JOHN KERRY'S KURTZ CHRONICLES, CON'T: AN INTRODUCTION AND THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. [Hugh Hewitt]

Hugh Hewitt.com ^ | 15 August 2004 | Hugh Hewitt

[x1stcav]

I do believe that other river is the Bassac. It is in effect a distributary of the Mekong, but only connects to it well into Cambodia.

Try this map:

http://www.dams.org/images/maps/map_mekong.htm

There was a swifty outfit operating on the Bassac. I'll try to get more.

[x1stcav]

Still haven't learned how to reply yet. It gets downright mortifying.

Once again!

I do believe that other river is the Bassac. It is in effect a distributary of the Mekong, but only connects to it well into Cambodia.

Try this map:

http://www.dams.org/images/maps/map_mekong.htm

There was a swifty outfit operating on the Bassac. I'll try to get more.

[CaraM]

Kerry was not an independent agent. His boat could not have been tasked for a "secret mission" without the knowledge and approval of his superiors.

Good point..and I might add: He was a lower ranking officer. Way down on the bottom of the decision-making chain of command!

[js1138]

Another person claiming to have been a PCF commander has claimed to hav been in Cambodia, although not under orders.I believe his boat was 97.

It is extremely interesting that there is detailed history of the helicopter operation, but nothing about the Swift boats.

[conservative in nyc]

You're confusing Kerry's "Christmas in Cambodia" story with his new, improved "January or February in Cambodia" story. That's what Kerry wants us to do. We shouldn't let him:

I'm repeating this from my post on another thread:

There is absolutely no evidence Kerry spent Christmas in Cambodia. Even Kerry has admitted that. He was 55 miles away from the border at Sa Dec.

There is some evidence in the February after-action reports that PCF 94 (likely Kerry's boat at that time) was based at Ha Tien in mid-February. There is also evidence that PCF 94 patrolled the Rach Giang Thanh, NEAR the border with Cambodia, at that time.

You can see the Rach Giang Thanh on this map. The Cambodian border is in purple. Note that the Rach Giang Thanh doesn't cross Cambodia until the town of Giang Thanh, where it significantly narrows. Note also that there aren't many major tributaries of the Rach Giang Thanh that cross into Cambodia.

As far as I can tell, there is nothing in the after-action reports to indicate that PCF 94 had orders to enter Cambodia in February. From the coordinates listed in the reports, I can tell that PCF 94 or 50's patrols stretched up to the town of Giang Thanh (near VS 563639), near the Cambodian border. On February 13, PCF 94 noted some "tax" extortion action at the first "S" curve in the Rach Giang Thanh (VS 518565) near the Cambodian border and the town of Ap Tra Pho), involving a chase of a V.C., but according to the after-action report, the chase stopped at the "boarder". There also were SEAL insertions by "M/T RAIDERS" on February 13 and 14 and extractions by PCF's on February 13.

Read Kerry stooge Meehan's statement carefully: he never said Kerry's formal Navy chain of command ordered him into Cambodia:

Many times he was on or near the Cambodian border and on one occasion crossed into Cambodia at the request of members of a special operations group operating out of Ha Tien

In other words, Kerry's defense is he was near Cambodia, and at one time crossed into Cambodia -- not on orders of any of the Swift Boat Veterans, but on orders of Special Forces. So Kerry was not following orders before he was following orders when he went on his Cambodian excursion.

Although it often sounds like Lanny Davis has been doing nothing but screaming, Kerry's strategy has been to try to meander the Kerry's stories back to what was published in the after-action reports (some of which were written by Kerry) and award citations. (I think we saw that Rassman has been coached to do this, which has made it look like he was flip-floping a little.) Then, the Kerry camp will point to the after-action reports as proof the Swift Vets were lying. Lanny Davis has been trying to do this in between screams.

The problem is that Kerry's stories have been so inconsistent that meandering back to the after-action reports makes him look like Flipper to anyone who is watching.

[GailA]

Why would a CIA agent give hano joh his hat? It does not make logical sense. And since it was a covert mission he sure wouldn't be carrying an extra one with him.

hanoi john probably had his butler pick it up in a war surplus store, then they left it outside to age and mildew even more...wonder if the label inside says made in china?

[CaraM]

Site is inactive. Can you check your link?

[Bonaparte]

"...at Captain's Quarters?"

Great idea! I'm on it. Thanks.

[x1stcav]

From what I can see on these two links the Bassac River was strictly PBR country, but I didn't follow all the links.

http://www.pacifier.com/~sivie/pbr/p0469.htm

http://www.pcf45.com/sealords/sealords.htm

Hope this helps.

[Bonaparte]

Thankyou all! You guys are just the best!

Looks like the Kerry campaign is caught with its pants down once more. No part of the Mekong river runs contiguously with the Cambodian-Vietnamese border. Only the Bassac river does that.

I'm sending this thread URL to Hugh, along with summary.

[Bonaparte]

Oh, man! You bet that helps! Especially the map that clearly shows the Bassac is not only a separately named river but isn't even a part of the Mekong river system.

[NavySEAL F-16]

Great job!

[Bonaparte]

Thankyou, sir.

[conservative in nyc]

Please read post 65.

PCF 94 was based in Ha Tien and patrolled the Rach Giang Thanh in mid-February 1969, according to the after-action reports on Kerry's website. The Rach Giang Thanh is NEAR Cambodia, but doesn't cross into Cambodia within PCF 94's stated patrol zone.

Kerry was probably in charge of PCF 94 by mid-February.

[CaraM]

We all know the liberals lurk around here. I hate for us to do their homework for them. Maybe we'll even come up with a way out for them.

Surely none of us believe that Kerry went on a secret mission to Cambodia in the service of Richard Nixon. (irrelevant of which river is where), or am I wrong on this?

[Bonaparte]

"...a swifty outfit operating on the Bassac. I'll try to get more."

Fantastic! I'll hold off sending all this to Hugh and Capt's Quarters till that's resolved or dead-ends.

[RonDog]

Why would a CIA agent give hanoi john his hat?

It does not make logical sense. And since it was a covert mission he sure wouldn't be carrying an extra one with him...

See also, from www.lileks.com:

Okay, now we get down to the Hat of Cambodia; politics follow. Bale if you wish, and we'll see you tomorrow. Or Monday. I hope it's the latter, because I really want to spend tomorrow night watching grainy black and white noir.

Still here? Okay. Switching to rambling unedited nut-coot mode . . . there.

Hugh Hewitt interviewed a shipmate of John Kerry’s on his show today; the transcript is here. Why this happens on a radio show and not in the Washington Post is a question I’ll let you decide. It’s not like these guys live in the Fortress of Solitude, accessible only by messages relayed by carrier pigeon.

It has to do with Christmas in Cambodia – the only aspect of the SwiftVets story I care to comment on, for reasons I think I stated before. If Kerry’s story is a lie, it’s significant, but not because we have a gotcha moment – gee, a politician reworked the truth to his advantage, big surprise. This is much larger than that. This is like Bush insisting that he flew an intercept mission with the Texas Air National Guard to repel Soviet bombers based in Cuba, and later stating that this event was “seared in his memory – seared” because it taught him the necessity of standing up against evil governments, such as the ones we face today. In other words, it would not only be a lie, but one that eroded the political persona he was relying upon in the election. Kerry has made Vietnam central to his campaign. If he’s making crap up, it matters. But the story of the CIA agent he ferried into the Heart of Darkness gives the gotcha a curious twist; as lawyers say on TV courtroom dramas, it goes to state of mind. What sort of man bedecked with genuine decorations feels compelled to manufacture a story like this one?

Via Ed and the PowerLine, this from the WaPo:

A close associate hints: There's a secret compartment in Kerry's briefcase. He carries the black attaché everywhere. Asked about it on several occasions, Kerry brushed it aside. Finally, trapped in an interview, he exhaled and clicked open his case.

"Who told you?" he demanded as he reached inside. "My friends don't know about this."

The hat was a little mildewy. The green camouflage was fading, the seams fraying.

"My good luck hat," Kerry said, happy to see it. "Given to me by a CIA guy as we went in for a special mission in Cambodia."

Kerry put on the hat, pulling the brim over his forehead. His blue button-down shirt and tie clashed with the camouflage. He pointed his finger and raised his thumb, creating an imaginary gun. He looked silly, yet suddenly his campaign message was clear: Citizen-soldier. Linking patriotism to public service. It wasn't complex after all; it was Kerry.

He smiled and aimed his finger: "Pow."

They use this story to note that Kerry has dusted off the Secret Mission anecdote after dropping it in the bio. What struck me was the calculation here: an aide hints. Secret Compartment. The Intrepid Reporter Perseveres. Reluctantly, Kerry opens the briefcase, and explains the Origins of the Hat to the reporter. (You wonder if the Close Associate mentioned the Secret Compartment more than once. Ask him about it yet? No? Ask again, he’ll show you. He usually does.)

“He carries the black attaché everywhere.” He does? Anyone recall any shots of Kerry with the black attaché? Again, it sounds like something the reporter was told, not something the reporter observed. But here’s an interesting twist. Oh, perhaps it’s a matter of grammar and nothing more. The candidates for the of Democratic nomination filled out questionnaires, and one of the questions was “prized possessions.” Said Kerry:

"My lucky charms: My wedding band, dog tags and lucky hat from Vietnam and the Bible my friend Max Cleland gave me."

When I read this version, I saw the reply in a different light:

Kerry saw combat in Vietnam as a Navy gunboat captain sailing up rivers ringed with danger, came home a decorated veteran and joined the anti-war movement. He named his "lucky charms" as his most prized possession — his wedding ring, his dog tags and his camouflaged "lucky hat" from Vietnam — as well as a Bible given to him by fellow Vietnam veteran Max Cleland.

His ring, his tags, his hat. This does not mean that the hat doesn’t have a CIA backstory. But it could mean that this was, indeed, his hat. Hence his attachment to it. I have an old KSTP cap that hangs in my closet to this day from my old stint on the station, but I’m not going to tell anyone that Stanley Hubbard gave it to me as we were driving to fix the Maplewood transformer at 3 AM.

If the secret illegal mission was the origin of the Lucky Hat, it’s a new revelation.

Again, I’m just speculating. Who knows. But the talismans of life are usually the items we’re dealt by chance or choice, items which gather significance by their banality, ordinary nature, and the fact that they were ours during a time that seared – seared! Itself into our memory. I’ve saved some keys. A T-shirt or two. My press badges, of course. If I’d served four harrowing months in Vietnam I surely would have kept my hat. Having just spent weeks sorting the detritus of my own banal existence, and finding myself gobsmacked over an item squirreled away 20 years ago, I can testify to the power of ordinary objects. I can even see why one would keep the hat close. I think it would be rather odd to carry it around all the time; I mean, my dad was in a war for four years, not four months, and his medals and memorabilia sat undisturbed in a drawer, because that was then and this was Fargo. But there’s nowt as queer as folk.

But. But. How did this work, exactly? Did the CIA agent take off his hat as he was hopping off the boat to wade into the jungle? Here, take this, think of me. Or here you go, pal, you lost your hat back there, take mine, I have another. Square this with the narrative: Kerry was bitter as he bobbed in Cambodia, shot at from all sides – so he takes this hat, this extra hat, this spook lid back to barracks, and now it replaces his own hat as the object that spells luck. That sums up his experience. That brings it all back. Not the hat he wore on the boat in combat, but the hat he got from a spook on an illegal mission – that’s the good luck object, that’s the prized possession.

Work for you?

Maybe; again, I'm just running fiction-writer debugging scripts. If I wrote a novel with a Vietnam vet, I'd use the CIA-hat detail as a sign the character probably spent the war filing reports in San Diego.

There are ads running right now in our market, Bush ads; they say that Kerry voted to cut the CIA budget after the first WTC attack. Perhaps someone thought that these ads could be blunted by suggesting that Kerry was Felix Leiter’s right-hand man. A simple humble hat that truly had personal meaning got a narrative upgrade.

Poor hat.

At least we know this: if Kerry wins, Gary Trudeau already has the floating presidential symbol he uses to cover his inability to draw actual people. If he dared. Which he won’t. Or can't. I think the former is cover for the latter. Does it matter? BUSH WAS AWOL! Oh look, the "Daily Show" is on. He's so smart! He must be. Just look at that suit.

>>>>>>>

.

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[Bonaparte]

Thankyou, I did read 65 with keen interest. By putting our heads together we're getting to the bottom of this. Gotta love it.

[Diddley]

--like easily available evidence of many such missions being undertaken by other swift boats in early 1969, would he? That would be way too weird to have been missed even by a supine press crowd

ROTFL. Great observation by Hewitt.

Supine is, of course, the position of the passive, receptive (sometimes unquestioning) partner of a "relationship".

[lstanle]

""...and on one occasion crossed into Cambodia at the request of members of a special operations group operating out of Ha Tien."

I haven't heard Kerry name any crew members who were with him on any of his Cambodia excursions. It looks like he would have wanted someone to back him up on his stories by now. Maybe he is still trying to convince someone they were with him.