NYT: McCain “sealed away” from the lessons of Vietnam

Hot Air ^ | 5/14/08 | Ed Morrissey

[Dawnsblood]

In the New York Times’ upcoming edition of their Sunday magazine, they take a look at John McCain’s divergent views of the Iraq War from those of his fellow Vietnam veterans. In The McCain Doctrines, Matt Bai reports that most of these colleagues (with the noted exception of Bob Kerrey) attribute McCain’s support for Iraq to the fact that he didn’t serve on the ground in Vietnam — and that his years as a POW somehow “sealed” him away from the war’s lessons:

There is a feeling among some of McCain’s fellow veterans that his break with them on Iraq can be traced, at least partly, to his markedly different experience in Vietnam. McCain’s comrades in the Senate will not talk about this publicly. They are wary of seeming to denigrate McCain’s service, marked by his legendary endurance in a Hanoi prison camp, when in fact they remain, to this day, in awe of it. And yet in private discussions with friends and colleagues, some of them have pointed out that McCain, who was shot down and captured in 1967, spent the worst and most costly years of the war sealed away, both from the rice paddies of Indochina and from the outside world. During those years, McCain did not share the disillusioning and morally jarring experiences of soldiers like Kerry, Webb and Hagel, who found themselves unable to recognize their enemy in the confusion of the jungle; he never underwent the conversion that caused Kerry, for one, to toss away some of his war decorations during a protest at the Capitol. Whatever anger McCain felt remained focused on his captors, not on his own superiors back in Washington.

[sanchmo]

sealed away

The level tone-deafness is staggering. Juxtapose McCain's Vietnam story to the Times criticizing it as being sealed away, and McCain (yes, even McCain!) wins on personality each time.

Sometimes the most effective thing you can do against a liberal is to let him speak.

[Jacquerie]

During those years, McCain did not share the disillusioning and morally jarring experiences of soldiers like Kerry, Webb and Hagel, who found themselves unable to recognize their enemy in the confusion of the jungle.

Every flight from Yankee Station to the north was a combat flight. Every day these Naval Aviators braved battle. In 1967 the USS Oriskany lost 40% of its aircraft and 25% of it's pilots. A couple men were shot down and rescued twice. These men deserve our utmost respect.

In order to preserve my posting privilege at FR, I will not say what I wish to say about the NYT.

[billmor]

If a soldier is in the jungle he darn well better not be confused or he is a goner...War is confusing until you stop your own fear and panic and start to see who is shooting at you, then it becomes much clearer...I would venture that the 3 amigos mentioned didnt see much action out in the jungle, or for a full tour...It’s just too bad that they choose to ignore what Freedom means ao any human being and instead pick up on the apathetic lies of the leftists in this country who want to sell out America to it’s enemies...