Posted on 09/05/2004 8:31:11 PM PDT by pjsbro
John Kerry's biographer today called on the presidential candidate to release his military records and warned a Navy investigation into his medals could prove to be the "death knell" of his campaign.
In the past, Kerry has said he could not release some documents because of contractual obligations to Douglas Brinkley, author of "Tour of Duty." Brinkley said he has no contractual claims to any of the papers.
"Clearly some of these military records should be made available to the press," he said on Steve Malzberg's WABC New York radio show today.
Brinkley also said that if the Navy investigation reveals deception in connection with Kerry's medals, it could be the "death knell" for Kerry's campaign. Professing uncertainty about what to make about the Swift Boat Vets' claims, Brinkley said: "Right now it's unclear. So we have to just wait to see what all this adds up to."
"Is it sloppiness, is it purposeful intent, is there an easy explanation for it?" Brinkley wondered.
The Pentagon ordered an official investigation into the awarding of five Vietnam War decorations to the Massachusetts senator.
The London Telegraph says the inquiry is being carried out by the inspector general's office of the U.S. Navy.
"It is the responsibility of all personnel to correct errors in official records," a Navy spokesman told the paper. Another official said privately: "There's a feeling that it's time to deal with this thoroughly, once and for all."
As WorldNetDaily reported last week, the Department of Defense informed Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England of a formal request to investigate alleged military code violations in Sen. John Kerry's Silver Star award.
The request was made by the public-interest group Judicial Watch after news reports revealed Kerry's campaign website displays a document listing a "Silver Star with combat 'V'" even though the combat "V" device is never given with the nation's third highest award for heroism.
Also, there are three citations for the award, with the third, issued more than a decade after the event, bearing the signature of former Navy Secretary John Lehman.
Lehman, however, says he had nothing to do with the citation.
"It is a total mystery to me," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I never saw it. I never signed it. I never approved it. And the additional language it contains was not written by me."
The Telegraph says Lehman endorses the investigation of Kerry's awards, stating the relevant records need to be "thoroughly researched and the facts established."
Kerry's campaign is firing back, calling the Navy probe an expensive waste.
"The facts are clear," Kerry adviser Michael Meehan told the Telegraph. "The Navy awarded John Kerry the Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V and three Purple Hearts. This is a waste of taxpayers' dollars and the Pentagon's time, especially during wartime."
Though Judicial Watch is hoping for a report before the Nov. 2 presidential election, the Navy thus far is remaining silent on any timetable.
Jerome Corsi, author of "Unfit for Command," the New York Times No. 1 best-seller by Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, told WorldNetDaily he considers the Judicial Watch complaint "an important and serious investigation."
"We believe the secretary of the Navy will validate the charges we've made in 'Unfit for Command,'" he said.
In a letter responding to Judicial Watch's complaint, the inspector general of the Defense Department, John R. Crane, cited Section 8(d) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, which states "the IG of the Department of Defense shall expeditiously report suspected or alleged violations of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (Uniform Code of Military Justice), to the Secretary of the military department concerned or the Secretary of Defense."
JF'nK is toast...
Can we have a JAG episode on this.....?......be still my heart
FRENCH toast!;)
I just would like to hear why Kerry thought he needed THREE different Silver Star citations.
Hopefully take down a few Senate and Congressional seats as well.....
John Kerry is a total mystery to me and a lot of folks. Unfortunately the dems don't worry about details when they choose their candidates.
Go off, John Kerry. Your hour has been bloated beyond measure like the distended bellies of the truth-starved legions who have followed you, without manna. America will not re-enter that decade, to lose that war all over again. Comfortable retirement beckons you, and your beloved. Go forth and kill brain cells.
> "Is it sloppiness, is it purposeful intent, is there
> an easy explanation for it?" Brinkley wondered.
It's complicated.
Kerry's krack Nuance Team is working on it 24x7.
They'll get back to us on 03 Nov.
Brinkley had better mind his situational awareness.
He's been just a little too honest today, and that's
risky around high ranking Democrats. Even one more
revealing sentence could scuttle Kerry's carefully
planned reincarnation of PT-109.
It`s too late
Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time There's something wrong here, there can be no denying One of us is changing, or maybe we've stopped trying
And it's too late, baby, now it's too late Though we really did try to make it Something inside has died and I can't hide And I just can't fake it
It used to be so easy living here with you You were light and breezy and I knew just what to do Now you look so unhappy, and I feel like a fool
And it's too late, baby, now it's too late Though we really did try to make it Something inside has died and I can't hide And I just can't fake it
There'll be good times again for me and you But we just can't stay together, don't you feel it too Still I'm glad for what we had, and how I once loved you
But it's too late, baby, it's too late Though we really did try to make it Something inside has died and I can't hide And I just can't fake it
Why wouldn't a man with the truth on his side release this info? What's in there that's so damaging?
Kum ba yah, my Lord, Kum ba yah!
LOL!
Kerry is stuck in a catch 22. If he doesn't release his records the American people will think he has something to hide. If he does release his records the American people will see what he IS hiding.
He is dead meat either way.
Did I ever promise NOT to say "I told you so"?
I think I hear the Fat Lady clearing her throat....getting ready to sing...
Semper Fi
John Kerry can say he will not allow his service to this country or his fitness to serve as Commander-in-Chief to be questioned all he wants. The fact is, his service, and his record, will be. That's how it works. A President is elected not just on what he claims, but what his record is and his character.
Unfortunately for John Kerry his service is being questioned by the very people he served with, his record in the Senate is less than stellar, and his character is deeply flawed with the many positions he takes on the issues.
Any reasonable voter who takes his or her vote seriously can easily conclude that John Kerry is "UNFIT FOR CAMMAND"
And the 9-11 Commission was money well spent?
What waste of money? Have a few salaried Navy officers and office workers look through some records? Sheesh, Tereazzzzzza spends more on shoes in a week.
CAMMAND = COMMAND :-)
Brinkley knows it's all over, and he's putting as much distance between himself and kerry as he can before the bomb goes off. The bad part is, brinkley probably knew all the time that kerry was lying about his record, but would never have said a word if kerry hadn't been caught by the swifties.
WoW! sKerry's going down in flames.
Excellent website, thanks for the link
If it was a month before the election I'd be saying "checkmate" right about now, but stranger things have happened in elections.
Bush would do well to keep his fingers clear and just watch while Kerry spins in the blender.
I just don't believe that the pentagon is going to release any negitive news about Kerry. More likely the opposite. I don't rely on any government agency to get to the truth of anything. More than likely this is an atempt by Bush to prove that he is not behind the swift boat adds. The outcome is probably already pre-determined and Kerry is going to come out shinning on this one. That is my guess.
Wow. That Lehman angle is dynamite. I hadn't heard that part before.
He probably had his North Vietnamese manservant Fu Ling Yu fill out hundreds and then he sent them all out, hoping at least one would get signed. He got three. :)
I vote (B)
If the IG is just looking at the paper record and not deposing anyone involved then I would expect a speedy report to the Secretary of the Navy.
I'll take either. They're both deadly. LOL.
Did Brinkley's NEW YORKER piece ever come out explaining away Cambodia? I've been on vacation much of August and didn't hear. He sure seems to be pedaling away from Kerry now when previously he was attempting to salvage Kerry's military record for the campaign.
There is something so terrible in his military records that he'll risk any price associated wth hiding it than expose himself to the massive cost of showing it.
It is the same logic that will make it impossible for him to reveal the pre-nup deal he has with Terry Kerry. Why should we trust him with our money when his wife doesn't trust him with her money!
Kerry is an arrogant elitist, a lazy man, who hasn't done a damn thing in 20 years.
If Kerry had any integrity at all, on Tuesday morning, he would resign as candidate for President and resign as Senator. He has no integrity.
No., let the Navy do it's job. Hold your emails. Keep your phosphorus dry.
I also wonder just how bi-partisan this investigation will be.
Bush's plans for the next four years, and a Republican strong hold for a few more generations?
INTREP
My bet is that the record will show everything Kerry wanted it to show--in 1969. IOW, we'll find out that 99.9% of John Kerry's wartime record was written by John Kerry.
MJY,
You are SO right.
For someone who claims he learned enough in 4 months in Vietnam to qualify to be president, Kerry doesn't seem to have learned that he can't shape the battlefield on which he is fighting and losing. He keeps proving over and over again how truly unfit for command he is.
He talks the talk about not ALLOWING his service or his fitness be questioned, but he can't walk the walk.
WE need to keep questioning, demanding answers, insisting that Kerry account for himself.
Did Kerry go to Cambodia? Were there CIA agents? Why is there no after-action report for his first purple heart? Did he attend a meeting where the murder of senators was considered? Did Kerry negotiate with the Vietnamese in Paris? Did Kerry violate the UCMJ? Did Kerry lie about a woman in NH continuing to work while sick with cancer because she would lose her health coverage otherwise?
There is no moving on from this. This is where we make Kerry make his stand. This is where we rout him. -OhMike
I'll wait until I read corroboration on a site OTHER than WorldNet Daily. Their accuracy often leaves a great deal to be desired.
John Kerry has a big problem!
Diagnostic criteria for 301.81 Narcissistic Personality Disorder (cautionary statement) A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
(1) has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
(2) is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
(3) believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
(4) requires excessive admiration
(5) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
(6) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
(7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
(8) is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
(9) shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
HOW MANY OF THESE TRAITS TO YOU SEE IN JOHN KERRY? I SEE ALL OF THEM. KERRY IS SICK LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND WE CAN NOT ALLOW THIS NUT CASE TO GET ELECTED.
There you have it. Kerry's campaign's admission that he lied. Nothing in this quote about a Silver Star with Combat V, as claimed in the autobiographical information on his website.
I think right now he's attempting damage control on his professional integrity. Taking John Kerry's word on everything and not verifying anything is extremely sloppy work, especially for a historian. This whole thing about the "combat V" that doesn't even exist has got to be killing Brinkley. He's got to stop the bleeding and the only way is to stand back and point at Kerry as the offending party....which is prefectly fine with us.
"No., let the Navy do it's job. Hold your emails. Keep your phosphorus dry."
EXACTLY ! We want Kerry to lose the election, not be replaced by someone we don't have time to defeat...
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