't. We don't know which is true yet. But voters need to find out before Nov. 2.
The Democratic nominee opened himself to the current scrutiny over his whereabouts in late December 1968 with comments he made in the Senate in 1986.
"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 the Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and 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."
Memory or imagination? According to his superiors and some of his crew, it's the latter. They say he was no closer to Cambodia than Sa Dec, which is 55 miles away in Vietnam.
"All the living commanders in Kerry's chain of command," John O'Neill and Jerome Corsi wrote in "Unfit For Command," "deny that Kerry was ever ordered to Cambodia. They indicate that Kerry would have been seriously disciplined or court-martialed had he gone there. At least three of the five crewmen on Kerry's boat, Bill Zaldonis, Steven Hatch, and Steve Gardner, deny that they or their boat were ever in Cambodia."
Their disputation appears to be backed up by Kerry's own diary, which was published in the Boston Globe.
Kerry's camp must know his 1986 statement in the Senate about being in Cambodia is a lie — either that or he was in Cambodia against the orders of his superiors, which is a serious matter in itself — because it has offered no evidence that backs up his claim.
Instead, it has conducted personal attacks against the Massachusetts senator's critics.
This unfolding affair reminds us of another Kerry war story. When testifying before Congress while playing the role of War Protester John Kerry, he claimed to have committed war crimes in Vietnam. That's quite an admission. But did he or didn't he? It's an important question that demands an honest, straightforward answer.
Recall the fallout three years ago when it was revealed a unit commanded by former Sen. Bob Kerrey was involved in a massacre of civilians in the village of Thanh Phong? Had Kerrey not just left office when the story became news, it would have ruined him politically.
This Kerry is not leaving office but aspiring to the highest office in the world. If he committed war crimes, as he claimed, he needs to be forthcoming to the electorate about them. It will help voters measure the man, to size up his character and judgment.
If he didn't commit war crimes but was merely exaggerating to make a calculated political statement, voters need to know that.
Again, it measures the man and it does not reflect well on him.
With all the doubt surrounding Kerry's Vietnam service, which he has made the foundation of his campaign, it's impossible to have confidence in him. His credibility is a red-hot question mark.
Should the truth ever be known, his chances of being elected in November would probably be headed down the river faster than the Swift boat he commanded in Vietnam.
But even without the truth, there may be enough inconsistencies and unknowns about his war record to sink his campaign ship.
Which shoe? The right or the left?
Probably the left, and it fits like a glove.
Every sailor has a couple of sea stories. What's the problem :-)
LOL
Great stuff.
I guess it was Kerry's woppers about cutting off heads, etc. that got to them.
Unfortunately and even sadly most voters, present company excluded, could care less. Most voters vote without any concern over character and most especially without knowledge of or passion for core values on the real issues that affect our Republic.
Again, present company excluded.
Bookmarking
Bump!
Both the false testimony after his return to the States and his on the record congressional speech were about manipulating foreign policy in the direction favorable to the commies.
What is an "uncredited editorial"? I've never heard that term.
Exactly!
We don't get to tell them on the senate floor and there's at least a little bit of truth to them. :=)
When you are a liar it's hard to remember what you lied about and when you lied about it.
Maybe Kerry should start each interview with "I sh** you not..."
If Kerry didnt have money...he'd be the joke of whatever VA Hospital he was getting his meds from...
His flip-flops.
Which shoe?
His flip-flops.
________
Bump!
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