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View Full Version : WorldNetDaily: Swiftboats sink under waves of truth



Nbadan
08-30-2004, 05:29 AM
WorldNetDaily? I think MFD is gonna have a aneurysm if he reads this article...


© 2004 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

When George W. Bush loses this election, his primary regret may be unleashing his attack dogs to slime John Kerry's combat record in Vietnam. Americans don't like smear campaigns. This one will backfire bigtime.

After two weeks of freewheeling, unanswered attacks on cable television and right-wing talk radio, the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth suddenly ran aground when Americans learned they weren't telling the truth. Every single charge made against John Kerry has been discredited. Even worse, Kerry's attackers have been exposed as nothing but a front group for the Bush campaign.

Charge No. 1: According to veteran Larry Thurlow, Kerry didn't deserve the Bronze Star for his rescue of crew member Jim Rasmussen because his swiftboat never came under enemy fire.

Truth: It's all a big lie. Thurlow's allegation is contradicted, first of all, by the eyewitness testimony of Rasmussen, who says gunfire raked the river every time he came up for air. Rasmussen's version of events is backed up by Wayne Langhofer, who manned a machine gun aboard the swiftboat directly behind Kerry's. "There was a lot of firing going on, and it came from both sides of the river," he told the Washington Post. Most significantly, Thurlow's own citation for the Bronze Star he also received that day refers to "heavy automatic weapons and small-arms fire from both banks."

Charge No. 2: According to swiftboat leader John O'Neill, Kerry didn't deserve the Silver Star because all he did was chase down a lone "teenager in a loincloth clutching a grenade launcher which may or may nor have been loaded." Again, O'Neill says Kerry never came under enemy fire.

Truth: It's all a big lie. John O'Neill was nowhere near this particular attack, but Bill Rood was. He and Kerry skippered two out of three swiftboats on the river that day; the third captain was later killed in combat. Rood, now an editor of the Chicago Tribune, this week broke a 35-year silence to tell what happened. He describes the man Kerry chased down and shot as "a grown man, dressed in the kind of garb the Viet Cong usually wore." He clearly remembers all boats coming under heavy fire from several enemy troops, as well as from the opposite shore – and says Kerry returned with a "loaded B-40 rocket launcher" he had seized from the man he killed.

Charge No. 3: According to the group's second ad, after Kerry returned from combat, he went before Congress and accused American soldiers of committing atrocities in Vietnam.

Truth: Another big lie. Yes, Kerry came home to oppose the war. But, as Republican Sen. John McCain insists, he earned the right to do so. Yes, Kerry testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But, no, he did not accuse Americans of atrocities. He told senators of atrocities American soldiers had already publicly confessed to in other forums – and laid the blame not on them but on Pentagon superiors who sent them into an unwinnable war.

Claim: The Bush campaign has no connection to the soi-disant Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Truth: That's the biggest lie of all. Here's the evidence. Until he suddenly resigned, Ben Ginsburg, chief attorney for the Bush campaign, was legal adviser to the Swift Boat gang. The ads were paid for by Bob Perry, big Bush contributor and buddy of Karl Rove. They were produced and marketed by the same production and advertising companies that prepared Bush's attack ads against John McCain in 2000. And, until he resigned, one veteran who appeared in the swiftboat ads also served on Bush's campaign advisery committee.

Bush is behind these ads for an obvious reason. He can't defend the war in Iraq, so he must focus on Vietnam. He can't defend his own military record, so he must try to destroy John Kerry's. It's the same reason he attacked John McCain in 2000 and Max Cleland in 2004. He can't stand running against a war hero.

After all, Kerry volunteered for Vietnam; Bush used his daddy's influence to stay out. Kerry won five medals; Bush, none. Kerry served four months in combat; Bush, not even four seconds. No doubt which one's qualified to be commander in chief.

CNN turning right-wing, W.N.D. turning left-wing, W.'s daughters attending gay weddings, Kerry's daughters booed by a MTV crowd...up is down..down is up...

Tommy Duncan
08-30-2004, 11:03 AM
The damage has been done to Kerry. Again, Kerry could have avoided this by just leaving his Vietnam service as background and taking the president directly on with regards to his prosecution of the war on Islamist terrorism.

Instead Kerry wanted to play it safe and self promote himself as a hero, a move which has backfired on him. It makes him look like a phony. His subsequent anti-war activities won't endear him to a lot of the voters he tried to attract by playing up his service.

Kerry's response to the Swift Vets was too late and weak. Now Bush has been on the front page of the NY Times saying that he doesn't think that Kerry lied about his service record and gave a televised interview in which he stated that he thought that Kerry's service was certainly more heroic than his. That's how far off track the Kerry campaign has gone that now Bush is Kerry's best defender. Bush gets to look rather magnanimous with him praising his opponent, defending his opponent, and appearing humble.

The Swift Vets will be blamed for this, but Kerry gave them the opportunity. Kerry has not had the guts to challenge Bush directly on the actual decision to invade Iraq. Now Bush can go into this convention with his opponent agreeing that it remains the right decision to invade Iraq. Kerry has failed to put Bush on the defensive constantly on any issue of substance. Anyone who has been paying attention can see this fundamental flaw in Kerry's campaign. He's made this election all about personal hatred of George W. Bush. That's not appealing, just as it wasn't in 1996.

Somewhere in the world a former first lady smiles.

Yonivore
08-30-2004, 12:23 PM
Wait a minute, didn't President Bush just say yesterday that he believes John Kerry's service in Vietnam was more admirable than his own during that time?

Can't blame the President for Kerry's own self-destruction.