Posted on 08/22/2004 11:52:19 AM PDT by meatloaf
Can anyone prove or refute this?
"Gen. Giap: Kerry's Group Helped Hanoi Defeat U.S.
The North Vietnamese general in charge of the military campaign that finally drove the U.S. out of South Vietnam in 1975 credited a group led by Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry with helping him achieve victory.
In his 1985 memoir about the war, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap wrote that if it weren't for organizations like Kerry's Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Hanoi would have surrendered to the U.S. - according to Fox News Channel war historian Oliver North. [¶] That's why, he predicted on Tuesday, the Vietnam War issue "is going to blow up in Kerry's face."
"People are going to remember Gen. Giap saying if it weren't for these guys [Kerry's group], we would have lost," North told radio host Sean Hannity. [¶] "The Vietnam Veterans Against the War encouraged people to desert, encouraged people to mutiny - some used what they wrote to justify fragging officers," noted the former Marine lieutenant colonel, who earned two purple hearts in Vietnam.
"John Kerry has blood of American soldiers on his hands," North said."
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What you posted is true. North Vietnamese Army Gen. Giap said exactly that.
I believe it IS true, and Oliver North was one of the first people I had heard, to bring this out, and if you Google it you probably can find some verification of it!
Bump!
I don't believe that Giap mentioned Kerry or his group by name, but it is correct that Giap said something like "those groups," referring to those who made up the Vietnam protest movement.
I've been doing that unsucessfully. We need to look for a copy of the book or have someone contact North for documentation. There is a couple of so-called reviews on the internet that come up refuting the statement.
If true, Kerry will be crucified.
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Have you found that in print? We need an irrefutable source.
Ping this to 68-69 TonkinGulfYachtClub for the lowdown.
Gen. Giap has credited anti-war protestors in the US with encouraging the NVN to continue fighting. I believe that he has mentioned the activities of VVAW and Hanoi Jane with giving them renewed energy to prosecute the war when they were on the verge of capitulating.
In his 1985 memoir about the war, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap wrote that if it weren't for organizations like Kerry's Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Hanoi would have surrendered to the U.S. - according to Fox News Channel war historian Oliver North.
Wow, that's a damning statement. I'd like to read the actual quote to make sure it is what it is. If it is, it could definitely hurt Kerry.
My guess, though, is that Giap wrote something like "we couldn't have won without the American anti-war movement", referring to the movement generally. It's probably North who connected the dots between the particular case of Kerry's organization and Giap's more general statement.
But I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
It would be interesting to know if Kerry's group, VietNam Vets. Against the War, was funded by the Soviets. We now know from Kremlin documents released after the fall of the USSR that the American Communist and Socialist Parties were so financed. Does anyone have any idea who some of the hot-dog American Sovietsky researchers are, who could dig these data out in the next few weeks?
Certainly, if it were documented that Kerry or his group received funding from the Soviets, the case that Kerry is a Big T Traitor--much less a Manchurian Candidate!--would be air-tight.
Gen. Giap Thanks Kerry & Co. for Anti-war Protests
Celebrating the 29th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the North Vietnamese general who led his forces to victory said Friday he was grateful to leaders of the U.S. anti-war movement, one of whom was presidential candidate John Kerry.
"I would like to thank them," said Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, now 93, without mentioning Kerry by name. "Any forces that wish to impose their will on other nations will surely fail," he added.
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