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Me#1You#10
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Joined: 06 May 2004
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 Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:18 pm Post subject: On Swiftvets and Whitehats |
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| Quote: | The Media Stampede
By Diana West
The Washington Times
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
...Abu Ghraib is, more than anything else, the fulfillment of the media dream, the Vietnam they think they never had (or had a very long time ago), the aberration to obsess about, the disgrace to exult in and the opportunity — and this is key — to shift the political landscape. That is why 30-some instances of abuse at Abu Ghraib, which range from acts resembling extreme fraternity hazing to actual sexual assault, have sucked all the oxygen from the conflict's urgent questions of life and death, truth and falsehood, and civilization and barbarism.
<snip>
...With Abu Ghraib, the old antagonisms between the media and the military return, with the counter-culturally-minded media exulting over a high and mighty military slip. More than the hard-luck hunt for WMDs, more than the stalemate in Fallujah, more than the death of Pat Tillman, Abu Ghraib is a setback that reflects badly not only on the war effort, but on American serviceman, and in that there is political opportunity.
<snip>
Just as the media stampede to depict the U.S. military as a bunch of war criminals came sweeping by, a posse of good guys in white hats — Swift Boat Veterans for Truth — stood up to say it wasn't so. That is, it wasn't so in Vietnam, they said with great seriousness at a remarkable Washington press conference (which The Associated Press, incidentally, failed even to report), directly contradicting everything John Kerry has maintained since jump-starting his public career with tales of unproven wartime atrocities in 1971. "It is a fact that in the entire Vietnam War we did not lose one major battle," said Robert Elder, a member of this organization of sailors who served with Mr. Kerry and who believe he is unfit for the presidency. "We lost the war at home," Mr. Elder continued, "and at home John Kerry was the field general."
Strange that a man who once marshaled the forces of the Vietnam antiwar movement to transform, symbolically, the American soldier from good guy to baby-killer would vie for the presidency at a time when the still inchoate forces of the Iraq antiwar movement seek a poster boy, an atrocity, a way to pull the plug. That slander long ago, amplified by a willing media, eroded support for the Vietnam War, leading to our unconscionable abandonment of the South Vietnamese people in 1975. No wonder the rush to tar our armed forces as "torturers" today has that sick-making '70s ring. Abu Ghraib, however, doesn't have to be a turning point — unless we let them make it one.
Williamson County Review Appeal
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ASPB
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 1680
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| Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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Good Stuff Jay,
Which Search Engine are you using?
Tom
_________________
 On Sale! Order in lots of 100 now at velero@rcn.com Free for the cost of shipping All profits (if any, especially now) go to Swiftvets. The author of "Sink Kerry Swiftly" ---ASPB |
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Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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| Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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I'm a googler  |
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ASPB
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 1680
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| Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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Kerry's commander speaks: Says Democrat candidate should air anti-war record
By Joe Rogalsky, Delaware State News
LEWES - Before John F. Kerry became the likely Democratic presidential nominee or a U.S. senator, he served under George Elliott during the Vietnam War.
Mr. Elliott, a retired Navy captain living in Lewes, commanded Sen. Kerry in the Mekong Delta for several months.
Sen. Kerry, who directed a swift boat, was awarded the Bronze Star, the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts for wounds to his arms, legs and buttocks. The awards came before and during his service under Mr. Elliott.
"I had 25 or 30 young officers under my command," said Mr. Elliott, a 1955 graduate of Laurel High School.
"They were all excellent young men and good officers. That's the way I remember them, Kerry included."
Since Sen. Kerry has become the likely Democrat to challenge President Bush in November - he will be formally chosen next month - Mr. Elliott and other Vietnam veterans have formed a group to question the senator's military record.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth sent Sen. Kerry a letter in May, asking him to authorize the federal government to release all of his military service records, including information on how he earned his awards.
The letter also asks Sen. Kerry to apologize for anti-military statements he made during the 1970s in protest of the Vietnam War.
The Kerry campaign has not responded to the letter, though Sen. Kerry has said publicly several times that his campaign will provide his military records upon request. The Kerry campaign did not respond to a request from the Delaware State News seeking comment for this article.
While Mr. Elliott has defended Sen. Kerry's military record on occasion, he has a much different view of the presidential hopeful's political career.
Mr. Elliott, a registered independent, said he felt disappointed when he learned Sen. Kerry was running for president. Mr. Elliott's displeasure stemmed from Sen. Kerry's statements to Congress after returning from Vietnam.
Sen. Kerry became a leading anti-war activist after his military service ended and told a congressional panel in 1971 that U.S. troops committed numerous atrocities in Vietnam.
"When he testified before Congress, he used a broad brush to paint all the men who were fighting and dying as butchers and murderers," Mr. Elliott said.
"It is something that he has never backed away from in 30 years.
"I think he owes those men an apology for what he said."
Even though the Vietnam War ended decades ago, the candidate's service in the conflict has been a large issue in the presidential campaign.
Mr. Elliott said the war's role has been mostly the doing of Sen. Kerry's campaign, which has loudly trumpeted his service and military decorations. If Sen. Kerry wants to portray himself as a war hero, Mr. Elliott said, then the presumptive Democratic nominee cannot ignore his past as an opponent of the war.
"It's only an issue because John makes it an issue," Mr. Elliott said.
"He has made it an issue in every one of his elections.
"There are many of us that feel if he is going to make an issue of his war record, he needs to talk about his anti-war record."
Instead of talking about Vietnam, Mr. Elliott said, Sen. Kerry should focus on issues facing the country today, such as the economy and present-day military matters.
"John ought to be running on his Senate record, which is not all that distinguished," Mr. Elliott said.
"He is a good senator, but there is nothing that stands out. There are issues more important than what happened 30 years ago.
"My personal view is it will all boil down to where we are or are not in Iraq. That will be the overriding issue. Things have not gone well in Iraq."
Mr. Elliott has not decided whom to support in the November presidential election.
"I might even vote for Ralph Nader or Alfred E. Newman if he runs again," he said.
Mr. Nader, an independent, finished third in the 2000 race and many political observers say he siphoned enough support from Democrat Al Gore to tip the electoral college to President Bush. Mr. Newman is the fictitious mascot of Mad magazine.
Until Sen. Kerry began his presidential bid, Mr. Elliott and his wife Trenny were enjoying retirement in Lewes. Since Sen. Kerry shot to the front of the Democratic pack with a win in the Iowa caucus, Mr. Elliott and other veterans who served with Sen. Kerry have been in the limelight.
Mr. Elliott and other swift boat veterans appeared at a May press conference at the National Press Club to discuss Sen. Kerry's military service, which attracted a sizeable media throng.
"I guess I should not have been surprised, but it was a little overwhelming at first," said Mr. Elliott, a member of the Lewes Historical Society.
"One reporter from the Boston Globe called eight times in two days to get everything he needed, but he was a very straight shooter.
"I don't have any complaints about the reporters."
Staff writer Joe Rogalsky can be reached at 741-8226 or jrogalsky@newszap.com
_________________
On Sale! Order in lots of 100 now at velero@rcn.com Free for the cost of shipping All profits (if any, especially now) go to Swiftvets. The author of "Sink Kerry Swiftly" ---ASPB |
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Me#1You#10
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Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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| Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Got a link for that Tom? |
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ASPB
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 1680
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