Posted on 08/21/2004 9:52:35 AM PDT by Reagan Man
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - An American journalist who commanded a boat alongside John Kerry in Vietnam broke a 35-year silence on Saturday and defended the Democratic presidential candidate against Republican critics of his military service.
Weighing in on what has become the most bitterly divisive issue of the 2004 campaign for the White House, William Rood of the Chicago Tribune said the tales told by Kerry's detractors are untrue.
"There were three swift boats on the river that day in Vietnam more than 35 years ago -- three officers and 15 crew members. Only two of those officers remain to talk about what happened on February 28, 1969," he wrote in a story that appeared on the newspaper's Web site on Saturday.
"One is John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate who won a Silver Star for what happened on that date. I am the other."
Before now, wanting to put memories of war and killing behind him, Rood had refused all requests for interviews on the subject, including from his own newspaper. "But Kerry's critics, armed with stories I know to be untrue, have charged that the accounts of what happened were overblown." he wrote.
"The critics have taken pains to say they're not trying to cast doubts on the merit of what others did, but their version of events has splashed doubt on all of us.
"It's gotten harder and harder for those of us who were there to listen to accounts we know to be untrue, especially when they come from people who were not there," he added.
Kerry, a former Navy lieutenant, is a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, and his war service is essential to his ability to challenge President Bush on issues of national security and leadership in the face of the Iraq war and terrorism threats.
Increasingly, veterans opposed to Kerry and allied with Bush -- led by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- have tried to undermine Kerry's service record and credibility and the justification for his medals.
In the face of a new CBS poll showing Kerry's support among veterans has slipped since the Democratic convention, the Massachusetts senator has launched an aggressive counterattack.
On Friday, Kerry accused the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of collaborating with the Bush campaign and asked the Federal Election Commission to force the group to withdraw ads challenging his Vietnam service.
Bush spent the war in the United States serving in the Texas Air National Guard. Some Democrats have accused Bush of going absent without leave from the guard, citing gaps in his attendance record.
The pretentious title, "Journalist", says it all.
I don't know, nor have I read, any journalists from a mainstream rag that does NOT support Kerry, no matter what.
By my reckoning, this "Journalist" is about as trustworthy as Kambodia Kerry.
Oh darn! A "journalist" working for the Chicago Tribune. Well that settles it.
I thought that only the people who served under Kerry were credible.
Can this guy vouch for Kerry being in Cambodia on Christmas?
Yep. More pro-Kerry spin. He doesn't offer anything that really helps the media's Golden Boy. TM And why wait 35 years to speak up? Rood and the rest of the mainstream media flunkies must think we're stupid and that we can't see what they're up to.
He didn't come out during any of Kerry's other campaigns or any time else during this campaign or during the first three weeks of the swifties but now he comes out then goes back into hiding with no interviews?
How could we have ever doubted Kerry
William Rood
WRood@tribune.com
His handlers:
George de Lama
gdelama@tribune.com
Tim Jones
TXJones@tribune.com
His being a jounalist makes me think that he is a liar.
The Great Oz Has Spoken!
* * * * *
Cooks in kitchens must be able to take heat. Either you are in the kitchen or not, Mr. Rood.
Notice how all critics are bunched into 'Republican' critics.
No interviews allowed. I wonder why. If Kerry was so darned wronged and Rood wants to set the record straight, he should welcome interviews til people get sick and tired of hearing from him. Instead, he issues a hit and run statement and ducks back in for cover. It doesn't pass the "smell test."
Yeah - and they overlook the fact most of Kerry's veteran critics are Democrats and independents. But blame it on those eevil Republicans. That's a straw man argument that by golly seems to work every time.
Yeah what the heck is this journalist afraid of? It can't be the truth. <sarcasm
Swift boat skipper: Kerry critics wrong <-- Link
Chicago Tribune Editor and Former Swift Boat Commander Breaks Silence <-- Link
Rood's facts contradict the SBVT and Kerry. How many boats were on the water that day?
One of the creepiest people that I've ever met calls himself a "journalist". I'm not impressed.
I can smell a guy fishing for a post in the White House.
You are right. Rood's is not the truth. No cross-examination -- no truth.
E-mail the staff of the Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/site/chi-newspaperemail.htmlstory
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