Apocalypse Kerry (Great Read!)

The Claremont Institute ^ | 8/18/04 | John H. Hinderaker and Scott W. Johnson

[wagglebee]

John Kerry took the floor of the United States Senate on March 27, 1986, and delivered a dramatic oration indicting the foreign policy of the Reagan Administration. As is his habit, Kerry drew on his Vietnam war experience in explaining his opposition to the policy.

"I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia," he said. "I remember what it was like to be shot at by Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and having the President of the United States telling the American people that I was not there."

To emphasize the importance of this incident to his subsequent political development, Kerry asserted: "I have that memory which is seared—seared —in me, that says to me, before we send another generation into harm's way we have a responsibility in the U.S. Senate to go the last step, to make the best effort possible to avoid that kind of conflict."

The story of his 1968 Christmas in Cambodia is one that Kerry has told on many occasions over the years. He invoked the story in 1979 in the course of his review of the movie "Apocalypse Now" for the Boston Herald. Most recently, Kerry told the story—with remarkable embellishments involving a CIA man who gave him his "lucky hat"—last year on separate occasions to reporters Laura Blumenfeld of the Washington Post and Michael Kranish of the Boston Globe.

Certain elements of Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia story were incredible on their face. Kerry attributed responsibility for his illegal 1968 mission to Richard Nixon, despite the fact that Lyndon Johnson was president at the time. The Khmer Rouge who allegedly shot at Kerry during his "secret" mission did not take the field until 1972.

Moreover, there is no record that Swift boats—the type of boat under Kerry's command—were ever used for secret missions in Cambodia. Their size and noise make them unlikely candidates for such missions in any event. Indeed, the authorized biographer of Kerry's Vietnam service—historian Douglas Brinkley in his book Tour of Duty—omits any mention of such a covert cross-border mission to Cambodia at any time during Kerry's service.

Over the past few weeks, the Christmas in Cambodia tale, a keystone of John Kerry's Vietnam autobiography, has been revealed to be fraudulent. On Christmas 1968, Kerry was docked at Sa Dec, 50 miles from Cambodia in an area from which the Cambodian border was in fact inaccessible.

Last week, after the falsity of Kerry's account became public, the Kerry campaign issued a statement "correcting" the story. According to the Kerry campaign, the mission referred to took place in January 1969 when Kerry "inadvertently or responsibly" crossed the border into Cambodia. However, three of Kerry's Swift boat crewmates have denied entering Cambodia at any time, and no one has corroborated Kerry's claim.

The suggestion that Kerry may have "inadvertently" strayed into Cambodia—leaving aside whether that was even possible—constitutes a complete retreat from the point of Kerry's original story: that he lost his faith in government because the President lied about having sent American troops into Cambodia. And, of course, it contradicts his story about ferrying a CIA man to Cambodia.

Given the attention lavished on President Bush's service in the Air National Guard earlier this year, we thought that newspapers such as the Washington Post and the New York Times would want to devote comparable attention to John Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia story. We also thought they would want to consider what the falsity of Kerry's story might have to tell us about the uses to which Kerry is putting his Vietnam service in the current presidential campaign.

To date, however, we have been wrong. Neither the influential mainstream newspapers nor the broadcast television networks have reported the meltdown of Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia story. Only readers of Internet weblogs such as ours have stayed on top of the exposure of Kerry's tall tale. Or on the Kerry campaign's lame efforts to resurrect a version of the story that contradicts what Kerry has said for the past 25 years, but allows Kerry to continue using his Vietnam experiences, real and imagined, for his own political purposes.

Whatever the reason—and we have our suspicions—when it comes to scrutiny of Senator Kerry's veracity, the mainstream media are saluting, but they are decidedly not reporting for duty.

[wagglebee]

Neither the influential mainstream newspapers nor the broadcast television networks have reported the meltdown of Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia story.

Kerry dreamed up the Cambodia story to slam Reagan and Nixon, and the press ate it up. Now he's using it to run for president and the press is eating it up. Kerry is a bold-faced liar and the leftist media doesn't care, all because they hate the Republican Party.

[Just mythoughts]

Wonder if this was the same month that he got Secretary of the Navy, Lehman to sign that new citation?

[lepton]

bookmark bump

[freddiedavis]

BUMP FOR THE SUPPORT OF SWIFT VETS HERE... http://www.swiftvets.com/

[Dajjal]

"I wish they had a delete button on LexisNexis."
-- John F'n Kerry
Washington Post, 6/1/03

Or at least a "revise to suit taste" button.

[concerned about politics]

"Sen. John Kerry and his media boosters are hoping bogus allegations that President Bush went AWOL from the National Guard will catapult him into the White House - but during the 1992 presidential campaign, Kerry angrily denounced Bush's father for raising Bill Clinton's Vietnam draft record.

In fact, back then, Kerry called those who wanted to make Vietnam service an issue "cowardly."

"I'm here personally to express my anger, as a veteran," Kerry told National Public Radio two months before the 1992 election, "that a president who would stand before this nation in his inaugural address and promise to put Vietnam behind us is now breaking yet another promise and trying to use Vietnam and service in order to get himself re-elected."

"That is not an act of leadership, that is an act of shame and cowardice," the Massachusetts Democrat railed."

[wagglebee]

It still amazes me that the media has not picked up on the Lehman aspect. It's right there on sKerry's website for anyone to see and it incontrovertible evidence of his lies.

[Tribune7]

bump

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Whatever the reason—and we have our suspicions—when it comes to scrutiny of Senator Kerry's veracity, the mainstream media are saluting, but they are decidedly not reporting for duty.

I love the closing!!!!!

[Dahoser]

What is with the last two RAT nominees and movies? Algore with Love Story, and F'n with Apocalypse Now?

[Just mythoughts]

So true. I sure would like to hear Lehman's explanation for updating a "vietnam" citation.

[Viet-Boat-Rider]

Here is the kind of lier that Kerry is:

Kerry titles his book "Tour of Duty" for his service in Vietnam. He also claims that he had TWO tours of duty in Vietnam (because of his time on the USS Gridley)

Kerry twists the truth so much, you have to watch EVERY WORD HE SAYS. He will lie to you and weave a story (lie) so subtly that you are unaware that he is taking you down the prim-rosed path.

Here is the truth as compared to Kerry's lies. KERRY NEVER EVEN SERVED ONE TOUR IN VIETNAM. HE IS A LIER.

Yes he was in Vietnam (for 4 months) and yes he was on the deep water coast of Vietnam on the USS Gridley (for 5 weeks)but he did not serve a tour in Vietnam.

A Tour in the Nam was 12 months, one year, 365 days, one circle around the sun. Guys would count down the days until their time was up. It was a big deal. When you only had a few weeks to go until your year was up, you were "SHORT", going home soon.

This issue is important for this reason. John Kerry knows that he didn't serve a Tour, let alone TWO Tours, yet he brazenly reports that he did, he lies. Kerry lies about almost everything. That's my point. He can not be trusted.

One might argue 'Well, the time that Kerry spent in Nam was HIS tour, so what is the big deal". If that is your argument then Kerry should have named his book "My Time in Nam" or something. Not lie and give the impression that he spent a tour in Nam. AND, there is NO excuse for his claim for TWO TOURS in Nam, my God. What a lier.

Kerry's lies smack of Michael Mooreism.

As far as Unfit for Command is concerned, I have read it. The Swifties could give a crap less if John Kerry got medals, their issue is the same as what I explained above (and the fact that Kerry smeared their good name with lies) and that is that Kerry can not be trusted. He is unfit for command.

[Savage Beast]

If it were not for the endless, relentless, ruthless, ubiquitous barrage of pro-Democrat propaganda coming from the "mainstream newsmedia"--including distortion, selective reporting, voluntary censoring, and outright mendacity--John Kerry would not be a serious candidate for the presidency of the United States.

The fact that a man such as this is a serious candidate is cause for profound concern.

The fact that half the electorate has resisted this barrage of propaganda is a measure of the steadfastness of the American people and the strength, health, and continued ascendancy of the American Heartland.

[savedbygrace]

Whatever the reason—and we have our suspicions—when it comes to scrutiny of Senator Kerry's veracity, the mainstream media are saluting, but they are decidedly not reporting for duty.

That's gonna leave a mark.

[VadeRetro]

Whatever the reason—and we have our suspicions—when it comes to scrutiny of Senator Kerry's veracity, the mainstream media are saluting, but they are decidedly not reporting for duty.

Neatly done! Understated but perfectly clear.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

My Favorite post for dims and trolls
who slither in here each day.
And the Lame Stream media
who find the real news on Free Republic,
then rewrite and spin the truth.

Mommy Heinz!
Help!

Look what the Washington Post said on 8/21/04

"Although Kerry campaign officials insist that they have published Kerry's full military records on their Web site (with the exception of medical records shown briefly to reporters earlier this year), they have not permitted independent access to his original Navy records. A Freedom of Information Act request by The Post for Kerry's records produced six pages of information. A spokesman for the Navy Personnel Command, Mike McClellan, said he was not authorized to release the full file, which consists of at least a hundred pages. "

Look! What the Harvard Crimson wrote about me in 1970

Published on Wednesday, February 18, 1970
John Kerry: A Navy Dove Runs for Congress
By SAMUEL Z. GOLDHABER
Crimson Staff Writer

"...One time Kerry was ordered to destroy a Viet Cong village
but disobeyed orders and suggested that the Navy Command
simply send in a Psychological Warfare team to be
friend the villagers with food, hospital supplies,
and better educational facilities."


Now my shipmates on the
USS GRIDLEY CG-21
are attacking me.

Click Here Mommy
and see what
the USS GRIDLEY crew say.

They say I told lies in Tour of Duty
GRIDLEY CREW ARE LIKE
SWIFT BOAT VETS MEANIES!

Mommy : People can get
MY real book here, right now, online FREE!!
I'm so proud of it!
The New Soldier,
By John Kerry
and Vietnam Veterans
Against the War


Mommy : Please don't be mad
about my hero Al Hubbard.

Head of Kerry's Vietnam Vets Against the War was Vietnam Vet phony
"Many of the stories were later shown to be fictional. Other so-called Vietnam veterans, such as the executive secretary of VVAW, Al Hubbard, a self-styled poet ("See what you've become, Amerika," ends one of his Vietnam odes),
turned out to have no record of service in Vietnam."


Mommy : Why does McCain
still campaign with Bush?
Mommy : Why doesn't Al Gore defend me?
He is a Vietnam Vet.

Mommy : Did Hillary
"leak" FBI Files on me?
I even used her famous slogan?

"Kerry entered and abandoned Vietnamese village and slaughtered domestic animals
owned by the civilians and burned down their homes with his Zippo lighter."



It only takes one idiot to raze a village!
(My original response!)

Mommy : Where is Ted Kennedy?

[tuesday afternoon]

The suggestion that Kerry may have "inadvertently" strayed into Cambodia—leaving aside whether that was even possible—constitutes a complete retreat from the point of Kerry's original story: that he lost his faith in government because the President lied about having sent American troops into Cambodia.

Bump.

[CholeraJoe]

"The horror! The horror!"

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The fact that a man such as this is a serious candidate is cause for profound concern.

Exactly!!

[alwaysconservative]

Is that a true sKerry quote? How delightful if it is! What was the context?