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Washington Post Begins "Brown Book" Attacks on Swift Boat Vets
www.crushkerry.com ^ | 8/19/04 | www.crushkerry.com

Posted on 08/19/2004 5:26:39 AM PDT by crushkerry

Last week, Crushkerry.com broke a major story about the Democrat National Committee’s distribution of so-called “Brown Books,” unofficial hatchet-job biographies about the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

According to a source at the DNC, the “Brown Books” contain damaging military records, medical and psychiatric records, credit records, divorce records and more. You know … all the things we’re entitled to know about John Kerry, but he won’t tell us.

In our story we predicted a campaign of character assassination would commence at around the same time the book Unfit for Command would be released in an orchestrated attempt to discredit its authors. Well, the book debuts this week. And wouldn’t you know it … the Washington Post has a story about one of the Swiftee’s that is … um … less than flattering:

In newspaper interviews and a best-selling book, Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Navy Swift boat alongside Kerry in Vietnam, has strongly disputed Kerry's claim that the Massachusetts Democrat's boat came under fire during a mission in Viet Cong-controlled territory on March 13, 1969. Kerry won a Bronze Star for his actions that day.

But Thurlow's military records, portions of which were released yesterday to The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act, contain several references to "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed at "all units" of the five-boat flotilla. Thurlow won his own Bronze Star that day, and the citation praises him for providing assistance to a damaged Swift boat "despite enemy bullets flying about him."

We spoke to two campaign opposition research experts who explained how this works. One campaign will often compile a research package on the opponent and share it – or portions of it – with the press. Once learning what to look for, the press will then file their own Freedom of Information Act request for specific documents, even though they already know what they’re looking for and already have the supporting documentation. They file the request for cosmetic reasons. One “oppo research” guy assured us there is almost no way the Washington Post would have received such a prompt response to their FOIA request unless they already had the damaging information and knew exactly what to request.

So it is reasonable to assume the Washington Post had already been tipped off about Thurlow’s after-action report regarding the incident for which he received a Bronze Star. Tipped off, it is even more reasonable to assume, by the Democrat National Committee and its “Brown Book.” Worse still, one opposition research expert told us it is common to use a “slow drip” technique to discredit your opponent over a long period of time. So we should expect more of this from the Post and other pro-Kerry media venues.

We hope the Washington Post is proud of themselves. In this one story they have already demonstrated more interest and scrutiny in Larry Thurlow’s military records than in John Kerry’s. Oh, yeah … and John Kerry is the candidate for President of the United States.

We wonder if the Post has made the same requests for all the Kerry military records. As to the substance of this story, a few questions remain. First, were the details that made up the information in the citation culled from an "after-action" report? And if so, who wrote it? Thurlow claims that some of that info may have come from Kerry. The book does make allegations that Kerry wasn't exactly truthful in such reports. Hell, he's even contradicted his own diary. Thurlow to his credit now says that he would consider the award "fraudulent" if it was given for being under fire, rather than for for going towards a mined boat. The Swift Boat Vets should now ensure that they all have released their own military records, just to show they, unlike Kerry, are not hiding anything.

Further, notice how in the story they refer to Thurlow as a "registered Republican" and an "oil industry worker from Texas". All very important stuff right? Don't you think that appearing in the commercial and being involved in the group is enough to show he's against Kerry?

For shame.


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: brownbooks; kerry; mediabias; michaeldobbs; swiftboatveterans; thurlow; unfitforcommand; wp
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To: crushkerry; Chieftain; Interesting Times; Defender2; PhilDragoo; ntnychik; potlatch; MeekOneGOP; ...


 REPORTING  FOR   BOOTY 

 MISSION  IMPOSSIBLE 

 P   O   W 


41 posted on 08/19/2004 9:04:44 AM PDT by devolve ( -- Kerry & POW*s families - http://www.angelfire.com/film/macny/POW.html -)
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To: dwilli
Doesn't Thurlow have a creditability problem?

No, to the contrary, the facts in the article (if you take the time to read past the headline) support everything the SwiftVets have said - that Kerry falsified the original reports.

42 posted on 08/19/2004 9:31:05 AM PDT by Steven W.
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To: crushkerry

good post!


43 posted on 08/19/2004 9:31:50 AM PDT by Steven W.
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To: crushkerry
Question for the WP: Who wrote the citations?
44 posted on 08/19/2004 9:32:41 AM PDT by mewzilla
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To: MJY1288

CNN picked it up, too - standard operating procedure.


45 posted on 08/19/2004 9:33:35 AM PDT by Steven W.
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To: Steven W.

Oh yeah, the usual suspects. They are on cue Clymers, all.


46 posted on 08/19/2004 9:37:40 AM PDT by Luke21 (Christ is wonderful)
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To: devolve; crushkerry

My thanks to Traumer, Arrowhead1952 and Conspiracy Guy for the concept of the above pic


47 posted on 08/19/2004 10:07:37 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP (There is only one GOOD 'RAT: one that has been voted OUT of POWER !! Straight ticket GOP!)
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To: leadpenny

Simple and to the point. I took balls for these guys to attack Kerry. They should be ready for everything that will be thrown at them.


48 posted on 08/19/2004 10:09:23 AM PDT by gathersnomoss
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To: crushkerry

Warren Buffet is a Director for the Post and is on Kerry's Financial team. It doesn't surprise me that the Post will try anything.


49 posted on 08/19/2004 11:22:21 AM PDT by tobyhill (The war on terrorism is not for the weak!)
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To: crushkerry

bump


50 posted on 08/19/2004 1:22:27 PM PDT by GOPJ
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To: crushkerry

bttt The WaPo is the press arm of John and Tereza inc.


51 posted on 08/19/2004 6:49:54 PM PDT by spycatcher
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To: devolve

The airplane one looks great devolve, perfect allignment into the explosion!!


52 posted on 08/19/2004 7:26:21 PM PDT by potlatch (Sometimes I think I understand everything, then I regain consciousness.)
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Comment #53 Removed by Moderator

To: wolf24
I stand corrected: The Bush campaign isn't doing the tarnishing, it's a separate group (the Bush campaign has said nothing more than that Kerry served honorably). Kerry, of course, indignantly claims the swiftvet folks are working for the Bush campaign (direct contact would be a violation of campaign laws actually).

And if Kerry's record is indeed questionable, 'tarnish' is indeed not the right word!

54 posted on 08/19/2004 8:10:41 PM PDT by megatherium
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To: megatherium
We better hope the Kerry people don't have an ace up their sleeve -- what I'm afraid of is they'll conjure up "proof" that Bush lied about his service in the National Guard.

This has been investigated and reinvestigated EVERY time Bush has run for ANYTHING for years now and there is no ACE to be found. Period.

Kerry's lying about his record is another story.

55 posted on 08/19/2004 8:15:43 PM PDT by Jorge
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To: Bob J

The media is the propaganda arm of the enemy within.


56 posted on 08/19/2004 8:16:29 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY ((((Wake Up, America!))))
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To: Free ThinkerNY; Bob J; wolf24; megatherium; devolve; crushkerry; leadpenny

I heard a report by Thurlow that he was not aware that he had received the Bronze Star until three months after leaving the Navy and was teaching school. Thurlow said he thought that the metal was for his action of jumping in the boat that had hit a mine and giving aid to the boat's crew and keeping the boat afloat.

Thurlow repeated his claim that there was no enemy fire and that if the Bronze Star was awarded solely because there was a report of enemy fire, persumably by Kerry, then the Bronze Star is bogus and he will return it.

Thurlow prepared no after action report, he said Kerry did, even though Kerry had bugged off when the mine exploded. Thurlow said Kerry was always eager to prepare after action reports that others found a drudgery.


57 posted on 08/19/2004 8:31:15 PM PDT by AndyMeyers
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Comment #58 Removed by Moderator

To: devolve

#41 Outstanding!!


59 posted on 08/19/2004 9:12:29 PM PDT by Boazo (LOSE THE TAG LINE)
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To: leadpenny

All Freepers check out the new swift boat ad.
If this doesn't move you, I'm questioning your patriotism.
http://humaneventsonline.com.edgesuite.net/unfit_video2.html


60 posted on 08/20/2004 8:32:42 AM PDT by votelife (Calling abortion a women's issue is like calling war a men's issue!)
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