Reply With QuoteGood job, Ollie. He voices many of the same questions I have myself, mainly the fact that Kerry, according to his sworn testimony, is a war criminal. Maybe he should be brought up on charges instead of elected.
"Of course, the president keeps telling people he would never question
my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded
attack group does just that. Well, if he wants to have a debate about
our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: 'Bring it on.'" -- Sen. John
Kerry
Dear John,
As usual, you have it wrong. You don't have a beef with President George
Bush about your war record. He's been exceedingly generous about your
military service. Your complaint is with the 2.5 million of us who
served honorably in a war that ended 29 years ago and which you, not the
president, made the centerpiece of this campaign.
I talk to a lot of vets, John, and this really isn't about your medals
or how you got them. Like you, I have a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. I
only have two Purple Hearts, though. I turned down the others so that I
could stay with the Marines in my rifle platoon. But I think you might
agree with me, though I've never heard you say it, that the officers
always got more medals than they earned and the youngsters we led never
got as many medals as they deserved.
This really isn't about how early you came home from that war, either,
John. There have always been guys in every war who want to go home.
There are also lots of guys, like those in my rifle platoon in Vietnam,
who did a full 13 months in the field. And there are, thankfully, lots
of young Americans today in Iraq and Afghanistan who volunteered to
return to war because, as one of them told me in Ramadi a few weeks ago,
"the job isn't finished."
Nor is this about whether you were in Cambodia on Christmas Eve, 1968.
Heck John, people get lost going on vacation. If you got lost, just say
so. Your campaign has admitted that you now know that you really weren't
in Cambodia that night and that Richard Nixon wasn't really president
when you thought he was. Now would be a good time to explain to us how
you could have all that bogus stuff "seared" into your memory --
especially since you want to have your finger on our nation's nuclear
trigger.
But that's not really the problem, either. The trouble you're having,
John, isn't about your medals or coming home early or getting lost -- or
even Richard Nixon. The issue is what you did to us when you came home,
John.
When you got home, you co-founded Vietnam Veterans Against the War and
wrote "The New Soldier," which denounced those of us who served -- and
were still serving -- on the battlefields of a thankless war. Worst of
all, John, you then accused me -- and all of us who served in Vietnam --
of committing terrible crimes and atrocities.
On April 22, 1971, under oath, you told the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee that you had knowledge that American troops "had personally
raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones
to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up
bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion
reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food
stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam." And
you admitted on television that "yes, yes, I committed the same kind of
atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed."
And for good measure you stated, "(America is) more guilty than any
other body, of violations of (the) Geneva Conventions ... the torture of
prisoners, the killing of prisoners."
Your "antiwar" statements and activities were painful for those of us
carrying the scars of Vietnam and trying to move on with our lives. And
for those who were still there, it was even more hurtful. But those who
suffered the most from what you said and did were the hundreds of
American prisoners of war being held by Hanoi. Here's what some of them
endured because of you, John:
Capt. James Warner had already spent four years in Vietnamese custody
when he was handed a copy of your testimony by his captors. Warner says
that for his captors, your statements "were proof I deserved to be
punished." He wasn't released until March 14, 1973.
Maj. Kenneth Cordier, an Air Force pilot who was in Vietnamese custody
for 2,284 days, says his captors "repeated incessantly" your one-liner
about being "the last man to die" for a lost cause. Cordier was released
March 4, 1973.
Navy Lt. Paul Galanti says your accusations "were as demoralizing as
solitary (confinement) ... and a prime reason the war dragged on." He
remained in North Vietnamese hands until February 12, 1973.
John, did you think they would forget? When Tim Russert asked about
your claim that you and others in Vietnam committed "atrocities,"
instead of standing by your sworn testimony, you confessed that your
words "were a bit over the top." Does that mean you lied under oath? Or
does it mean you are a war criminal? You can't have this one both ways,
John. Either way, you're not fit to be a prison guard at Abu Ghraib,
much less commander in chief.
One last thing, John. In 1988, Jane Fonda said: "I would like to say
something ... to men who were in Vietnam, who I hurt, or whose pain I
caused to deepen because of things that I said or did. I was trying to
help end the killing and the war, but there were times when I was
thoughtless and careless about it and I'm ... very sorry that I hurt
them. And I want to apologize to them and their families."
Even Jane Fonda apologized. Will you, John?
Oliver North is a nationally syndicated columnist, host of the Fox News
Channel's War Stories and founder and honorary chairman of Freedom
Alliance
Good job, Ollie. He voices many of the same questions I have myself, mainly the fact that Kerry, according to his sworn testimony, is a war criminal. Maybe he should be brought up on charges instead of elected.
You can also read his other columns:
Townhall.com Conservative Columnists Oliver North
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/o.../archive.shtml
You can also find out about the Freedom Alliance at:
http://www.freedomalliance.org/
Mission Statement
The Mission of Freedom Alliance is to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring and encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States and promoting a strong national defense.
John Kerry was a disgrace as a soldier and as a former soldier. And now HE'S the one having attention re-focused on his war record as he campaigns and promotes himself as a decorated war hero.
John Kerry is a pathetic excuse for a wanna-be commander in chief. We can only hope the "swing voters" will see his glaring weaknesses and not cast their votes for this ultra-liberal.
John Kerry was a disgrace as a soldier and as a former soldier. And now HE'S the one having attention re-focused on his war record as he campaigns and promotes himself as a decorated war hero.
John Kerry is a pathetic excuse for a wanna-be commander in chief. We can only hope the "swing voters" will see his glaring weaknesses and not cast their votes for this ultra-liberal.
MMD is right in saying that Kerry is a disgrace as a soldier and is the one responsible for bringing this mess down on his own head. If I know nothing else I know that. I felt really bad for Edwards in the very beginning because he seemed like a really decent person but what a turn around.
I think the way he is acting(howling at the moon) is disgraceful and it will be his political downfall. :coffeycup v-drive
MMD is right in saying that Kerry is a disgrace as a soldier and is the one responsible for bringing this mess down on his own head. If I know nothing else I know that. I felt really bad for Edwards in the very beginning because he seemed like a really decent person but what a turn around.
I think the way he is acting(howling at the moon) is disgraceful and it will be his political downfall. :coffeycup v-driveSince when is a trial lawyer who makes his living suing the health care industry using junk science and questionable testamony by unqualified witnesses a 'decent person'?
Hang his ass with HANOI JANE
Since when is a trial lawyer who makes his living suing the health care industry using junk science and questionable testamony by unqualified witnesses a 'decent person'?
You're absolutely right! John Edwards is the worst of the worst in the lawyer cesspool. He's singlehandedly responsible for driving up insurance at hospitals. And he's one of the reasons President Bush mentioned tort reform and hospital insurance in his speech this past week.
These two Johns are liars, losers and cannot be entrusted and must not be empowered to run the most powerful country in the world.
Since when is a trial lawyer who makes his living suing the health care industry using junk science and questionable testamony by unqualified witnesses a 'decent person'?
Don't get me wrong, I never liked him I just felt that when he would speak he was a decent person. When he speaks now I expect every other word to be you rotten mother effer. That is a sharp contrast to when he started his attempt at becoming the democratic nominee. I think party officials felt the same way and that's why they forced Kerry to ask him to be his running mate.
I think it backfired on them. Is that clear enough?....v-drive
MY dad is a decorated WWII vet. A humble guy, he told me to take my medals from my service in the Marines, throw them in the drawer,,, and ya don't talk about them.
That is a well written piece from North.
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