Free Republic

Of all the targets of vitriol and attempted ambushes during the presidential campaign, I most admired John O'Neill of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth for his calm determination to stand his ground on his charges against John Kerry's Vietnam service in Unfit for Command, the book he co-authored. O'Neill was called a ''liar'' to his face on a number of TV appearances, and, on an Oct. 14 ''Nightline,'' ABC-TV's Ted Koppel actually sent a crew to Vietnam to film alleged eyewitnesses in order to disprove one of the accounts -- how Kerry won his Silver Star -- in Unfit...

Want to know the latest on Kerry campaign waffling on Kerry and the Assassination?

"Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, told me — 30 years ago when he was still CNO —that during his own command of U.S. naval forces in Vietnam, just prior to his anointment as CNO, young Kerry had created great problems for him and the other top brass,by killing so many non-combatant civilians and going after other non-military targets.‘We had virtually to straitjacket him to keep him under control,’"

"...Lt. Col. Dominic Caraccilo. His explanation to his superiors was: "The letter was purely an effort made by soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry to afford our soldiers an opportunity to let their respective hometowns know what they are accomplishing here in Kirkuk," which is "purely" a blatant lie. The effort was totally Caraccilo's, whose soldiers were dragooned into being stooges for his private PR campaign by his direct orders." The military has no plans to discipline Caraccilo because in its view his intentions were "honorable."

...in one astonishing statement three days before Clark announced his candidacy, Clark's former boss, Gen. H. Hugh Shelton, raised the most serious questions about Clark's military record, which is, of course, all he really has to run on. Shelton, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 9/11, said: "I've known Wes a long time. I will tell you the reason he came out of Europe early had to do with integrity and character, issues that are very near and dear to my heart." According to military historian Thomas Fleming, "This is the most critical statement by one...

"...ARTnews editor Carly Berwick was simply trying to cover the new "Autostadt" theme park in Wolfsburg, Germany, home of Volkswagen. Owned by VW, the Autostadt is sort of an Epcot Center devoted to the car and in particular Volkswagen products including Audi and Lamborghini. Germans who buy VW cars can pick one up at the Autostadt and save the usual dealer delivery fee, and get a free day ticket to the exhibits. Like all theme parks, Autostadt is all very slick and all very contemporary. But as Berwick toured its Zeithaus, or "Time House," devoted to the history of Volkswagen,...

In looking for international support, the Bush administration continues to argue that Saddam Hussein's Iraq may be close to creating a nuclear weapon. But after revelations about the extent of the North Korean atomic weapons program a more likely assumption may be that Iraq already has one or more. Forgotten in the current speculation over progress in Iraq is the history of the United States' own atomic bomb program

"Three million dollars in ransom funds have been sitting in banks on Basilan Island in the Philippines for over a week while officials of the Philippine Armed Forces, President Gloria Arroyo's Malacangang Palace, and Abu Sayaaf terrorist kidnappers haggle over how to split it up between them. The funds were raised privately in the United States to pay off the ransom of American missionaries Martin and Grace Burnham and others held only a few miles away from the bank that holds the key to their release."