The new Vets for Kerry Campaign Poster
Posted on 08/09/2004 3:55:30 AM PDT by CaptainK
The television ad that aroused the wrath of John McCain and journalist supporters of John Kerry just begins deconstruction of the Democratic presidential candidate's war record. Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, a 214-page critique of his performance in Vietnam and the antiwar movement, is off the presses ahead of schedule.
I have read the book and found it is neither the political propaganda nor the urban legend that its detractors claim. It is a passionate but meticulously researched account of how Kerry went to war, what he did in the war and how he conducted himself after the war. The very serious charges by former comrades deserve answers but so far have produced only ad hominem counterattacks.
Why should details of what Kerry did more than 30 years ago be part of this election campaign? Only because the senator has made them integral to his strategy. Kerry as war hero received more attention at the Democratic National Convention than plans for the future. Thus, what he did in his shortened four months of combat becomes a valid campaign issue.
John E. O'Neill, co-author of Unfit for Command, replaced Kerry as commander of swift boat PCF 94 in 1969 and has been confronting him since 1971. O'Neill told me he is no George W. Bush partisan and probably would have supported John Edwards had he been nominated for president but is committed to keeping Kerry out of the Oval Office. Thus, reversing the usual formulation, the assault on Kerry is personal but not political.
O'Neill told me neither he nor his co-author (Jerome R. Corsi, a writer and expert on the Vietnam antiwar movement) has had contact with the Bush White House or the Bush-Cheney campaign. He said he and Corsi, on their own initiative, went to conservative Regnery Publishing to offer the book.
The co-authors paint Kerry as a reluctant warrior. Contrary to claims by Kerry's supporters that he served two combat hitches in Vietnam, his one-year term aboard a guided missile frigate was far from action. His four months in the brown water navy were terminated eight months early by a third Purple Heart wound, none of which required hospitalization.
The book's strength is the vehemence of testimony by swift boat veterans, alleging that Kerry ''gamed'' the system to win decorations and later betrayed comrades by charging war crimes. Typical is the quote by Bob Hildreth, commanding an accompanying boat: ''I would never want Kerry behind me. I wouldn't want him in front of me either. And I sure wouldn't want him commanding our kids in Iraq and Afghanistan.'' Some 200 ''Swiftees'' on May 4 signed a letter to Kerry demanding full release of his service records.
The book's weakness is support for Kerry's presidential campaign by his swift boat crewmates, presumably people who knew him best. O'Neill told me that these former sailors served with Kerry no more than five weeks. Jim Rassman, now part of the Kerry presidential campaign, was a Special Forces lieutenant spending a few days with Kerry when he fell or was knocked off the swift boat while under fire and was fished out of the Mekong River by the future candidate.
The ''band of brothers'' was organized by Kerry, according to this book. It tells of a 2003 telephone call to Adm. Roy Hoffmann, who commanded swift boats in Vietnam, telling him he was running for president. Hoffmann, mistakenly thinking it was former Sen. Bob Kerrey, ''responded enthusiastically.'' Once the admiral realized it was John Kerry, ''he declined to give Kerry his support.''
Unfit for Command sends a devastating message, unless effectively refuted. Perhaps most disturbing are allegations that Kerry's combat decorations are unjustified. His first Purple Heart, the book alleges, was accidentally self-inflicted. His commander, Grant Hibbard, is quoted as saying: ''I didn't recommend him for a Purple Heart. Kerry probably wrote up the paperwork and recommended himself.'' Full release of documents demanded by his critics could settle this claim quickly if it is unwarranted.
Novack doesn't sugar coat it. His assessment is very fair, and it spells trouble for Kerry.
Can't wait to get a copy!!!!!
"...when he fell or was knocked off the swift boat while under fire...."
It is as yet undetermined whether there was or was not enemy fire when Kerry pulled Rassmann out of the water.
By the way, when does it come out? I went to Barnes and Noble (both the brick and mortar store and the on-line store) and they would let me preorder, but didn't have a release date. I don't do Amazon because I've had such bad experiences with them.
Bump!
Three Purple hearts in 4 months with no hospitalization. Just for comparison purposes:
"In 1942, at the age of 19, Bob Dole joined the Army to fight in World War II. He became a second lieutenant in the Army's 10th Mountain Division, and in the spring of 1943, found himself in the hills of Italy fighting the Nazi Germans. Under a heavy shelling attack, Dole saw the Army radioman go down. He crawled out of his foxhole to try to rescue the wounded soldier, but was instead hit by gunfire himself. After the battle, the medics thought Dole would die, however Dole did survive with a shattered right shoulder, fractured vertebrae in his neck and spine, paralysis from the neck down, metal shrapnel throughout his body and a damaged kidney. The doctors did not think that Dole would ever walk again. Dole was decorated twice. He received TWO Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with Oakleaf Cluster. Dole then received extensive rehabilitation and nine surgeries. Four years later, Dole had achieved a significant recovery. The story is that to this day, Dole still has the cigar box with receipts of donations of the monies collected for his hospital bills by Dawson's Drug Store and the people of Russell, Kansas. He keeps this as a reminder of their generosity and love."
John Kerry, you`re no Bob Dole.
I think it was supposed to be released in September, but the print run is ready early and may be out as early as next week. (emphasis: "I think...")
You folks just dont get it. How many times do I have to say it. This book will not stop die hard Bush Bashers. They hate George Bush enough to give this country away to Bin Laden and his terrorists just to pay us back for their defeat in Florida. Prayerfully articles like this will help with those who are so stupid they havent quite made up their minds yet.
And I have heard that there is even more in the book about Kerry's post vietnam record as a war protestor.
Encouraging that the big papers are printing info, but so far, I've only seen editorializing. When will the AP, Reuters, NYT, etc. do these stories backed by solid journalism?
waiting......
ping
Amazon lists the book as being 256 pages versus 214 accrding to Novak. There must be 42 pages of end notes.
The book wasn't written to convince "die hard Bush Bashers" to vote for George Bush. By definition, they won't. They are also a minority. The SBVFT, a non-partisan group, wrote the book to expose the lies of John Kerry using their firsthand knowledge of his service in Vietnam and the history of his antiwar activities. It is up to the voters to decide what they want to do. I'm glad they wrote the book regardless of what the political impact will be.
thanks for posting Novak! And his column is syndicated all over the country.
thanks for posting Novak! And his column is syndicated all over the country.
Kerry served two hitches? No, no. He was only in Viet Nam long enough to hitch his pants up twice.
Hahahahah. Bwahahahahaha. OMG, you have me laughing!!!
AP, Reuters and the NYT do not do solid journalism. They do, at best, mediocre reporting, always with a slant (i.e., never objective).
Yes yes. One was a "cruise," the other was the roughly 4 month tour.
When will this book be at Barnes and Noble? I can not wait to buy one and place it on the check out counter at Barnes and Noble.
One interesting quote from Jim Wright, who was Kerry's superior in the Swift Boats, from the above listed article: “When he got his third Purple Heart, three of us told him to leave. We knew how the system worked and we didn’t want him in Coastal Division 11. Kerry didn’t manipulate the system, we did.”
Give Kerry a break!!!!!!!!!!! He told a lie about being in Cambodia (he wasn't) in order to be able to say that the U.S. was in Cambodia (Nixon had just announced publicly that we weren't). He had a bigger issue - to point out that Nixon was a bad guy and that the war was wrong! So, cut him some slack on lying!
Oh, wait a minute. The Dems accuse Bush of telling a lie about weapons of mass destruction and Al-Qaeda in Iraq. All available intelligence said that there were weapons of mass destruction and Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
So, who is the one who tells lies, Kerry or Bush? Why doesn't the lib media have THIS debate?
According to Wright, Kerry initiated unjustified use of force. Amazing too, the difference wherein Wright and his Swift boat crews took a purple heart to mean they had made a mistake.
The new Vets for Kerry Campaign Poster
Of course not. But it will prevent Kerry from using Vietnam as a political crutch. Every time democrats bring up his record, they will be asked for Kerry's records.
Kerry tried to claim that they were under fire at the time, but it wasn't true. Also, the film that was shown at the Demo convention with footage of Ketchup boy reenacting the scene had added effects like bullets hitting the water, etc, courtesy of Steven Spielberg's protege.
Correct. I tend to believe those that say it was a mine and that there was no hostile fire, if only because there are more of the vets on that side. But the other side is still out there, and I guess I haven't seen enough to feel it's definitive.
Dole was wounded late in the war ... early spring of 1945 in northern Italy, I believe.
TROLL!!! TROLL!!! TROLL!!!
Can't believe your have resurrected Nixon to try and exonerate Kerry's lies. Kerry lied, Viet Vets Died. Where were you when Sandy Berger was stealing classified materials from the archives to try to help salvage Clinton's legacy? SHAME SHAME SHAME and go back to DU where you belong!
Seems that a simple polygraph among all these people might shed some light on the truth.
DAMN good question! DO you think that there are an investigative journalists left in this country who aren't whores for the DNC?
SBVT Van Odell says that there were no other injuries, there were no bullet holes on any of the boats, and that if they stayed there for nearly an hour to help the #3 boat that hit the mine, how did they do that if there were really "hostile fire"? That ended any doubts in my mind, and I found him 100% credible.
The media will be ruthless with this book; that is if they give it any attention at all.
Better yet, someone should take the TV interviews of the SBVT men and compare them to the "Veterans for Kerry" and analyze their voice stress patterns. I would be surprised if that hasn't already been done...
Thank you, Bob Novak. Bob's column comes after a blatantly partisan editorial by the Sun-Times on Aug 8, 2004, in which the editor used every DNC talking point to smear the swift boat vets.
See: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1187365/posts
Release date was moved up to August 15th.
Just checked my Amazon order and estimated delivery is 8/19 to 8/21, so that would confirm the 8/15 release.
Excellent article -- thanks.
Sounds like an objective review except for the "while under fire" statement.
I believe all of the affidavits from the Swift Boat Vets stated there was a mine detonation by one of the boats, but no enemy fire.
I'm sure this Novak article will get he same amount of media coverage as the "Wilson's wife undercover CIA operative" story.
</sarcasm>
Thank you, I will buy my copy then.
Yeah, maybe they got the year wrong, but the point is to compare Kerry to Bob Dole. How the hell does Kerry who served a fraction of the time, who had a fraction of the injuries, if you could classify what he had as an "injury", come back with more medals than Bob Dole? Kerry refuses to explain that. A guy who use to live on my block did 1 1/2 year in Nam came back with no foot and got one PH. The point is purple hearts are not something they hand out like candy in the military. But maybe they do if you know a Kennedy.
Bob Dole also resigned his senate seat when he ran for President against Clinton. Kerry has been a no show in the U.S. senate for the better part of the last two years ... but still collects full salary and benefits. The difference between Dole and Kerry is a matter of honor ... Dole is honorable in every sense. Kerry is a dirt bag ...
Well, reading Chapter Three sort of brought to mind a book in my library, "The Caine Mutiny" by Herman Wouk.
Shall we call Jacquestrap:
"Old Yellowstain" Kerry?
I should have put in the "grim humor" icon.
The point is that it is OK for Kerry to lie, but Bush gets called a liar for going along with intelligence that everyone concurred with. If Bush had knowingly lied, the Socialist (no longer should be called Democrats) would be screaming for Bush's blood. But if Kerry lies, the Socialists believe that it was in a good cause.
Does this mean that Clinton lied under oath for a good cause?
Yep! And I`m just praying that azzhole doesn`t win, because if he does, this country in for one hell of a lot of trouble. One helllll of a lot of trouble! Like Sonny says from a Bronxtale, you`re just seeing the tip of the iceberg with this guy. I always tell people, try to rememeber when Clinton was running for his first term. People who knew him, who worked with him, were coming out all over saying not to vote for him because he was bad news and looked what happened. They were 1000% right. I even remember one guy on Larry King saying this and Larry trying to brush it off, and look what happened. Al Qaeda built up and became a massive threat to world security, the office of the President was dishonored in the worst possible way not to mention the 2 gazillion gates.. (as compared to Nixons one!) The same thing is happening with Kerry only to me it seems much worse. If he wins, Kerry is going to make Clinton look like amatuer hour. This guy is BAD news! There ain`t nothing about him that is honest, even right down to his heritage. The freaking guy can`t even be honest about his heritage for crying out loud! He`s French-German, yet there he was last St. Paddys day playing the bagpipes wearing a kilt! And then the next day he says he never tries to pass himself off as Irish! Oh really? Then what would you call a guy wears a kilt and plays the bagpipes in an Irish pub, Chinese?
Whitedog57... Never forget to close your < /sarc> tag.
BTT
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.