The Vietnamese communists are just trying to repay their debt to comrade Kerry.
Of course, ABC and Koppel don't have that excuse.
Posted on 10/14/2004 1:55:15 PM PDT by areafiftyone
The Swift Boat Controversy: New Witnesses
October 14, 2004
John Kerry's service in Vietnam has become a campaign issue. The group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth alleges that Kerry has distorted the truth about what happened during the war and questions whether he deserved the medals he received. Tonight, you'll hear from eyewitnesses who have not spoken before: the Vietnamese who fought against him.
We've had the debates and the race is a virtual dead-heat. This is the part of a campaign when there are daily fires--issues that rise, flare, and then go away, only to be replaced by a new one the next day. But for a while, this campaign was dominated by Vietnam, a war that ended, at least the fighting, thirty years ago. John Kerry made his service in Vietnam a major part of his campaign. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth fired back. They have alleged that Kerry was not truthful about his actions in Vietnam. Then questions were raised about the group's connections to people linked to the GOP. And so the story just kept spiraling in different directions. But the polls clearly showed that Kerry was hurt by allegations that he was not candid about his actions in Vietnam.
Which brings us to an old expression: the fog of war. People, in general, are not always great eyewitnesses. Memories fade, especially as the years go by. Two people standing next to each other may have very different recollections of something that happened right in front of them. But in the whole Swift Boat controversy, there is one group that hasn't been heard from at length: the Vietnamese. Producer Andrew Morse went to Vietnam, to the coordinates taken from the U.S. military after-action report from Kerry's battle for which he won the Silver Star. And there Andrew found several people who had either witnessed the events of that day, or in some cases, had actually fought against the swift boats. And it is their accounts that you will hear tonight. Do their accounts favor one version or the other? Can these questions be definitively settled? You'll have to judge. One of the surprising stories we were told? One of the Vietnamese men in the area says he was visited by a man claiming to be a swift boat veteran and a cameraman. He says the veteran was disparaging towards Kerry's conduct in the war, and asked him in an interview about the events of that day. We do not know who that man is, or whatever happened to that tape.
Ted will be anchoring tonight, and he will be joined by John O'Neill, a leader of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the author of Unfit for Command, a book critical of Kerry. I hope you'll join us.
Leroy Sievers and the Nightline Staff,br> Washington D.C.
He is usually much more eloquent and focused.
I really wish he would have clearly pointed out that the Communist government of Vietnam (who arranged the boat, welcomed Nightline into the country, and trotted out the "witnesses") has a clearly vested interest in a Kerry win.
He hinted at it, but never really nailed the point. He was too defensive and repetitive.
Again, I'm just talking about tonight's show. He is usually so much more collected and confident in the truthfullness of his assertions.
He still rocks, he just had an off night.
The Vietnamese communists are just trying to repay their debt to comrade Kerry.
Of course, ABC and Koppel don't have that excuse.
Yes sir, or ma'am.
"Chill."
Excuse me??
Debating is one thing getting called a vulgar name and questioning my sexuality is NOT debating or commentary.
Mr. Koppel said tonight that his job was to get the story straight. His definition of that was to take the word of two peasants in a controlled society with a communist government over several veterans including Mr. O'neil AND Mr. Kerry's own version of events.
THIS is getting the story straight? Please don't insult our intelligence.
The real story is that Mr. Kerry enhanced his injuries to get medals and an early out.
He testified that HE and his fellow sailors and soldiers committed war crimes.
He met with the enemy counter to the official negotiations being conducted by our government.
His actions gave support and comfort to our country a violation of the 14th amendment and treason my most definitions.
He had to petition Carter to get his discharge changed to honorable.
This is the man who would be our commander-in-chief and that seems to be just fine with ABC news.
Thank God for John O'Neil! They tried to sandbag him and he shoved it right up their butts! They never even bothered to check Kerry's 2 approved biographies to see they matched O'Neil's account. Totally outrageous! They take the word of unveted Vietnamese in the presence of a political minder over three published accounts by Americans! What a total outrage!
Tell Nightline what you think of them by emailing them here: niteline@abc.com
"country" should say "enemy"
Guys, please?
ABC = CBS. Neither will interview sources who will dispute or cast any doubt on the conclusions that they intend to reach when they set out to do a hit-piece on Republicans or a fluff piece for the Democrats. It's the same as it's always been.
This was a set up from begininning to end. Koppel was trying to deliver the coup de grace to the Swiftees right before the election. He failed because he underestimated John O'Neill.
Exactly what I was thinking. I'm in California, so I haven't even seen it yet, but this one sounds like it could be one of those blowback kinda deals for the MSM. First the Halperin memo, now a VC rebuttal of American Veterans?
May this hatchet job live in infamy.
not tho mention that we (or Teddy for that matter) don't know if these were even the original villagers. But hey if you can't trust the Vietnamese Commies who can you trust???
my email
Ted and friends,
So people in a Communist country are free to speak their minds and are reliable witnesses, and Kerry's official biography and the Boston Globe biography aren't?
May I sell you a slightly used bridge in Brooklyn?
Nice hit job on O'Neill and the SwiftVets!
Just change your name to Dan Rather, call your show 60 Minutes III and go with some forged memos next time. It'll be more believable than the crap you shovelled tonight.
Of course, my gut tells me, "What villagers? What village? How about VC brought in and staged for the filming!"
Something like that!
And the Nightline crew found these "peasants" as a result of the coordinates on the after action report!
Now I have a question. Those channels and hamlets are unchanged after 35 years? and the people were only shot at by Swift Bosts once in the whole War? and the woman has told no one of the weapons in her garden for 35 years but she gave them up to a Nightline producer.
And one more question
Hasn't this story about the Mekong River delta woman, the dead husband and the buried weapons been on television before. I swear I was having deja vu watching it tonight.
I never addressed before in my life until you called me "Kerry-esque", a name which I consider both vulgar and an insinuation that I may be metrosexual.
There have been a couple of comments regarding how eloquent O'Neill came across tonite.
Since when was style more important that substance.
I heard the same things about the debates.
I don't want someone out there arguing my cause who could also double as the captain of the College Debate Team.
I want someone who means what he says and says what he means.
As long as Mr. O'Neill got his message out and his point across does it REALLY matter how "eloquent" he was.
I feel sure having pled cases infron of countless juries in Texas, John O'Neill would get quite a laugh over hearing that he didn't speak eloquently enough.
Ya think this might piss off the Swifites and the preponerance of Vets? I know it pisses me off, the MSM taking the word of unknowable VC over American soldiers and sailors.
It was an ambush!
Koppel found a few Vietnamese willing to say they saw the
whole thing on the day of the bronze star, and thats the
ONLY subject Koppel wanted to discuss.
It didn't matter if Koppels 'facts' disagreed with even John Kerry's own versions of the facts.
Nightline waited until they thought they could SLAM the swiftvets.
I understand your point and John always rocks in interviews
But it's not everyday a News Organization chooses to believe the word of commies over American Vets
I'm thinking John didn't expect Ted to stoop so low
Betcha that won't happen again
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