Posted on 08/07/2004 1:23:14 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Theres dissention in the ranks and the smell of mutiny on deck as a parade of Vietnam veterans who served with and/or knew John Kerry in Vietnam come forward to denounce him as a leader, officer and veteran. This situation has helped becalm Kerrys already some say foundering campaign warship, which got little if any boost from the Democratic National Convention and which also got about the same result from Kerrys selection of John Edwards as his vice-presidential running mate.
Kerrys latest headache is followed by frustrating events like Shove-It-Gate, Sandy Bergers light-fingers episode in the National Archives, and Kerrys voting to send the United States to war and then voting to not authorize funds earmarked to buy those troops weapons and equipment for that war.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, founded in May 2004, consists of hundreds of Vietnam veterans who served in Swift Boat units there. This group has released an anti-Kerry ad in which a host of vets, some saying they knew Kerry personally and others saying they served with him and saw him in action, call him a liar, a fraud and an all-around untrustworthy officer.
This annoys Kerry because far more of his fellow Swift Boats vets have lined up against him than have signed up for him. It doesnt help matters when only two of the officers in Kerrys division, out of twenty-some-odd men, endorse him for president. Nor does it help when the rear admiral who was Kerrys boss vehemently says Kerry is unfit to be our commander in chief. And when a superior officer of Kerrys steps up and says one of Kerrys Purple Hearts was bogus, i.e., it was a miniscule (fixed with a Band-Aid) self-inflicted wound that Kerry got in a firefight that involved no enemy fire whatsoever, that isnt good, either. (According to this officer, Kerry improperly fired a grenade at some Vietnamese he thought were the enemy. The grenade hit too close to Kerry and a tiny piece of shrapnel nicked him. No enemy were involved in the incident. Kerry asked this superior officer to put him in for a Purple Heart, but the officer refused. But Kerry somehow ended up with the medal anyway. Some vets have insinuated Kerry put himself in for the medal, but that is unproven.)
Sen. John McCain, also a Vietnam veteran but who never served with Kerry, is calling the ad dishonest and dishonorable. Many vets want to know why McCain thinks this way, as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth did serve with Kerry. Why are these vets the bad guys if they served with Kerry and have a different opinion of him?
What do I think of Kerrys medals? I have not and will not form an opinion, because I was not there. No veteran who did not serve with Kerry should say a damn word about Kerrys medals. And the Bush campaign is right not to comment on Kerrys medals. But these other vets who served with Kerry and who now oppose him have the right to voice their opinions, and McCain is wrong to attack and degrade them simply because their opinions differ from his.
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Bob Newman, a decorated, retired US Marine, is co-host of "Redmond & Newman http://www.khow.com/hosts/redmond_newman.html on 630 KHOW in Denver. His Global Positioning Statement, a daily insiders update on the war on terror, is carried by various Clear Channel radio stations from coast to coast. A ground-combat veteran, Gunny Bob is the director of international security & counterterrorism services for The GeoScope Group and is the military & terrorism columnist for The Denver Daily News.
bobnewman@clearchannel.com
Absolutely.
I'm just glad it's not a primary and that we're all on the same side; she finds some devastating stuff......LOL.
BTTT!!!!!!!
What is it one vet said about Kerry:
"He preys on the fears of a war-weary nation." ? Seems things haven't changed much.
bump
Take a look at Kerry.com video "Brothers in Arms" and they show two boats, the second one where they are describing going through small rivers and canals and a "sitting duck' target...it appears to me the boat passing by the trees and filmed from shore is not a PCF Swift Boat (no pilothouse) but possibly a PBR Riverine riverboat (usually had 4 bluejackets no officers)....if Kerry wants to be so honest, why the difference in the boats in the video? Can someone copy it before it disappears, I am computer illiterate....
http://www.johnkerry.com/video/player.php?media=WindowsMedia&speed=High&video=112603_brothersinarms&action=save&x=58&y=15
http://www.pbr-fva.org/boats/pbrmk2.html
http://swiftboats.net/
John F'n Kerry is a lying traitor ~ Bump!
PCS= Permanent Change of Station- Military speak for transfered to a new post
ZI= Zone of the Interior- Military speak for the good ole USA
Thanks.
Perhaps McCain is worried that his action and possible responsibility in the carrier fire will be scrutinized?
any vet in his or her right mind IS for Bush already--look at the Senate record of the votes Kerry has taken part in--no a DAMN thing for any serviceman por woman all of his Senatorial lifespan---of course, we always have a few fools around, even in the services
Bump!
Ads debate Kerry's military record
Anti-Kerry ad attacks war story
Kolbe: Anti-Kerry ads appropriate
The sweet parts are all three stories have links to the Swifties ad itself and there is only one story from the Kerry camp in the paper trying weakly to rebut them.
Bump!!
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