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Confused
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 08 Feb 2004
Posts: 6730
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 Posted: 08/09/04 - 12:39 Post subject: Kerry's War Record
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I'm guessing "Unfit For Command" will be good reading. Too bad most leftists are illiterate. 
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/robertnovak/rn20040809.shtml
| Quote: | WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The television ad that aroused the wrath of John McCain and journalist supporters of John Kerry just begins deconstruction of the Democratic presidential candidate's war record. "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," a 214-page critique of his performance in Vietnam and the antiwar movement, is off the presses ahead of schedule.
I have read the book and found it is neither the political propaganda nor the urban legend that its detractors claim. It is a passionate but meticulously researched account of how Kerry went to war, what he did in the war and how he conducted himself after the war. The very serious charges by former comrades deserve answers but so far have produced only ad hominem counterattacks.
Why should details of what Kerry did more than 30 years ago be part of this election campaign? Only because the senator has made them integral to his strategy. Kerry as war hero received more attention at the Democratic National Convention than plans for the future. Thus, what he did in his shortened four months of combat becomes a valid campaign issue.
John E. O'Neill, co-author of "Unfit for Command," replaced Kerry as commander of Swift Boat PCF 94 in 1969 and has been confronting him since 1971. O'Neill told me he is no George W. Bush partisan and probably would have supported John Edwards had he been nominated for president, but is committed to keeping Kerry out of the Oval Office. Thus, reversing the usual formulation, the assault on Kerry is personal but not political.
O'Neill told me neither he nor his co-author (Jerome R. Corsi, a writer and expert on the Vietnam antiwar movement) has had contact with the Bush White House or the Bush-Cheney campaign. He said he and Corsi, on their own initiative, went to conservative Regnery Publishing to offer the book.
The co-authors paint Kerry as a reluctant warrior. Contrary to claims by Kerry's supporters that he served two combat hitches in Vietnam, his one-year term aboard a guided missile frigate was far from action. His four months in the brown water navy were terminated eight months early by a third Purple Heart wound, none of which required hospitalization.
The book's strength is the vehemence of testimony by swift boat veterans, alleging that Kerry "gamed" the system to win decorations and later betrayed comrades by charging war crimes. Typical is the quote by Bob Hildreth, commanding an accompanying boat: "I would never want Kerry behind me. I wouldn't want him in front of me, either. And I sure wouldn't want him commanding our kids in Iraq and Afghanistan." Some 200 "Swiftees" on May 4 signed a letter to Kerry demanding full release of his service records.
The book's weakness is support for Kerry's presidential campaign by his swift boat crewmates, presumably people who knew him best. O'Neill told me that these former sailors served with Kerry no more than five weeks. Jim Rassmann, now part of the Kerry presidential campaign, was a Special Forces lieutenant spending a few days with Kerry when he fell or was knocked off the swift boat while under fire and was fished out of the Mekong River by the future candidate.
The "band of brothers" was organized by Kerry, according to this book. It tells of a 2003 telephone call to Adm. Roy Hoffmann, who commanded swift boats in Vietnam, telling him he was running for president. Hoffmann, mistakenly thinking it was former Sen. Bob Kerrey, "responded enthusiastically." Once the admiral realized it was John Kerry, "he declined to give Kerry his support." Hoffmann is quoted as saying, "I do not believe John Kerry is fit to be commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States."
"Unfit for Command" sends a devastating message, unless effectively refuted. Perhaps most disturbing are allegations that Kerry's combat decorations are unjustified. His first Purple Heart, the book alleges, was accidentally self-inflicted. His commander, Grant Hibbard, is quoted as saying: "I didn't recommend him for a Purple Heart. Kerry probably wrote up the paperwork and recommended himself." Full release of documents demanded by his critics could settle this claim quickly if it is unwarranted.
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Dyers
Sir Postalot
Joined: 26 Oct 2002
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sinrakin
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 7044
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 15:04 Post subject:
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| Quote: | WASHINGTON (Mehr News Agency) -- The office of Senator John Kerry, the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primary in the U.S., sent the Mehr News Agency an e-email saying that Kerry will try to repair the damage done by the incumbent president if he wins the election. The text of the e-mail follows.
As Americans who have lived and worked extensively overseas, we have personally witnessed the high regard with which people around the world have historically viewed the United States. Sadly, we are also painfully aware of how the actions and the attitudes demonstrated by the U.S. government over the past three years have threatened the goodwill earned by presidents of both parties over many decades and put many of our international relationships at risk.
It is in the urgent interests of the people of the United States to restore our country's credibility in the eyes of the world. America needs the kind of leadership that will repair alliances with countries on every continent that have been so damaged in the past few years, as well as build new friendships and overcome tensions with others.
We are convinced that John Kerry is the candidate best qualified to meet this challenge. Senator Kerry has the diplomatic skill and temperament as well as a lifetime of accomplishments in field of international affairs. He believes that collaboration with other countries is crucial to efforts to win the war on terror and make America safer.
An understanding of global affairs is essential in these times, and central to this campaign Kerry has the experience and the understanding necessary to successfully restore the United States to its position of respect within the community of nations. He has the judgment and vision necessary to assure that the United States fulfills a leadership role in meeting the challenges we face throughout the world.
The current Administration's policies of unilateralism and rejection of important international initiatives, from the Kyoto Accords to the Biological Weapons Convention, have alienated much of the world and squandered remarkable reserves of support after 9/11. This climate of hostility affects us all, but most especially impacts those who reside overseas. Disappointment with current U.S. leadership is widespread, extending not just to the corridors of power and politics, but to the man and woman on the street as well.
We believe John Kerry is the Democrat who can go toe-to-toe against the current Administration on national security and defense issues. We also remain convinced that John Kerry has the best chance of beating the incumbent in November, and putting America on a new course that will lead to a safer, more secure, and more stable world. |
I don't have a problem with that. In fact, that's almost exactly the reason I'd like to see Kerry be president.
To the extent that you can apply games to real life: I learned to play Go a long time ago, deliberately because I thought of myself as more of a tactical thinker than a strategic thinker, and wanted to remedy that. I'm not sure if it worked, but one lesson which I remember strongly is "Respect your opponent". Which means various things, but in particular it means be satisfied with winning, or having the advantage, because if you try to humiliate your opponent or destroy him utterly, you run the risk of overextending yourself, as well as goading him into a desperate situation where he's forced to find a way to destroy. I think of George Bush as someone who doesn't respect his opponent.
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Nuldaan
Sir Postalot
Joined: 07 Nov 2002
Posts: 1179
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Posted: 08/10/04 - 06:48 Post subject:
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| sinrakin wrote: | | Quote: | WASHINGTON (Mehr News Agency) -- The office of Senator John Kerry, the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primary in the U.S., sent the Mehr News Agency an e-email saying that Kerry will try to repair the damage done by the incumbent president if he wins the election. The text of the e-mail follows.
As Americans who have lived and worked extensively overseas, we have personally witnessed the high regard with which people around the world have historically viewed the United States. Sadly, we are also painfully aware of how the actions and the attitudes demonstrated by the U.S. government over the past three years have threatened the goodwill earned by presidents of both parties over many decades and put many of our international relationships at risk.
It is in the urgent interests of the people of the United States to restore our country's credibility in the eyes of the world. America needs the kind of leadership that will repair alliances with countries on every continent that have been so damaged in the past few years, as well as build new friendships and overcome tensions with others.
We are convinced that John Kerry is the candidate best qualified to meet this challenge. Senator Kerry has the diplomatic skill and temperament as well as a lifetime of accomplishments in field of international affairs. He believes that collaboration with other countries is crucial to efforts to win the war on terror and make America safer.
An understanding of global affairs is essential in these times, and central to this campaign Kerry has the experience and the understanding necessary to successfully restore the United States to its position of respect within the community of nations. He has the judgment and vision necessary to assure that the United States fulfills a leadership role in meeting the challenges we face throughout the world.
The current Administration's policies of unilateralism and rejection of important international initiatives, from the Kyoto Accords to the Biological Weapons Convention, have alienated much of the world and squandered remarkable reserves of support after 9/11. This climate of hostility affects us all, but most especially impacts those who reside overseas. Disappointment with current U.S. leadership is widespread, extending not just to the corridors of power and politics, but to the man and woman on the street as well.
We believe John Kerry is the Democrat who can go toe-to-toe against the current Administration on national security and defense issues. We also remain convinced that John Kerry has the best chance of beating the incumbent in November, and putting America on a new course that will lead to a safer, more secure, and more stable world. |
I don't have a problem with that. In fact, that's almost exactly the reason I'd like to see Kerry be president.
To the extent that you can apply games to real life: I learned to play Go a long time ago, deliberately because I thought of myself as more of a tactical thinker than a strategic thinker, and wanted to remedy that. I'm not sure if it worked, but one lesson which I remember strongly is "Respect your opponent". Which means various things, but in particular it means be satisfied with winning, or having the advantage, because if you try to humiliate your opponent or destroy him utterly, you run the risk of overextending yourself, as well as goading him into a desperate situation where he's forced to find a way to destroy. I think of George Bush as someone who doesn't respect his opponent. |
Sin, come on. This is a very weak argument. Are you implying that Kerry respect his opponents but Bush does not? It's a ludicrous assertion. Both Kerry and Bush resort to personal attacks all the time. Neither will grant their opponent even a modicum of consideration or any recognition of the other's strengths. Those are not the actions of people that respect each other.
Are you implying that Kerry would be a better President because he worked the system to get himself out of Vietnam early? You'd lose on those grounds too since Bush arguably worked the system better by serving in the National Guard.
Furthermore, I have yet to see an actual stance from Kerry on anything. His entire platform is 'I'm a decorated Vietnam War Vet and I'm not George Bush'. Assuming this book is true, it would only justify the claims that he is, indeed, an untrustworthy liar and a manipulating schemer with little regard for those around him. Admittedly, that shouldn't be news since we are talking about a career politician here but his platform is based on the fact that he is NOT those things and George Bush is. If there's reasonable doubt that Kerry is, in fact, the same as Bush in that respect, his campaign slogan becomes...nothing I guess.
I'll be honest, there's a lot of things I don't like about George Bush. Quite frankly, other than his handling of Afghanistan and Iraq, I dislike everything he has done but I wouldn't trust Kerry to serve as President of a Boy Scout Troop much less the President of the country.
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sinrakin
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 7044
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Posted: 08/10/04 - 09:00 Post subject:
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No, by his opponent I didn't mean John Kerry, I meant Al Quaeda.
Bush is hell bent on utterly destroying everyone in the world that hates the US, and that can't be done. Moreover, because everyone in the world except him realizes it can't be done, he's tried to go it alone, and alienated the entire rest of the world. You can't get rid of all terrorism, any more than you can get rid of all inflation, or all unemployment, or all drugs, or all poverty. At best you can contain it to a minimum. If you try to go further you will kill yourself trying, and everyone around you.
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Nuldaan
Sir Postalot
Joined: 07 Nov 2002
Posts: 1179
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Posted: 08/10/04 - 17:31 Post subject:
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| sinrakin wrote: | No, by his opponent I didn't mean John Kerry, I meant Al Quaeda.
Bush is hell bent on utterly destroying everyone in the world that hates the US, and that can't be done. Moreover, because everyone in the world except him realizes it can't be done, he's tried to go it alone, and alienated the entire rest of the world. You can't get rid of all terrorism, any more than you can get rid of all inflation, or all unemployment, or all drugs, or all poverty. At best you can contain it to a minimum. If you try to go further you will kill yourself trying, and everyone around you. |
Ahhh...ignore my last post then. It's not really relevant if you were talking about Al-Qaeda.
That said, I don't agree with you. I don't think that's a decent reason to vote for Kerry. I think Kerry would do exactly nothing at best. At worst, he'd put us right back under the heel of the UN. Regardless, this isn't the place for that debate.
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Cralen
Luke Warm
Joined: 13 Oct 2002
Posts: 151
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Posted: 08/10/04 - 23:40 Post subject:
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| sinrakin wrote: |
Bush is hell bent on utterly destroying everyone in the world that hates the US, and that can't be done. Moreover, because everyone in the world except him realizes it can't be done, he's tried to go it alone, and alienated the entire rest of the world. |
There are over 40 countries that took part in the last war with Iraq. France and Germany were against it. Both were buying illegal crude oil from iraq. The Food for Oil program was a joke.
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