For the same reason Teresa won't release her tax records. Because that information would be more damaging to the campaign than the mere speculation of what might be in them.
Get the Rally Sign and Bumper Sticker Here
www.counterpunch.us
Posted on 08/09/2004 3:36:11 PM PDT by QQQQQ
Fast and furious, the rounds have been coming in. Two days ago, a group calling itself "SWIFT Boat Veterans For Truth" (www.swiftvets.com) put out a devastating advertisement about John Kerry's record in Vietnam. The SWIFT boat veterans are all men who served alongside John Kerry during his four month tenure in Vietnam. Among other charges, the SWIFT boat veterans allege:
John Kerry was reckless and did not follow orders.
Kerry was personally responsible for shooting a fleeing Vietnamese soldier in the back.
Kerry was personally responsible for ordering his men to fire upon a "peaceful village", slaughtering domestic animals with machine guns and torching the village with his own Zippo lighter.
Kerry "fled the scene" when one of the SWIFT boats hit a mine and was disabled only returning when "it was obvious we were not under fire."
The SWIFT boat veterans also cast doubts upon Kerry's three Purple Hearts.
Kerry claims that his first Purple Heart was earned during a nighttime patrol, when his group was attempting to stop the Vietcong from transporting contraband. In Douglas Brinkley's biography of Kerry, "Tour of Duty", Kerry describes reaching into the boat to pick up another gun after his M-16 jammed. "...as I bent down to grab another gun, a stinging piece of heat socked into my arm..". His fellow sailors claim that he was wounded when he picked up an M-79 grenade launcher (after his M-16 jammed) and he fired a grenade too close to shore, hitting a rock. A tiny "one to two centimeter" piece of shrapnel hit his arm. Kerry's commander, Rear Admiral William Schachte, berated him for "almost putting someone's eye out." According to the SWIFT vets, the vessel had not come under enemy fire at any time during this event. Retired Naval Commander Grant Hibbard, the head of the Naval division to which Kerry was assigned, confirms that Kerry asked him to recommend him for a Purple Heart. Hibbard refused, on the grounds that "the injury was self-inflicted...and was nothing more than a scratch." Hibbard told Kerry to "forget it." He still doesn't know how Kerry ended up receiving the Purple Heart.
Another incident describes how Lt.(jg) Kerry received his Bronze Star and third Purple Heart. According to Kerry biographies, on March 13th, 1969, Kerry suffered shrapnel wounds on his left buttock and injuries to his arm when a mine exploded underneath another boat on the Bay Hap River in South Vietnam. Despite his wounds and under heavy enemy fire, Kerry rushed to save a Special Forces soldier who had fallen into the water from one of the boats. That soldier, Jim Rassmann, is a Kerry supporter who has been featured prominently during the campaign.
SWIFT Boat Veterans for Truth, however, tell a much different story. In signed affidavits, the vets say that Kerry's wounds were inflicted when he tossed a grenade into a rice laden sampan. The vets point to numerous accounts mentioning "buttock wounds from the grenade" and "flying rice grains" in various sources. They note that an earlier book about Kerry "John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography By the Boston Globe Reporters Who Know Him Best" mentions the self-inflicted rice injury on page 105. The official casualty report however, states that "Lt. Jg Kerry suffered shrapnel wounds in his left buttock and contusions on his right forearm when a mine detonated close to PCF-94."
The SWIFT boat veterans also dispute Kerry's account of the mine incident. Several allege that Kerry initially "fled the scene" when the explosion occurred, leaving the other boats to aid the stricken vessel. Kerry returned "four or five minutes later when it was clear that we were not under fire." Van Odell, a gunner aboard a boat behind the stranded vessel, stated baldly "there was no fire coming from any direction" and that there were "no holes in any boats" and "no further wounded", which there would have been had the boats been under fire. Larry Thurlow, a fellow SWIFT boat commander, alleges that Rassmann "fell off of Kerry's boat" when Kerry rapidly accelerated and left the scene after the mine detonated.
Kerry's much touted "Band of Brothers" of course dispute the SWIFT Vets testimony. Rassmann and fellow crewmate Del Sandusky allege that the mine incident occurred in the middle of a "hellacious firefight". Gene Thorson, another crewmate, called the assertions "garbage".
The SWIFT Boat Veterans for Truth story rapidly escalated. The DNC and the Kerry/Edwards Campaign immediately issued a letter from their lawyers which suggested that TV stations should not air the ad because it is "libelous". The letter further goes on to hint darkly that the "station is responsible for the false and libelous charges" should they dare to run the ad. Then the Democrats issued a 36 page retraction to the 60 second ad. The retraction tried to discredit the SWIFT boat vets and attempted to align them with "right wing" Republican donors from Texas.
Just as quickly, the Boston Globe published an article by Michael Kranish - quoting an apparent retraction from Captain George Elliott of the SWIFT boaters. Captain Elliott almost immediately retracted his "retraction" and accused Mr. Kranish of having ulterior motives. In an interesting twist, Mr. Kranish is the very same reporter who was a co-author of the aforementioned "John Kerry: A Biography." Mr. Kranish is also the author of the forthcoming "Kerry/Edwards: Campaign" book.
Fast forward: The Globe (August 7th) printed a "correction", standing by their story. The Globe further asserted that Mr. Kranish was in no way involved in the
Kerry/Edwards book. Perhaps. Instead, it appears that Public Affairs, the publishing entity behind Kerry/Edwards - an unauthorized book, would instead publish a book written by John Kerry and John Edwards - titled "Their Plan for America." Mr. Kranish is not involved in this publication.
Of course, the controversy could be easily solved if Senator Kerry would only agree to sign Navy form 180 and release all of his military records. So here's a chant for all you protestors attending your next Kerry campaign stop.
Hey, hey
Ho, ho
Kerry - sign the 1-8-0
I like the end of the article too:
"Of course, the controversy could be easily solved if Senator Kerry would only agree to sign Navy form 180 and release all of his military records. So here's a chant for all you protestors attending your next Kerry campaign stop.
Hey, hey
Ho, ho
Kerry - sign the 1-8-0"
Why doesn't Kerry release his military records?
Kerry could have run on his Senate record, he chose to claim that his 4 months in Vietnam somehow qualifies him for the Presidency. Well, then, it's only reasonable to have a closer look at those claims, by those who knew him then.
all kerry does is 180's
Michael Savage fans huh
Actually, John Kerry is a confessed war criminal, which he did while testifying before Congress. All the Sift Boat Vets are doing is backing up his story. I can't understand why that so infuriates the Kerry people.
Barnes & Noble Website Carries Altered Cover of Anti-Kerry Book
http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/8050000/8058622.jpg
It seems they BOTH flip-flop when the need arises. Shame on the media, the DNC, and all others who wish to propagate the Kerry lies...
Signing on more 180 shouldn't be a big deal!!!! Come on Kerry, what do you not want the voters to know about your military record?
"signing one more...
kerry you are a ZERO and not a hero, sign the 180.
Monday, August 9, 2004
8:00 pm: Steve Gardner will appear on the Bill O'Reilly Show (Fox News cable TV, national).
9:00 pm: John O'Neill will appear on the Hannity & Colmes (Fox News cable TV, national).
BTTT for later
Increasingly, it is beginning to appear that the atrocities Kerry testified to in the Winter Soldier investigation were the ones he committed.
As a Vietnam veteran myself, I know lots of other Vietnam vets and NONE of them - NOT ONE - has ever participated in or witnessed the types of atrocities that Kerry claimed occurred while he was in 'Nam.
Which leads me to believe that his is the only person on the face of this earth with the chutzpah to commit those despicable acts and then admit to it (brag about it) before a Senate investigating committee.
How ironic is that? LOL. All he does is 180's on the issues, but he won't sign one. ROFL.
Boy, they are mad! I guess I'll send in my $25.
GOPUSA? - not sure what that source is, but if it's somehow sanctioned by the Republican Party, it doesn't sound as though the Bush people are worried about the Swift Boat story hurting him.........
I think GOPUSA is not officially associated with either the RNC, or the Bush campaign, but they are obviously a Republican, conservative site.
I think the Swift Vets side of the story needs to be told over and over, because Kerry himself put his Vietnam service as the centerpiece of his campaign and qualification for Commander in Chief. So it's only fair to hear what his supervisors and others who served with him, have to say.
Agree absolutely....
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