Kerry's Other War Record (John Fund of WSJ targets VVAW Assassin Plot)

Wall Street Journal ^ | March 29th, 2004 | John Fund

[Sabertooth]

John Kerry mentions his service in Vietnam so frequently that it has become a running joke on the campaign press plane. He seldom if ever mentions his postwar activities as a national coordinator and principal spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War, a group he says he quit in 1971 because he was concerned about its radical agenda. One reason may be that a credibility gap has started to widen over his antiwar history, and he clearly doesn't want to discuss it at length. His campaign is issuing misleading and evasive statements on his antiwar service in a way that would do the Pentagon spinners of the Johnson and Nixon administrations proud.

[Sabertooth]

Mr. Kerry's campaign has done more than contradict itself.
It has been in full coverup mode.

< -snip- >

The story is unlikely to go away completely. Last week Gerald Nicosia, the historian who first uncovered evidence the FBI tailed Mr. Kerry back in 1971, reported to police that three of the 14 boxes of the FBI files he obtained under the Freedom of Information Act were stolen from his California home and that other individual files from the remaining 11 boxes were also swiped, including documents about Mr. Kerry that Mr. Nicosia hadn't yet reviewed. "Those revelations are lost now, at least to me," Mr. Nicosia told the Associated Press. Someone, either friend or foe of Mr. Kerry, apparently knew what he was looking for.

[Texasforever]

This is starting to perculate.

[Sabertooth]

FYI

(let me know if you want on or off my VVAW ping list.)

[piasa]

Nontice now that they're coming out with a sex scandal again- anything to distract people from this VVAW thing? They can then harp on "it's all about sex" while avoiding the more important topic altogether.

[GeronL]

BUMP for the Wall Street Journal.

[Texasforever]

Yes and I hope we don't bite this time. This one story would sink any GOP candidate but it needs real focus to have any effect on Kerry.

[teletech]

This is starting to perculate.

I want a full blown boil! GO WSJ!

[nopardons]

This stuff needs to be investigated, collated and used as an October surprise, with it all coming out in one HUGE document drop.

It would be the height of stupidity to get it out now, or prior to the Dem Convention. And no one is going to be paying all that much attention ( except news junkies like us) until after Labor Day.

[Texasforever]

Give it time.

[doug from upland]

They finally did it. A few days ago, I sent this info to a WSJ reporter with whom I have had contact. Too bad he couldn't talk about it on Drudge tonight.

[leadpenny]

Do you mean John Fund?

[leadpenny]

My eyes! My eyes!

[Sabertooth]

This one story would sink any GOP candidate but it needs real focus to have any effect on Ker

Agreed.

There are a few incontrovertible facts here, that need to be hammered:

1. The assassination of Senators was seriously debated by the VVAW elite in KC in 1971.

2. Kerry was present, and voted against it. However...

3. Kerry did not report the plot to the authorities, and...

4. Kerry has subsequently lied about his presence there on numerous occasions, and is now lying about not remembering being present at that meeting. And...

5. Kerry's campaing has contacted all of the eyewitnesses who placed him at the meeting to get them to change their stories. And...

6. His campaign is in ongoing contact with and is planning on working with the self-admitted architect of the plot, Scott Camil, who is now a Green Party activist in Florida. And...

7. FBI files pertinent to all of this that were obtained by pro-Kennedy Biographer Gerald Nicosia were stolen from his home last Thursday night,

That's not taking into account any of Kerry's other VVAW activities, such as meeting with Madame Binh in Paris sometime prior to his Congressional testimony in 1971.

[PRND21]

But he has "misremembered" a lot of key facts about the period.

Bump

[BykrBayb]

Sabertooth, Thanks for keeping me informed. I'm rarely in a position to return the favor, yet you keep pinging me to the important stuff. I appreciate it, and will return the favor when I'm able.

[Sabertooth]

This stuff needs to be investigated, collated and used as an October surprise, with it all coming out in one HUGE document drop.

That option was always risky, and moreso now with the burglary of Nicosia's FBI files on Kerry Thursday night. There is an active coverup, and the best defense against that is an active and ongoing exposure of all available facts. Waiting for a coup de grace is not an option.

The key is focus and exposure. Peripheral theories and scandals need to fall by the wayside, otherwise everything looks like a fishing expedition.

[lavrenti]

That's not taking into account any of Kerry's other VVAW activities, such as meeting with Madame Binh in Paris sometime prior to his Congressional testimony in 1971.

Now, who do you suppose might have a record of that meeting in their files? Likely detailed, too.

Guess who has the authority to release it. He doesn't need Kerry's permission, certainly.

[FairOpinion]

"A few days ago, I sent this info to a WSJ reporter with whom I have had contact. "

===

Excellent!

[Judith Anne]

Wall Street Journal, eh?

I KNEW this story had legs.

And now, those legs are getting longer and stronger.

;-D

[Sabertooth]

Radical Veteran Has Ties To Kerry [Camil... The 'Real Deal']
			Posted by johnny7 On 03/27/2004 4:14:39 AM PST with 12 comments The Ledger ^ | Saturday, March 27, 2004 | BOB ARNDORFER Gainesville man stood trial as 1970s anti-war activist.GAINESVILLE -- ABC's "World News Tonight" hadn't finished before Gainesville resident Scott Camil's phone started ringing. Friends were calling to see if he had seen a Monday evening report about newly disclosed information that the FBI had kept tabs on Sen. John Kerry during his anti-war days in the early 1970s. The report included a passing reference to and a circa-1973 photo of Camil, who had met Kerry at national meetings of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Citing Gerald Nicosia's 2001 book, "Home to War," the ABC report said that at a national...
Pro-Kerry Historian: Kerry Lies About Anti-war Activities
			Posted by areafiftyone On 03/18/2004 6:35:35 AM PST with 5 comments Newsmax ^ | 3/18/04 A Vietnam War historian and supporter of Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry has told CNSNews.com that Kerry is lying about key events related to his anti-war activities in 1971. Kerry said he hasn't spoken to former anti-war associate Al Hubbard since the two men appeared side by side on national television in April 1971, but according to author Gerald Nicosia, that assertion is wrong. So is Kerry's insistence that he did not attend a November 1971 meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, at which group members discussed the possibility of assassinating U.S. senators who were still supporting the war...
Kerry Lying About Anti-War Past, Supporter Alleges
			Posted by kattracks On 03/18/2004 2:58:03 AM PST with 114 comments CNSNEWS.com ^ | 3/18/04 | Marc Morano (CNSNews.com) - A Vietnam War historian and supporter of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has told CNSNews.com that Kerry is lying about key events related to his anti-war activities in 1971. Kerry said he hasn't spoken to former anti-war associate Al Hubbard since the two men appeared side by side on national television in April 1971, but according to author Gerald Nicosia, that assertion is wrong. So is Kerry's insistence that he did not attend a November 1971 meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), at which group members discussed the possibility of assassinating U.S. senators who were still...
KERRY RETREATS FROM HIS DENIAL ON VIETNAM MEET - Evidence Puts Him At Kansas Parley
			Posted by kennedy On 03/19/2004 9:07:07 AM PST with 422 comments New York Sun ^ | Mar 19, 2004 | JOSH GERSTEIN MILL VALLEY, Calif. — Senator Kerry of Massachusetts yesterday retreated from his earlier steadfast denials that he attended a meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War at which a plan to assassinate U.S. Senators was debated. The reversal came as new evidence, including reports from FBI informants, emerged that contradicted Mr. Kerry’s previous statements about the gathering, which was held in Kansas City, Mo. in November 1971. “John Kerry had no personal recollection of this meeting 33 years ago,” a Kerry campaign spokesman, David Wade, said in a statement e-mailed last night from Idaho, where Mr. Kerry is on vacation....
Kerry hedges on 1971 KC meeting [for assassination plot]
			Posted by nwrep On 03/19/2004 8:38:34 PM PST with 72 comments Knight Ridder ^ | March 19, 2004 | SCOTT CANON KANSAS CITY - (KRT) - Confronted with 32-year-old FBI records, Sen. John Kerry's campaign all but conceded he attended a 1971 Kansas City meeting where a fellow anti-war veteran called for political assassinations. Those active in Vietnam Veterans Against the War at the time stress that the suggestion for such a violent approach was angrily rejected. They say their memories do not include Kerry taking part in the radical discussion. A statement Thursday by Kerry's camp said the Massachusetts Democrat did not recall the meeting, although FBI surveillance material and the group's archives clearly show that Kerry resigned from his...
CNN: Documents reveal FBI surveillance of Kerry in early 1970s
			Posted by Oldeconomybuyer On 03/23/2004 5:18:04 AM PST with 52 comments CNN ^ | 3-23-04 | From Phil Hirschkorn NEW YORK (CNN) -- John Kerry's combat experience in Vietnam is central to his bid to become the next commander-in-chief, but Kerry's outspoken opposition to that war drew the personal attention of the president of the United States and FBI agents 33 years ago, documents reviewed by CNN reveal. After Kerry became the national spokesman of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) in 1971, he came under continued surveillance by the FBI, which filed thousands of pages of reports on the VVAW and Kerry himself. It was Kerry, the articulate Yale graduate and Navy lieutenant with three Purple Hearts for...
The VVAW Assassination Discussion - "A lot of people were convinced that this was the way to do it."
			Posted by Hon On 03/24/2004 7:43:30 PM PST with 58 comments March 25, 2004 | Compiled Sometime during a national meeting of the Vietnam Veterans Against The War (VVAW) held November 12-14, 1971 there was an intense "discussion" and vote on a plan offered by Scott Camil to assassinate top Congressional leaders who had voted to continue funding the war in Vietnam. There has been much discussion here and some in the media of this topic. The details are getting confused, and few people have seen any of the original source material. I first came upon the subject in early February when I was looking for information about Kerry in "Winter Soldiers," by Richard Staciewicz. The...
FBI Papers on Kerry Stolen from Author
			Posted by rogueleader On 03/28/2004 12:00:14 AM PST with 9 comments KCBS-740 AM ^ | Mar 27, 2004 | Sue McGuire (KCBS)--A North Bay man who had uncovered evidence the FBI (news - web sites) tailed presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) for months in 1971 says some of the files were stolen this week. Author Gerald Nicosia told police Friday that three of fourteen boxes of once secret FBI files he obtained through the Freedom of Information Act were taken from his Corte Madera home some time Thursday. He says investigators do not have much hope in finding the missing files. "They said it would be almost impossible to try to track fingerprints because we did have CNN...
FBI Papers on Kerry Stolen from Marin County Author
			Posted by NYC Republican On 03/27/2004 6:44:41 PM PST with 16 comments KPIX/KCBS/Yahoo News ^ | 3/26/04 | Sue McGuire North Bay man who had uncovered evidence the FBI (news - web sites) tailed presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) for months in 1971 says some of the files were stolen this week. Author Gerald Nicosia told police Friday that three of fourteen boxes of once secret FBI files he obtained through the Freedom of Information Act were taken from his Corte Madera home some time Thursday. He says investigators do not have much hope in finding the missing files. "They said it would be almost impossible to try to track fingerprints because we did have CNN people...
Documents on FBI's surveillance of Kerry stolen (New Nicosia spin - GOP Coverup for Nixon?)
			Posted by Sabertooth On 03/28/2004 5:55:37 AM PST with 51 comments CNN ^ | March 28th, 2004 Documents on FBI's surveillance of Kerry stolen Historian: 'Odds are in favor' of political motive in theft A decorated veteran, John Kerry became a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Story Tools RELATED Documents reveal FBI surveillance of Kerry in early 1970s YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Vietnam John F. Kerry Richard Milhous Nixon or Create your own Manage alerts | (CNN) -- FBI documents detailing government surveillance of John Kerry in the early 1970s have been stolen from the home of a historian in a suburb of San Francisco, California.Gerald Nicosia, who spent more than...
Author Reports Theft of Some of Kerry's FBI Files (New Info - New Spin)
			Posted by Sabertooth On 03/27/2004 8:47:20 AM PST with 78 comments L.A. Times ^ | March 27th, 2004 | John Gilonna Nicosia said he suspected that the thieves were specifically in pursuit of the files because a camera and other expensive items in the home were left untouched. He added that he did not know exactly what material was taken because it was not cataloged or marked. Three of 14 boxes of files that had been stacked in his kitchen are missing. He said he was moving the remaining documents to a secure location Friday afternoon. Nicosia has not yet looked at all the files. Last week he allowed The Times to photocopy 50 pages concerning the FBI's monitoring of Kerry...

[MamaLucci]

The assassination of Senators was seriously debated by the VVAW elite in KC in 1971.

In spite of this fact, Kerry only resigned his leadership postition with VVAW, he did not quit the group.

[cinnathepoet]

I just sent the WSJ page to our local editorial board asking them to discuss the issue at their next meeting and to write an editorial on the points the author makes in the article. I hope others do the same. Forcing local media to take a stand (even if they take the wrong one) will get the issue to the public and veterans will be less likely to remain charmed and hoodwinked.

[cinnathepoet]

Wow! What a list of resources. Thanks.

[nopardons]

I'll grant you that the break-in and pilfering of the files from Nicosia is problematical and merits a quicker expose,sooner rather than later, but what if Kerry is destroyed prior to the convention in July? A brokered convention looming,or would they keep tarnished goods?

A Hillary anointment, which would be impossible without the bleeding open sore of this denouncement and expose of Kerry,would be ghastly. But it might NOT be Hillary...it could be anyone, ANYONE; some dark horse,none of us have even considered, who might not be all that easy to beat.

[piasa]

14 boxes of files ... is a lot of files.

[piasa]

I don't know- given John Kerry's background and others like Dellums they all sound about as evil as Hillary anyway...

[nopardons]

Kerry is as bad as,if not worse than Hillary.

[piasa]

I'd say worse.

[marty60]

Oh yes, Nixon is orchestrating another records heist from the grave. Next they'll blame GW. Ofcourse any number of people can request the docs. Maybe it is this Kerry SUPPORTERS way of getting rid of even more damning evidence. Midnight bonfire.

[nopardons]

Soould I,but it's close.

[nopardons]

So would I,but it's close.

[Yaelle]

YeSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

SO glad this is growing. I don't care as much about campaign strategy as for the need for truth to worm its way up through the moldy past of John F'n Kerry.

Thank you, WSJ!

[Sabertooth]

Wow! What a list of resources. Thanks.

You're most welcome. Here's another...

SCOTT CAMIL ARCHIVE -- (John Kerry's would-be assassin colleague from the VVAW)
			Posted by Sabertooth On News/Activism 03/22/2004 6:19:41 AM PST with 35 comments Various | March 22nd, 2004 In 1971, Scott Camil, a Vietnam Vet who was radicalized by Jane Fonda during the Winter Soldier Investigation, and a subsequent colleague of Senator John Kerry while the latter was the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, was the architect of a proposed VVAW conspiracy to assassinate seven sitting U.S. Senators. The assassination plot was debated at a VVAW conference in Kansas City, on November 12-15, 1971, and a number of eyewitness accounts, as well as FBI files obtained by Kerry biographer under the Freedom of Information Act, have placed Senator Kerry at the Kansas City VVAW conference, despite denials by...

[PhilDragoo]

The Boston Globe photo shows Kerry in his Lowell living room watching Nixon on television, January, 1973.

The caption refers to Kerry as a leader of VVAW.

Rumors of Kerry's prior resignation seem much exaggerated.

Kerry and his willing handmaidens wish to have it both ways:

A) It was long, long ago, and does not matter whether he was at a meeting to discuss killing senators;

B) Kerry's service was not too long ago to be a constant, even incessant, theme of his campaign.

I see both his service and his disservice as fair game.

His medals were self-cited, for trivial wounds and the illegal murder of a wounded combatant;

His stateside activities were at the least treasonous (appreciated by Col. Bui Tin et al) and perhaps criminal conspiracy.

The agency of Hurley as memory gestapo is a fatal case of doth protest too much.

The theft a la Cameron Kerry of the documents is icing.

[GrandMoM]

Please put me on your ping list. Thanks GrandMoM

[FranklinsTower]

My gut tells me those missing documents were destroyed and/or buried near Kerry's Idaho mountain home. Maybe someone should hike up to the area Kerry snowboarded and fell six times.

It is only a hunch. Nothing more.

[ConservativeNewsNetwork]

All the dirt on Kerry should be kept under wraps until it can have an effect, maybe late September or early October.

The dems and media have harped on Bush's vietnam-era record since the democratic primaries began, and now what happened 35 years ago appears to be the main focus of Kerry's campaign. People are sick of it, and it has lost any potency it ever might have had. We should be careful that our mud doesn't have time to drip off before the elections.

[Fedora]

Nice to see your and other Freepers' work on this bearing fruit and the message spreading--good job. The strategy you suggest of nailing down the key facts and hammering at them seems sound. I'd need to go back through the threads on this to collect the specifics in one place, but if it hasn't been done already, one thing I'd suggest is compiling in a list format:

1. A complete list of all attendees of the meeting and their eyewitness statements.

2. A list of the Kerry campaign's statements on the meeting, their internal contradictions, and their contradictions with other witness statements.

3. A list of assassination targets named at the meeting, correlated with known/suspected threats and attempts against those targets.

Also, when hammering home these facts, IMO another key is to keep pounding at the nagging questions of why Kerry didn't report what he knew about this plot, why he continued associating with the VVAW once he became aware of the plot, and why he hasn't been forthcoming about the chronology of his relationship with the VVAW after he became aware of the plot. Kerry's failure to answer these questions satisfactorily makes him look like a suspect without an alibi.

[highlander_UW]

Is it just me, or is participating in a vote to assassinate Senators a really bad thing?

Why isn't Kerry in jail?

[AmericanVictory]

Bbbut! He was for the Vietnam War before he was against it. It's a nuanced thing.

[AmericanVictory]

Bbbut! He was for the Vietnam War before he was against it. It's a nuanced thing.

[Robert_Paulson2]

They are all members of the communist party engaged in an active attempt to overthrow the people and the government of the United States of America.

[windchime]

Bump!

[samantha]

Why is nobody talking about the shooting of one of the targeted Senators,John Stennis? Is it because he was shot in a so-called holdup? This was more than a holdup,the perps waited for him at his house.

[Truth29]

Good for the WSJ. Now a real challenge - how to get the alphabet soup ABCCBSNBSCNN to start covering the story and hounding Kerry for an explanation.

[Iowa Granny]

John Fund, WSJ ping.

[Right_in_Virginia]

BTTT

[PJ-Comix]

Mr. Kerry told a Boston radio station the whole story was "such ancient history." It was time to move on.

And yet Ketchup Boy keeps bringing up his Vietnam War record which is even MORE ancient.

[sibbel]

Since,
we only have CNN over here,
what news channel would you advice me to use (xcept Fox) in order to get some decent info?

[js1138]

I'll bet fifty cents that John Kerry's "shoulder operation" is timed to coincide with this article.

This is one of the most carefully crafted articles I've ever read. There's nothing new in it, but it has a polish to it that indicates it has been written and rewritten many times. Probably subjected to numerous rounds of fact checking.

It can be no secret that this was coming out, and the timing coincides with the C-Span broadcast of Kerry's 1971 debate on the Dick Cavet Show.

People sneer at Newsmax and the New York Sun, but now the story has been released by the newspaper of record. (the real newspaper of record)