John Kerry: Shredding documents and abandoning

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/benshap...s20040211.shtml

 

John Kerry is running as a Vietnam veteran. The Kerry campaign Web site states: "When John Kerry returned home from Vietnam, he joined his fellow veterans in vowing never to abandon future veterans of America's wars. Kerry's commitment to veterans has never wavered and stands strong to this day." But Kerry's resume tells a very different story.

 

Kerry's actions in Vietnam were heroic, but his actions upon his return were inexcusable. Kerry associated with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, a rabid anti-war group that defamed United States soldiers and often protested under the banner of the Viet Cong.

 

Kerry testified before Congress that American soldiers had "raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs ... poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam." He has never named anyone who committed these atrocious acts and admits that he never witnessed these war crimes. Kerry's words certainly contributed to fortifying Viet Cong morale and promoting Viet Cong interests.

 

Kerry's abandonment of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam wasn't over yet. When he became a senator, Kerry continued to stab Vietnam soldiers in the back. Kerry began pushing normalization of trade with Vietnam. To that purpose, he founded the Senate Select Committee for POW/MIA Affairs. Kerry became chair of the committee. In order to normalize trade, the Vietnamese government would have to prove that its hands were now clean with regard to POW/MIAs.

 

Kerry tried to erase the possibility that prisoners of war were still alive in captivity in Vietnam. I spoke Monday evening with Mike Benge, a POW/MIA activist. Benge was a civilian POW held from 1968 until 1973 by the North Vietnamese Army; he spent 27 months in solitary confinement, one year in a "black box," and one year in a cage in Cambodia. Benge accuses Sen. Kerry of shredding key papers documenting "live sightings of POWs in Vietnam and Laos" during the POW/MIA hearings. According to Benge, Kerry attempted to shred all copies to prevent leaks and future declassification of the materials.

 

John F. McCreary, a Defense Intelligence Agency analyst assigned to Kerry's committee, reported knowledge of Kerry's document shredding to Vice Chairman Bob Smith. A memorandum by McCreary explains: "Senator John Kerry ... told the Select Committee members that 'all copies' would be destroyed. This statement was made in the presence of the undersigned and of the Staff Chief Counsel who offered no protest." On April 9, 1992, McCreary verified that the original document was destroyed, as well as 14 copies. The memo continues: "On 15 April 1992, the Staff Chief Counsel, J. William Codinha ... ridiculed the Staff members for expressing their concerns; and replied, in response to questions about the potential consequences, 'Who's the injured party,' and 'How are they going to find out because its classified.'"

 

On April 16, Kerry stated that the original documents had remained in the Office of Senate Security all along, so nothing wrong had been done. Actually, this was not the case, according to McCreary: "the Staff Director had deposited a copy of the intelligence briefing text in the Office of Senate Security at 1307 on 16 April." In a classic CYA maneuver, Kerry had ordered a non-original copy of the document entered into the Office of Senate Security -- but only after protests from staff caused him to rethink complete destruction of the documents. As McCreary stated, this "constitute(d) an act to cover-up the destruction."

 

Mike Benge also told me that Kerry hung one POW/MIA testifier out to dry. Garnett "Bill" Bell was chief of the U.S. Office of POW/MIA Affairs in Hanoi when he testified before the Senate Select Committee. Benge says that he brokered a deal with Bell: Kerry would grant Bell immunity from retaliation by the Defense Department if Bell testified. Bell testified; the immunity never came. Bell was fired, Benge stated.

 

Normalization for Vietnam passed overwhelmingly in the Senate, largely due to Kerry's persistence. Kerry's pro-normalization views seem particularly strong when viewed in comparison with Kerry's other foreign-policy positions. Kerry has flip-flopped repeatedly on the war in Iraq, but his support for the Vietnamese government has been unwavering. According to Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, in 2002 Kerry blocked the Vietnam Human Rights Act from coming to a vote.

 

Is John Kerry committed to Vietnam veterans? Perhaps the ones back in the United States. But for the Vietnam soldiers who died because Kerry provided aid and comfort to the Viet Cong, or the POWs who may have lived out their lives in cages, Kerry's lack of commitment had tragic consequences.

 

But.. remember.. he served in Vietnam.. he was a hero

 

he is a lightning rod

[Guest Cerebus]

Must resist temptation again....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OMGTOWNHALLLOL2004~!!!!1

 

Damn it all...

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

Kerry is banging some 22 year old "secretary" or something of his as well

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

John Kerry also murders kittens.

 

An eyewitness took this photograph:

 

[snuffbox 0]

John Kerry also murders kittens.

 

An eyewitness took this photograph:

 

You forgot to mention 'I was in Vietnam LOL'

[BX 0]

It saddens me that Kerry would take advantage of a four year old Fraggle in that manner. Completely despicable.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

He's a sick individual. Just ask Matt Drudge, who reportedly WAS in that picture.

[Styles 0]

So...is John Kerry going to become the Randy Orton of the Current Events folder?

[Guest hunger4unger]

I think he is. Does that make Bush the HHH of the events folder?

[Styles 0]

I think he is. Does that make Bush the HHH of the events folder?

Well, then we'd have to link Kerry's political push as a consequence of his status as Bush's protege which would simply be wrong.

Let's just keep it at Kerry not having any heat and working too bland a political style....that and he eats puppies.

[NoCalMike 0]

You gotta love the line, "Kerry's abandonment of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam wasn't over yet" I mean come on, if we want to talk about abandoning your fellow men well then.......ermm nevermind I will leave that untouched.

[EricMM 0]

Lordy lordy RobE...

 

Did Kerry shoot your dog or something?

 

Give it a rest.

[Guest BDC]

Lordy lordy RobE...

 

Did Kerry shoot your dog or something?

 

Give it a rest.

Yup, and ate it, too.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Kerry testified before Congress that American soldiers had "raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs ... poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam." He has never named anyone who committed these atrocious acts and admits that he never witnessed these war crimes. Kerry's words certainly contributed to fortifying Viet Cong morale and promoting Viet Cong interests.

 

 

HEAVEN FORBID! His testimony may have improved enemy morale! Obviously, we should completely disregard the validity of what he's saying and quiet him up. And then release some sort of media fabrication so all is well again.

 

I mean, really, what kind of report does the author want? I can take a guess:

 

 

The whole shredding thing seems to be skirting illegalto me. I'm sure if there's any truth to it that Rove will be tossing it out in the general election and we'll find out what gives.

[Guest MikeSC]

Kerry testified before Congress that American soldiers had "raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs ... poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam." He has never named anyone who committed these atrocious acts and admits that he never witnessed these war crimes. Kerry's words certainly contributed to fortifying Viet Cong morale and promoting Viet Cong interests.

 

 

HEAVEN FORBID! His testimony may have improved enemy morale! Obviously, we should completely disregard the validity of what he's saying and quiet him up. And then release some sort of media fabrication so all is well again.

 

I mean, really, what kind of report does the author want? I can take a guess:

 

 

The whole shredding thing seems to be skirting illegalto me. I'm sure if there's any truth to it that Rove will be tossing it out in the general election and we'll find out what gives.

How long was his service? He was injured and got out of Vietnam awfully quickly, if memory serves.

 

Maybe, JUST maybe, he FABRICATED stories.

 

You know, he didn't name a single name or provide one iota of evidence.

 

I could claim that Howard Dean chokes kittens. Doesn't make it true.

-=Mike

...Or does it?

[C Dubya 04 0]

I don't know what Kerry saw or didn't in Vietnam, only he does, but I know people who served, and they tell very similar stories from over there. I believe that Kerry probably saw at least a good portion of what he reported. We don't like to admit it, but some of our soldiers did those horid things over there.

[Firestarter 0]

HEAVEN FORBID! His testimony may have improved enemy morale! Obviously, we should completely disregard the validity of what he's saying and quiet him up

-----

 

Asked about the testimony the other day by Knight Ridder, Kerry said he relied on the Winter Soldier Investigation "because some of it was highly documented and very disturbing. I did in my heart what I thought was correct to help people understand what was going on. I've always honored the service of people over there. I never insinuated that everybody fell into one pot. I was looking forward to telling the truth about some of the things that were happening."

 

This is a statement shot through with mendacity. Let's take it sentence by sentence: 1) The Winter Soldier testimony was not "highly documented," but -- as Mack Owens of the Naval War College has reported -- totally unsubstantiated. The fantastic stories of atrocities should have been unbelievable to any Vietnam vet. 2) Kerry didn't "help people understand what was going on," but rather helped publicize lies. 3) Kerry didn't "honor" the service of vets, but said, "We are ashamed of ... what we are called on to do in Southeast Asia," and maintained that in the vets, America "has created a monster, a monster in the form of millions of men who have been taught to deal and to trade in violence." 4) Kerry did insinuate that the atrocities were widespread, noting that they were "not isolated incidents, but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command." These crimes tainted the nation -- "the crimes threaten [the country], not Reds," as "America lose her sense of morality." 5) If Kerry wanted to tell the truth, he shouldn't have traded in falsehoods.

- Kerry vs. Vietnam vets by Rich Lowry

 

In his book "Stolen Valor," B.G. Burkett points out that Mr. Kerry liberally used phony veterans to testify to atrocities they could not possibly have committed. Mr. Kerry later threw what he represented as his awards at the Capitol in protest. But as the war diminished as a political issue, he left the VVAW, which was a bit too radical for his political future, and was ultimately elected to the Senate. After his awards were seen framed on his office wall, he claimed to have thrown away someone else's medals--so now he can reclaim his gallantry in Vietnam.

Mr Kerry hasn't given me any reason to trust his judgment. As co-chairman of the Senate investigating committee, he quashed a revealing inquiry into the POW/MIA issue, and he supports trade initiatives with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam while blocking any legislation requiring Hanoi to adhere to basic human rights.

- Conduct Unbecoming by Stephen Sherman

 

Kerry no hero in eyes of Vietnam-era veteran by Christopher Ward

 

Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry (V.V.A.J.K.) announce a national coalition with Vietnamese Americans for Human Rights in Vietnam

 

[Kerry's] Vietnam stance irks veterans by Terry L. Garlock

 

-----

 

Pick something else to snivellingly defend. This one will leave you looking more foolish than usual.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

HEAVEN FORBID! His testimony may have improved enemy morale! Obviously, we should completely disregard the validity of what he's saying and quiet him up. And then release some sort of media fabrication so all is well again.

I believe that Kerry probably saw at least a good portion of what he reported.

 

He has never named anyone who committed these atrocious acts and admits that he never witnessed these war crimes.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

stuff

It kind of comes down to this. When you're worried because someone is saying something on another continent that might (SHOCK) boost morale in a country far far away where nobody is speaking English.. Well, I'm not a genius, but it seems kind of silly to me.

 

I'm not an expert on what did or did not happen in Vietnam. That's a subject I've never really done a whole lot of research on, but...

 

Conduct Unbecoming by Stephen Sherman

 

Kerry no hero in eyes of Vietnam-era veteran by Christopher Ward

 

Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry (V.V.A.J.K.) announce a national coalition with Vietnamese Americans for Human Rights in Vietnam

 

[Kerry's] Vietnam stance irks veterans by Terry L. Garlock

 

-----

 

Pick something else to snivellingly defend. This one will leave you looking more foolish than usual.

 

It kind of bothers me that nearly every fucking link I ever see on the issue is never transcript, never an actual news story. It's some opinion pundit's writing that one can never be sure is not being spun to meet their end (and appearantly yours) more conveniently.

 

That's so irritating it makes me want to research the damn thing myself, and I would if I wasn't too busy for politically-inspired issues of the day.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

I'm not an expert on what did or did not happen in Vietnam.

Neither is John Kerry.

 

He has never named anyone who committed these atrocious acts and admits that he never witnessed these war crimes.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

It kind of comes down to this. When you're worried because someone is saying something on another continent that might (SHOCK) boost morale in a country far far away where nobody is speaking English.. Well, I'm not a genius, but it seems kind of silly to me.

 

It's not like the North Vietnamese didn't have Newspapers to report what was being said or anything. They just ignored everything going on here in America.

 

Uh huh.

[Vyce 0]

I'm not an expert on what did or did not happen in Vietnam.

Neither is John Kerry.

 

He has never named anyone who committed these atrocious acts and admits that he never witnessed these war crimes.

You've posted that twice now.

 

And he's ignored it both times.

 

Huh.

[Guest Mosaicv2]

hey just because Kerry has been dominated in the presidental race lately means you have to uncover crap that hes done in the PAST... typical politics

[snuffbox 0]

I put bulshit like this article on the same level as Bush's 'cocaine abuse'. I dont care and I dont think it really matters. I also think that a majority of Americans agree with me about both.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

hey just because Kerry has been dominated in the presidental race lately means you have to uncover crap that hes done in the PAST... typical politics

Erm, what the bloody hell are you talking about?

 

Please never post here again.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

It kind of comes down to this. When you're worried because someone is saying something on another continent that might (SHOCK) boost morale in a country far far away where nobody is speaking English.. Well, I'm not a genius, but it seems kind of silly to me.

 

It's not like the North Vietnamese didn't have Newspapers to report what was being said or anything. They just ignored everything going on here in America.

 

Uh huh.

Of course, those papers were all state-controlled and could have printed basically anything they wanted to anyway, and no one would have been able to check and confirm otherwise.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

I'm not an expert on what did or did not happen in Vietnam.

Neither is John Kerry.

 

He has never named anyone who committed these atrocious acts and admits that he never witnessed these war crimes.

You've posted that twice now.

 

And he's ignored it both times.

 

Huh.

He has never named anyone who committed these atrocious acts and admits that he never witnessed these war crimes.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

One other VVATW stunt I noticed when I flipped through a Facts on File for 1971:

 

A blurb mentions that the soldiers had attempted to turn themselves in for committing war crimes.

 

As for Kerry with the POW/MIA things. Presumably, Kerry, the Vietnam hero, wouldn't be working to hurt the chances of POWs returning home. Right? I'd think that if he was doing that, it's another example of how his hero stuff is BS.

 

Pick a hat and wear it John Kerry.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

hey just because Kerry has been dominated in the presidental race lately means you have to uncover crap that hes done in the PAST... typical politics 

Erm, what the bloody hell are you talking about?

 

Please never post here again.

Well I for one like to uncover all the things a front-running candidate does in the future.

 

However, my time machine is in the shop...