Posted on 08/27/2004 7:16:03 PM PDT by ambrose
Kerry under fire again: War record faces new assaults
By David R. Guarino
Read Guarino's Road to 1600 Blog
Saturday, August 28, 2004
NEW YORK - Vietnam-era controversies continue to dog John Kerry [related, bio] and define the combustible race for president, helping give President Bush [related, bio] a new head of steam as his renominating convention opens here Monday.
The ragtag Swift Boat Veterans for Truth launched another new Internet ad yesterday, piling new criticism on Kerry - even as Democrats began to hope the three-week dust-up was fading from the headlines.
And a retired admiral came forward, alleging Kerry's first Purple Heart was a self-inflicted wound - and therefore undeserved.
Even Bush couldn't slow the firestorm by saying he believes Kerry.
``I think Sen. Kerry should be proud of his record,'' Bush told the New York Times. ``No, I don't think he lied (about his service record).''
The president's team has been fighting to distance itself from the veterans who knocked Kerry off stride since his convention last month.
Yesterday, Republicans gathering in Manhattan said they hope the issue fades, worried it might undercut Bush's convention.
Still, the anti-Kerry vets seem bound to carry their campaign through the RNC - releasing a new low-budget ad that questions Kerry's assertion that he was on patrol in Cambodia on Christmas Eve 1968.
``John Kerry claims that he spent Christmas in 1968 in Cambodia and that is categorically a lie,'' Stephen Gardner, who served under Kerry, says in the ad.
``We were never in Cambodia on a secret mission, ever.''
Kerry wrote in a letter to the Herald in 1979 that he was five miles across the border in Cambodia at a time when the U.S. denied there was any military presence in the country.
It followed comments by retired Rear Adm. William Schachte Jr., who told conservative columnist Robert Novak he was ``astonished'' to hear Kerry's version of the firefight on Dec. 2, 1968, when Schachte commanded Kerry on a skimmer boat.
Schachte said Kerry wasn't wounded by hostile fire, but ``nicked'' himself with a grenade launcher and ``requested a Purple Heart.'' But helping Kerry were new comments from a swift boat crewman decorated in the 1969 Vietnam incident where Kerry won a Bronze Star.Robert E. Lambert said not only did both men come under enemy fire, but also that his own boat commander, who has challenged the official account, was too distracted to notice the gunfire.
John O'Neill has reported that on no less than 50 occasions, Kerry made claims that he was in Cambodia.
Seems like Kerry's story about his visit to Cambodia varies slightly each time he tells it...
bump TO SUPPORT THE NEW SWIFT VETS AD AND GEORGE BUSH... http://swift2.he.net/~swift2/gardner2.mpg
Man, this guy just can't keep himself from writing all his lies down.
It's probably a good thing that he didn't go to any Intelligence Meetings. They would have made it into his diary.
> ... even as Democrats began to hope the three-week
> dust-up was fading from the headlines.
By the way, listening to a seminar caller on a talk radio
show today, I caught wind of an emerging DNC talking point:
that somehow the fact that the SBVFT formed before the
DNC convention proves that there was some GOP conspiracy
to attack Kerry on Vietnam before he made it the
cornerstone of his campaign.
So, to keep it straight, there are two separate
phenomena here:
1. The SBVFT action was triggered by the publication of
"Tour of Duty", well before the convention. They would
have pressed the attack even if Kerry had focused his
campaign elsewhere.
2. The national debate by everyone else was triggered by
the DNC convention theme. We voters would probably be
poking into the odorous archives of Kerry's legacy even
without the SBVFTs.
Kerry can clear all this up by signing the SF-180,
and explaining all the inconsistencies between the
records, his public statements and his public statements :-)
Kerry's supporters are clutching at straws.
" Kerry wrote in a letter to the Herald in 1979 that he was five miles across the border in Cambodia at a time when the U.S. denied there was any military presence in the country. "
More journalistic laziness/ incompetence/ Kerry cover up.
They acknowledge they recieved the letter from Kerry and we assume printed it ,but, they they refuse to share it with the masses.
Do you think anyone at the DNC has yet realized that they have a major problem with their nutcase of a candidate ?
How does one crazy person identify another crazy person? They've all got to be nuts!
But what about the rest of the guys? O'Dell was in the gun tub and busy looking out for any kind of enemy activity. He didn't notice any.
"``I think Sen. Kerry should be proud of his record,'' Bush told the New York Times. ``No, I don't think he lied (about his service record).''
First off ......it must really really irritate the dems that Dubbya doesn't offer himslf as an easy target by saying directly "Kerry lied"
Second...of course "Kerry should be proud of his record" as a treasonous rat he is up there as No.1.
Third....Since Kerry has't signed his 180 release documents we don't know to what extent he lied about his service records.
Game set and match to Dubbya again.
Kerry wrote in a letter to the Herald in 1979 that he was five miles across the border in Cambodia at a time when the U.S. denied there was any military presence in the country. "
Kerry wouldn't know 5 miles from 5 minutes.
I am very glad that Kerry doesn't mark the trail for my 50 mile endurance events. God only knows how far we would be riding using his measurements.
I thought the vets were going to stop during the convention and resume afterwards. I do hope Bush is able to get out his second term agenda because he has waited so long to do so and if he gets overshadowed he might not ever get it out. People want a reason to vote for him for four more years.
While I support the swiftees, I hope Bush doesn't get overshadowed.
It was a mistake, Kerry meant to say he was in Wisconsin
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.