Ex-green beret to Kerry: 'You are a liar'

World Net Daily ^ | Feb 26, 2004 | By Ron Strom

[beaureguard]

A former Special Forces green beret who served in Vietnam has touched a nerve with fellow veterans after penning a scathing column hammering Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

"I've been deluged with e-mails," Don Bendell told WND. Most of the e-mails and phone calls he's received are from fellow Vietnam veterans, though he says some are from military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Take a look at my website," Bendell said, "and the number of guest-book entries."

Bendell says the servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan who have contacted him have been "fervent" about their desire not to see Kerry as their commander in chief.

In his column, Bendell accuses Kerry of "rewriting history" through his 1971 testimony to Congress. In that speech, which has been referenced by many opponents of Kerry, he said of fellow soldiers in Vietnam: "They personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam."

Writes Bendell:

I was a green beret officer who volunteered for duty in Vietnam and fought in the thick of it in 1968 and 1969 on a Special Forces A-team on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, just for starters. We were the elite. We saw the most action. Everybody in the world knows that. But we did not just kill people; we built a church, a school, treated illnesses, passed out soap, food and clothing, and had fun and loving interaction with the indigenous people of Vietnam, just like our boys did in Normandy, Baghdad, Saigon and everywhere American soldiers ever served. We all gave away our candy bars and rations to kids, our hearts to oppressed people all over the globe. My children and grandchildren could read your words and think those horrendous things about me, Mr. Kerry. You are a bald-faced, unprincipled liar and a disgrace, and you have dishonored me and all my fellow Vietnam veterans. Sure, there were a couple bad-apples, but I saw none, and I saw it all, and if I did, as an army officer, it was my obligation to stop it, or at the very least report it. Why is there not a single record anywhere of you ever reporting any incidents like this or having the perpetrators arrested? The answer is simple. You are a liar. Your medals and mine are not a free pass for lifetime, Sen. Kerry, to bypass character, integrity and morality. I earn my green beret over and over daily in all aspects of my life.

Since it was first posted on Feb. 11, Bendell's column has been passed all over the world via e-mail and has been posted on several different websites.

Besides criticizing Kerry's testimony before Congress, Bendell slams him for opposing a bill that would have helped the Montagnard people of Vietnam:

John Kerry, you personally derailed the Vietnam Human Rights Bill, H.R.2883, in 2001, after it had passed the House by a 411 to 1 vote, and thousands of pro-American Montagnard tribespeople in Vietnam died since then who could have been saved, by you. Earlier, as chair of the Senate Select Committee on MIA/POW Affairs, you personally quashed the efforts of any and all veterans to report sightings of living POWs, when you held those reins in Congress. You have fought tooth and nail to push for the U.S. to normalize relations with Vietnam for years. Why, Mr. Kerry? Simple, your first cousin C. Stewart Forbes, CEO of Colliers International, recently signed a contract with Hanoi, worth BILLIONS of dollars for Collier's International to become the exclusive real estate representative for the country of Vietnam. Bendell says he has an expose coming out in the April issue of American Spectator that further details his charges against the senator.

In talking with WND, the veteran also criticized Kerry for marrying two women who happened to be multibillionaires: "I'm sure that it was true love," he said.

Emphasizing the fact his opinions do not represent any organization, Bendell mentioned he has been involved in non-political veteran groups, including a stint as president of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Special Forces Association.

He says he tells Democrats to vote for John Edwards in the primaries: "Just don't vote for Kerry."

Bendell, who has spoken on many radio shows since his column gained popularity, is the author of several books and owns karate studios in Colorado.

The parting shot from Bendell in his column: "Medals do not make a man. Morals do."

[Paleo Conservative]

Your work?

No. I'm just linking to a image posted on a previous thread about political bumber stickers.

[xrp]

Attention Senator Kerry:

Having been born after the Vietnam War, I could care less about your service there. What you did 35 years ago makes no bearing on what you do today. President Bush, on the other hand, fulfills his job function as mandated by the US Constitution to defend freedom and liberty from the Islamikazes. I do not trust a Democrat to protect me from the Islamikazes. I do trust President Bush to do this. This makes my voting choice simple.

[wewillnotfail]

bump for later

[kellynla]

Coop, I don't know if you listen to the Laura Ingraham radio show but I was on her program Tuesday and I told Laura that I was with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in Viet Nam in 1969 and 1970 and that I had access to Marine Corps intelligence during those years and that there were no "mass atrocities" in Viet Nam. I also told her that Kerry was a bald face liar. I understand that Kerry has "backed off" from those slanderous attacks this week. Semper Fi, Kelly

[Coop]

I've heard Laura in person, but haven't heard her show. I'm sure you were an excellent interview! Semper Fi, Bro.

[greenwolf]

I was a green beret officer who volunteered for duty in Vietnam and fought in the thick of it in 1968 and 1969 on a Special Forces A-team on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, just for starters. We were the elite. We saw the most action. Everybody in the world knows that. But we did not just kill people; we built a church, a school, treated illnesses, passed out soap, food and clothing, and had fun and loving interaction with the indigenous people of Vietnam, just like our boys did in Normandy, Baghdad, Saigon and everywhere American soldiers ever served. We all gave away our candy bars and rations to kids, our hearts to oppressed people all over the globe. My children and grandchildren could read your words and think those horrendous things about me, Mr. Kerry. You are a bald-faced, unprincipled liar and a disgrace, and you have dishonored me and all my fellow Vietnam veterans. Sure, there were a couple bad-apples, but I saw none, and I saw it all, and if I did, as an army officer, it was my obligation to stop it, or at the very least report it. Why is there not a single record anywhere of you ever reporting any incidents like this or having the perpetrators arrested? The answer is simple. You are a liar. Your medals and mine are not a free pass for lifetime, Sen. Kerry, to bypass character, integrity and morality. I earn my green beret over and over daily in all aspects of my life.

There had to have been individual soldiers and groups of soldiers who tried to help the ordinary people of Vietnam, but that was not the policy of the government we were supporting. I've seen interviews with VietNamese farmers who claimed that the VietMinh had given them land taken from absentee landlords (they had been sharecroppers with no hope of owning land), only to have the South Vietnamese government retake the territory, and hand the land back to the absentee landlords.

That's not the sort of cause most people would fight for, to say the least. That's sure as hell not the cause you draft anybody for.

[ZULU]

Kerry is less of a war hero than Benedict Arnold.

His name belongs right up there with Judas Iscariot and Ephilates.

He's a traitor.

[FormerLib]

I'll be mailing this one around. Thanks!

[secretagent]

Why is there not a single record anywhere of you ever reporting any incidents like this or having the perpetrators arrested? The answer is simple. You are a liar.

Pretty easy to bat this one down. Kerry cited the Winter Soldier Investigation, not his own experience of the sensational war crimes.

Republican Senator Mark Hatfield called for an investigation of the WSI. The subsequent Naval Investigative Service supposedly unmasked the WSI witnesses as imposters, but no one can find that report..

A good group has started to see if they can expose the WSI:

http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/kerry/

They seem slow today - hopefully a popular site this season.

[BonnieJ]

Last night on Hannity & Colmes, Oliver North brought up the subject of John Kerry and his 4 months in Vietnam and his medals, questioning the validity of it all. Colmes shut him down but they won't be able to silence this story all the many months until November.

[DeaconRed]

"From everything I've seen in the newspapers and on TV, he may well have the nomination wrapped up after next Tuesday"

NEVER
NEVER
Did I say Never? Count your chickens till the eggs hatch. That means after the convention and the papers have been signed.
Not when the MEDIA says it is OK.
I really think Scary Kerry would be easier to beat than the Breck Girl. The Breck Girl could possibly carry some of the south.

[kellynla]

3 PH's, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star in 4 months...I don't think even Audie Murphy could have done that. LOL From what I understand it sounds more like the officers were giving each other medals. ROFLMAO

[the invisib1e hand]

great great piece.

my bet (as stated elsewhere) is that Kerry's issues with his Vietnam service are his own, and are rooted in his own malformed conscience.

[bushfamfan]

Kerry was lying yet again when he "backed off" the slanderous attacks in claiming he was critical of leaders not the soldiers. His testimony is pretty clear and this will be an issue because Kerry is wrapping himself up as the great American war hero with that alone being his response for national security issues. All one has to do is look at how he turned on those in uniform when he got his way out of Vietnam with that third Purple Heart after 4 months. Right on home and turning on the soldiers. Just who we'd want for our Commander-in-Chief.

[kellynla]

Well it's been over 30 years in the making and I can't understand how the good people of Massachusetts could have ever elected Kerry as senator from their state but the lies are finally coming home to roost. Semper Fi, Kelly

[20yearvet]

I served up in Phu Bai in 1972, and while I was not out in the bush I knew those who were. I recall passing our food out to refugees as they walked past our camp. I also recall being called a baby killer when I returned home thanks to Kerry and his friends at VVAW. I knew of Kerry then, and I will recall when it is time to vote. In my opinion Kerry is in the same class as Benedict Arnold, both fought for there country and both betrayed it.

[Bringbackthedraft]

Without the use of a crystal ball, I predict, by the time the Democratic Convention is held Kerry will flame out. Hillary awaits!

[beaureguard]

It will be interesting to see how well Breck Girl does here in GA next Tuesday. One poll (think there is another FR thread somewhere) has him closing in on Scary Kerry. I agree that BG would be a much tougher opponent for GWB here in the South than JFK.

[Plumrodimus]

"They personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam."

I think that's was what the Viet Cong did to the indigenous Montagnards wasn't it?

[JimRed]

Save & bump.