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EXCLUSIVE: SWIFT OFFICERS AND VETS: KERRY LIED ABOUT SPENDING CHRISTMAS IN CAMBODIA
Drudge Report ^ | 8/8/04 | Matt Drudge + SwiftVets

Posted on 08/08/2004 5:09:55 PM PDT by Steven W.

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUN AUG 08, 2004 19:04:35 ET XXXXX

SWIFT OFFICERS AND VETS: KERRY LIED ABOUT SPENDING CHRISTMAS IN CAMBODIA

Since the early 1970s, Kerry has spoken and written of how he was illegally ordered to enter Cambodia. Kerry mentioned it in the floor of the Senate in 1986 when he charged that President Reagan’s actions in Central America were leading the U.S. in another Vietnam. Here’s what he said as excerpted from the new book, UNFIT FOR COMMAND:

I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared--seared--in me.

DRUDGE has learned from the accounts of Swift Boat officers and Kerry’s crewmembers that Kerry was never in Cambodia. UNFIT FOR COMMAND authors charge that Kerry made it all up.

“Despite the dramatic memories of his Christmas in Cambodia, Kerry’s statements are complete lies,” according to John O’Neil, co-author and the Swift Boat commander who took over Kerry’s boat. “Kerry was never in Cambodia during Christmas 1968, or at all during the Vietnam War. . . . he was more than fifty miles away from Cambodia.”

Kerry was stationed at Coastal Division 13 in Cat Lo. Coastal Division 13’s patrol areas extended to Sa Dec, about 55 miles from the Cambodian border. . . . Tom Anderson, Commander of River Division 531, who was in charge of PBRs (small river patrol crafts] confirmed that there were no Swifts anywhere in the area and they would have been stopped had they appeared.

All the living commanders in Kerry’s chain of command . . . deny that Kerry was ever ordered to Cambodia. They indicate that Kerry would have been seriously disciplined or court-martialed had he gone there. At least three of the five crewmen on Kerry’s boat, Bill Zaldonis, Steven Hatch, and Steve Gardner, deny that they or their boat were ever in Cambodia.

O’Neill observed that the Cambodia incursion story is not included in Tour of Duty (Kerry’s recent biography). Instead, Kerry replaced the story with a report about a mortar attack that occurred on Christmas Eve 1968 “near the Cambodian border” in a town called Sa Dec and Christmas day was spent at the base writing entries in his journal.

After conducting interviews and research, authors of Unfit for Command conclude, “The truth is that Kerry made up his secret mission into Cambodia.... the lie about the illegal Cambodian incursion painted his superiors up the chain of command. . . . as villains faced down by John Kerry, a solitary hero in grave and exotic danger and forced illegally against his will into harm’s way.”

Developing...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2004; antiamerican; bronze; cambodia; christmasincambodia; christmasncambodia; drudge; hanoikerry; iaintfondajohn; johnkerry; kerry; kerrylies; ketchup; liar; liarliarliar; lyingliar; military; militaryrecord; purpleheart; sedition; skerrykerry; swiftboat; swiftboatveterans; swiftvetsdotcom; traitor; treason; unamerican; unfit; unfitforcommand; vet; veteran; veterans; veteransforbush; vets; vietnam; wintersoldierdotcom
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To: Soul Seeker; RexBeach
"Our allegiance should be to the Truth. Otherwise we risk becoming no better than our opponents.

"If we do not stand up for these men now, when will we do so?...A few years down the road they will begin to die in larger numbers. Do we award justice after they have passed?...they had their honor called into question by John Kerry...It is a national disgrace that few seem to have the courage to begin actions that would heal these men."

Very well said, Soul Seeker.

We know this: a group of fine men who served their country honorably and well in the Vietnam war have come forward in all conscience because they cannot tolerate the thought of a lying, cheating traitorous individual becoming commander in chief and having the lives of our men and women in the armed forces in his forever putrid hands and, indeed, all our lives.

How can decent, honorable men NOT do this? They have no choice because they ARE honorable men. Will we be honorable in moving to support them to the best of our abilities? Or are we mere observers - chattering voyeurs - of the passing scene?
221 posted on 08/08/2004 8:00:28 PM PDT by mtntop3 ("He who must know before he believes will never come to full knowledge.")
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To: gorush

Well .. I'm stunned! I'm a conservative and I'm not "pressing for the lesser of two liberals". President Bush is not a liberal .. and therefore, your whole premise is bunk!!

Kerry is not going to be elected president .. not now, not ever.

And .. you're not "sorry to be a downer" .. I believe that was your intended goal.


222 posted on 08/08/2004 8:02:06 PM PDT by CyberAnt (President Bush: America is the Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth)
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To: swilhelm73

Kerry MUST release all of his military and medical records.


223 posted on 08/08/2004 8:03:50 PM PDT by zarf
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To: CyberAnt
" I believe that was your intended goal."

Just shows how wrong you can be.

224 posted on 08/08/2004 8:03:55 PM PDT by gorush (Exterminate the Moops!)
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To: BonnieJ
Kerry is crazy I believe. And he scares me. I am praying more than I ever have!!

I am glad it's not just me!

225 posted on 08/08/2004 8:07:40 PM PDT by Indie (Ignorance of the truth is no excuse for stupidity.)
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To: gilliam
Then it would be understandable how he could get the president wrong.

Uh, no it is not understandable. Kerry was in country for 4 months and Johnson was president of the U.S. for half of that time, including Christmas.

It is NOT understandable to tell a Christmas story and name Nixon by name and say then say Kerry simply made a "mistake". Kerry goes around calling Vietnam "Nixon's war". Yes, he does. I've heard it myself.

He intentionally uses Nixon's name to assign to him any old thing Kerry wants to and evidently nobody challenges him on it. Until now.

226 posted on 08/08/2004 8:08:04 PM PDT by cyncooper ("We will fear no evil...And we will prevail")
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To: Soul Seeker

[185]
That is a great post, Soul Seeker.

Diddley


227 posted on 08/08/2004 8:15:21 PM PDT by Diddley (Libs say: We support the troops [police], but not the war [crime fighting]. Yeah. sure you do.)
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To: MindBender26

Not really true, but the story does match with Tour of Duty and shows that at least Kerry is telling a consistent story now.

However, Kranish's article here also points to the fact that it is completely at odds with his congressional testimony and previous statements in which he says he was not 'near' Cambodia, but in Cambodia.


228 posted on 08/08/2004 8:18:18 PM PDT by rwfromkansas (BYPASS FORCED WEB REGISTRATION! **** http://www.bugmenot.com ****)
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To: MizSterious

It's the Republican Attack Machine, doncha know? I heard it on TeeVee this AM with that George Step, Stef, uh, boy George from the Clinton era. Stephenouplous or whatever.


229 posted on 08/08/2004 8:24:37 PM PDT by Jaded ((Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. - Mark Twain))
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To: rwfromkansas
When did he say Nixon sent him? I have heard that, but haven't really followed this aspect of the story much.

If true......blockbuster stuff.

I don't have a blockbuster anecdote to do with Cambodia, but a point that goes to Kerry's way about this subject.

As I've posted before on FR, during one of the dem debates when I heard Kerry hiss "NIXON's war" I quick googled (Dean was the front-runner at the time I distinctly recall) when Kerry had served and immediately posted on the Live Thread that Kerry had been sent to Vietnam under Johnson since Nixon wasn't sworn in until Jan. '69. It had seemed to me he was clearly trying to convey that he went to Vietnam because of Nixon.

Just an anecdote to illustrate the subtle and sly way Kerry has of acting like the entire Vietnam War took place under the auspices of one Richard M. Nixon. It's deceitful. So I wasn't surprised to hear about this "Christmas in Cambodia" story.

230 posted on 08/08/2004 8:25:04 PM PDT by cyncooper ("We will fear no evil...And we will prevail")
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To: gorush
Look,I am NOT advocating you "taking the pipe",but I most assuredly AM suggesting that you get help of some kind.Your depression is shocking and your inability to face reality,more so.

There will NOT be an armed "revolution".Such talk IS proscribed on FR and since you and Claire Wolf,who is FORBIDDEN to be quoted on this site,have the same hallucinations,perhaps it would be best if you refrained from posting your opinions about it.

This is NOT going to be an "easy" election;however,no,Kerry is NOT going to win and he is NOT a shoe-in,as you've claimed.This through a glass darkly miasma you've gotten yourself stuck in,is delusional.Buck up.

Seriously,you really need help.Your moribund posts are worrisome.

231 posted on 08/08/2004 8:36:01 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: Wild Irish Rogue
The issue of Kerry's character and history as raised by his fellow vets, deserves a fair hearing.

The swift boat vets wouldn't have even had to make an ad if the media would have given their press conference fair coverage to begin with.

232 posted on 08/08/2004 8:48:42 PM PDT by alnick
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To: gorush

Whatever !


233 posted on 08/08/2004 8:53:25 PM PDT by CyberAnt (President Bush: America is the Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth)
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Comment #234 Removed by Moderator

To: cyncooper

I was going to say the same thing as the other poster about maybe Kerry forgetting who the prez was at the time, but you make a good point. Even though we are only talking a month's difference here, most of the time was under Johnson's admin. He surely would know it was under his presidency then.

Also, his story in the 1986 testimony is completely different from his story in the Kranish story and in Tour of Duty.

Obviously he is lying in one of the stories, and it makes no sense to be lying now about something he was proud of and tried to show off (his secret mission) in 1986.


235 posted on 08/08/2004 8:56:13 PM PDT by rwfromkansas (BYPASS FORCED WEB REGISTRATION! **** http://www.bugmenot.com ****)
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To: rwfromkansas

I should clarify that I mean it makes no sense that he would make up a story NOW about the Cambodia mission if it was real since he was proud of it in 1986.

Obviously either both strories are lies, or what he is telling now is actually the truth instead of the 1986 version.


236 posted on 08/08/2004 8:58:43 PM PDT by rwfromkansas (BYPASS FORCED WEB REGISTRATION! **** http://www.bugmenot.com ****)
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To: swilhelm73
The thing that boggles my mind though is how he thought he could get away using the other swift boat officers in his ads.

What really boggles my mind is that he may well get away with it yet.

237 posted on 08/08/2004 9:03:35 PM PDT by lonevoice (Some things have to be believed to be seen)
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To: nopardons

I didn't mean to imply I think Kerry a shoe-in. But just the fact that he is considered a serious candidate tells me that America is in trouble.


238 posted on 08/08/2004 9:04:15 PM PDT by gorush (Exterminate the Moops!)
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To: gorush
WHAT???????????????????????????????????????????????????

You didn't have an inkling when Clinton ran,was elected TWICE,and though Impeached,not convicted?

239 posted on 08/08/2004 9:06:50 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: Cboldt
Further, the "powers that be" in the GOP do not want these issues to be raised

I wonder how much that has to do with John McCain? In other words, if McCain said to the RNC, "If you don't leave Kerry's war record alone, I'll withdraw my support for Bush and announce my endorsement of Kerry." I wouldn't put it past McCain to do just that.

240 posted on 08/08/2004 9:07:02 PM PDT by lonevoice (Some things have to be believed to be seen)
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