Posted on 08/07/2004 2:07:38 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON — The controversy surrounding ads questioning John Kerry's war record grew Friday when a key figure in the veterans' group airing the ads was quoted in the Boston Globe retracting one of his central allegations.
But later in the day, retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. George Elliott issued a statement saying he had been misquoted in the newspaper.
The ad, sponsored by an anti-Kerry organization called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, features 13 Vietnam veterans accusing the Democratic presidential nominee of betraying his shipmates, dishonoring his country and telling lies to win combat decorations as a swift boat skipper in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam war.
Elliott, one of the 13 accusers in the ad, was one of Kerry's superiors in Vietnam when Kerry was awarded medals for heroic actions, including the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.
"John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam," Elliott is quoted as saying in the ad.
In a signed affidavit he provided to the ad sponsors on July 21, Elliott suggested Kerry did not deserve his Silver Star, stating, "I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back."
On Friday, the day after the ad started airing in three presidential battleground states, the Boston Globe quoted Elliot as saying, "It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I'm the one in trouble here."
The Globe reported that Elliott thinks Kerry did deserve the medal. "I still don't think he [Kerry] shot the guy in the back," the Globe quoted Elliott as saying.
Later Thursday, however, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth released another signed affidavit from Elliott saying he had been misquoted by the Globe.
The new affidavit does not specify how Elliot was misquoted, however, and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth did not respond to a request to interview Elliott.
'Many sources'
At issue is an event in which Kerry killed a fleeing Viet Cong guerrilla while on patrol on the Mekong River. According to accounts Kerry and his swift boat crewmates provided to Kerry's biographers, Kerry left his boat and pursued the guerrilla because the man was carrying a Russian-made rocket launcher capable of penetrating armor.
Kerry and eyewitnesses to the event have long claimed that the guerrilla posed a serious threat, despite having suffered an undisclosed injury, and Kerry has denied shooting him in the back.
Elliott, in his latest affidavit, said he had no personal knowledge concerning Kerry's killing of the guerrilla and that in accusing Kerry of lying about what happened in Vietnam, he had relied upon "many sources," including a Kerry biography published by Boston Globe reporters.
"Had I known the facts, I would not have recommended Kerry for the Silver Star for simply pursuing and dispatching a single wounded, fleeing Viet Cong," Elliott stated in his latest affidavit.
Anatomy of a shooting
The Boston Globe biography upon which Elliott relied includes a portion of the after-action report concerning Kerry's battlefield heroics, saying Kerry "chased VC inland behind hooch and shot him while he fled, capturing one B-40 rocket launcher with round in chamber."
"I don't have a second's question about that, nor does anybody who was with me," Kerry told the Globe biographers in recalling his decision to shoot. "He was running away with a live B-40, and, I thought, poised to turn around and fire it."
When the Globe asked if he had shot the guerrilla in the back, Kerry replied, "No, absolutely not. He was hurt, other guys where shooting from back, side, back. There is not a scintilla of question in any person's mind who was there [that] this guy was dangerous. He was a combatant, he had an armed weapon."
But Elliott said in his affidavit Thursday: "While I suppose the fleeing, wounded Viet Cong could have been backpedaling, I have never heard this faintly suggested by anyone, and I do not understand why he would have to turn around to face Kerry if he was fleeing backwards."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1186614/posts <-- Includes links to all affidavit pages
Thanks, Cboldt.
I missed that thread and it's a good one.
Your post #79 on it states the case beautifully.
Eva, you might find Cboldt's post #79 interesting.
Thanks for the compliment. I note though, that I have a serious typo in my comment #79 on that thread, where I refer to "Kranish's affidavit." I thought about posting a correction on that thread, but figured the error is so blatant, and the context will direct the reader to the correct conclusion, that I left "well enough" alone. Of course, the affidavit is Elliott's.
I understood what you meant and I'm sure everyone else will, too.
(I didn't even notice until you pointed it out.)
;-)
Joe Muharsky's~~Swift Boats In Vietnam
Picture of PCF 94 wasting village in Cai Nap Canal. Mar 6, 1969. EN3 Barry Bogart was Wounded In Action in this raid. Crew members names included. PCF 38 was also on this raid.
Picture of PCF 38 wasting village in Cai Nap Canal. Mar 6, 1969. EN3 Barry Bogart was Wounded In Action in this raid. PCF 94 was also on this raid.
JOHNKERRY.com 1 MAR 1969 Bay Hap River Four Swiftboats conducted operation "U-HAUL," which involved towing fuel bladders up the Bay Hap River to Cai Nuoc. The units received light fire during the operation.
10 MAR 1969 Cua Lon River Four swiftboats, including PCF94, carried troops and surveyed an area where other boats were ambushed two days earlier. No incidents occurred.
HUmmmmm I wonder why Kerry left that out?
Picture of "RD2 Joe Muharsky" water skiing behind PCF 94 March 1969. Pictured is signed by Senator John Kerry who was a LTJG in Coastal Division 11.
It must be bad when the Atlanta Urinal carries the story that retraction was not true.
The teenager was hit in the leg with a 50 calibre bullet (not fired by Jacquestrap kerri). Not too many people when even nicked by a 50 calibre would be trying fight. If he was moving, he was probably trying crawl away, if he was able to move at all.
yeah, they're gonna tell us the truth.
we're going to legalize all the illegals that are in our country
we're going to take more tax money away
we're going to use it to start a whole bunch of social programs that you can't qualify for because you make too much money.
if by chance, you qualify for the social program, and are caucasian....the amount of money your parents make will disqualify you. Even if you haven't been a dependant for 20 years.
we're going to capitulate to every foreign power that wants something, in the interest of pacification, and in the hope that they "won't hurt us again"
...and why is this guy still at 50% in the polls? I don't get it.
The black guy of fox and friends reported the FALSE (LIE) story about eliot retracting his statement.
HE HAS NOT, the author of the Article IS a kerry worker and a kerry biographer.
Push polls and new "sampling" standards to adress the fact there are more registered democrats.
They should poll only "super voters". voters who have voted in all elections, event the off off years and special elections.
Because they can get him there with lopsided samplings of Dems, Independents and Republicans.
Beltway Boys going at this right now.
Mort doesn't understand that Senator from one state vs. President of all states is a big deal, and rightfully explains why none of them came out sooner.
AHHH Kondrakie on the beltway boys is an IDIOT, (i feel for the loss of his wife BUT..)
He is repeating the INTENTIONAL LIE OF THE BOSTON GLOBE.
It is now obvious that story was intentionally PLACED to attack the ad.
The article has been a demonstrated LIE.
Go Swiftvets GO!
Yes it is powerful. But the Dems and some media people are going to counter with the LIE and DENY strategy used by Clinton for years. Their aim is to create doubt and confusion about the Swift Vets' accusations. Our side has to develop solid proof that Kerry lied and focus on lies that are provable, such as Kerry's claim that he was in Cambodia on Christmas eve '68. It sounds like Hugh Hewitt is working on proving that lie and I'm sure other conservatives are investigating Kerry's stories about "atrocities and war crimes." In the meantime, the Swift Boat Vets must stop talking to mainstream media people and keep their group wired tightly together at all times. Yes, the MSM has their long knives out.
Some quotes on the hootch incident here -- still confusing though!
On frequent occasions Wright stated that Kerry would randomly fire at "things he thought were moving" along the shoreline. Wright stated that the protocol was only to fire when the unit was receiving hostile fire. Wright explained that part of the Swift Boat patrol's goal was to develop contacts with non-combatants living along the rivers being patrolled.
Wright's boldest claim was that after Kerry had in fact received his third purple heart, Wright along with two other ranking officers basically flat out asked Kerry to leave Vietnam. The reason being his behavior continually put the group in greater vulnerability and danger. According to Wright, Kerry claimed he would not leave, "but was out of there by morning."
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/kmc/
Before he transferred to the swift boat, wasn't Kerry on some kind of ship for several months that cruised off shore in case there were downed pilots to be picked up? IIRC, that duty was considered more of a vacation than anything else.
On frequent occasions Wright stated that Kerry would randomly fire at "things he thought were moving" along the shoreline. Wright stated that the protocol was only to fire when the unit was receiving hostile fire. Wright explained that part of the Swift Boat patrol's goal was to develop contacts with non-combatants living along the rivers being patrolled.
Wright's boldest claim was that after Kerry had in fact received his third purple heart, Wright along with two other ranking officers basically flat out asked Kerry to leave Vietnam. The reason being his behavior continually put the group in greater vulnerability and danger. According to Wright, Kerry claimed he would not leave, "but was out of there by morning."
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/kmc/
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