SwiftVets.com

[Guest]

Accused of "Intimidating and Harassing" Vietnam's Prime Minster
Senator McCain to be subpoenaed as a witness

U.S. Veteran Dispatch
23 June 2005
www.usvetdsp.com


Vietnam veteran and longtime POW/MIA activist Jerry Kiley was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service Tuesday evening and charged with a Federal crime. Agents charged Kiley under Title l8, United States Code, Section 112(B).

After a night and day in jail, Kiley was finally presented for arraignment to a federal judge in Washington's U.S. District Court. The judge set July 8, 2005 as trail date. Kiley was released after signing an agreement not to go anywhere around the White House, or Communist Vietnam's prime minister, Phan Van Khai and his delegation while they are still in the United States.

The charge states that Kiley "willfully intimidated, coerced, threatened and harassed a foreign official, an official guest of the United States Government, to wit, Phan Van Khai, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and obstructed the Prime Minister in the performance of Prime Minister Khai's official duties."

Before Kiley was arrested, he, along with Vietnam Veteran/POW activist Ted Sampley and former Vietnam POW Mike Benge, had spent the most part of that day, June 21, in front of the White House helping former South Vietnamese soldiers and political prisoners protest Khai's visit with President George Bush.

During the presidential election, Sampley, Benge and Kiley organized and operated Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry (VVAJK). Their organization was first veterans group to publicly oppose Kerry. Their web site received over 10,000,000 visitors during the first 90 days online.

Khai is the highest-ranking Vietnamese official to visit the White House since 1975 when the North Vietnamese communist violated The 1973 Paris Peace Accords.

The peace agreement, which was signed by communist North Vietnam, the communist National Liberation Front, the United States and the anti-communist South Vietnam, promised a cease-fire in all of North and South Vietnam, withdrawal of all U.S. troops, and a special pledge by the communist Vietnamese not to use force to unify North and South Vietnam.

Two years after the U.S. honored the agreement and withdrew its troops, North Vietnam violated the agreement and marched it's Soviet-supplied army (the fifth largest in the world at the time), south occupying South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

The 1975 fall of South Vietnam triggered an exodus of nearly 2 million Vietnamese in small, unsafe, and crowded boats. Thousands of South Vietnamese died in the camps.

Among the demonstrators protesting the meeting between Bush and Khai were members of the National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition and Rolling Thunder, one of the nation's largest veterans activist organizations.

Bush met with the Rolling Thunder leadership at the White House last year while campaigning for reelection and pledged his support for the POW/MIA issue in exchange for Rolling Thunder's endorsement.

Despite claims to the contrary by some high ranking U.S. government officials, Vietnam has reneged on all promises to honestly cooperate in the search for American prisoners of war known to have been held alive by Vietnam, but never released.

Families of the missing men ask if the POWs are still alive, why haven't they been released and if they are dead, where are their remains and why did they die?

The U.S. Department of Defense estimated in 1973 that cadre serving the communist Vietnamese government had tortured to death or murdered more than 55 U.S. prisoners, the same government that Khai serves today.

The coalition of Vietnamese Americans and U.S. war veterans point specifically to Human Rights Watch reports of Vietnam's continuous use of murder and brutality against evangelical Christians. Mennonites, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao and Unified Buddhist Church adherents are beaten, persecuted and imprisoned for not following communist orthodoxy. Catholics are severely restricted in their observance.

Khai, the demonstrators say represents a totalitarian terrorist government with a continuing official policy of human rights violations, genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Vietnam remains a one-party state, ruled and controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). Vietnam tightly restricts freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of association.

On September 15, 2004, the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell designated Vietnam a "Country of Particular Concern" for severe religious freedom violations.

Communist Vietnam with it's long history of deceit and broken agreements is currently increasing efforts to monitor and control citizen's access and use of the Internet.

One of Khai's first business meeting in the United States was with Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft Corp.

To appease the Chinese communist, Microsoft on June 13 joined Google and Yahoo to block users of its Internet portal in China from using the words "democracy," "freedom" and "human rights." Khai wants a similar agreement from Gates for Vietnam.

More than 1,000 Vietnamese-American demonstrators traveled to the Washington protest from all over the United States, some from as far as Hawaii.

At about 2 p.m., the demonstrators moved their protest a few blocks away from the White House to the ritzy Mayflower hotel where many of the 200 in Khai's communist delegation were staying.

The United States-Vietnam Trade Council, a pro-Hanoi lobby made up of U.S. businesses hoping to tap into Vietnam's slave labor market, had booked the hotel's Grand Ballroom to honor Khai with a "gala dinner celebrating friendship between communist Vietnam and the United States government."

That evening, Kiley, known in the POW movement as the "stealth activist," because of his uncanny ability to infiltrate secured political events and meetings, slipped through security at the Mayflower and mingled among several hundred people attending the Trade Council's gala for Khai.

Kiley positioned himself at one of the tables near the head table where Senator John McCain and Khai were seated.

Soon McCain, a returned Vietnam War POW, who has established himself as one of Hanoi's best friends in Washington, rose and gave a glowing introduction of Khai.

When Khai stepped to the podium and while the audience was giving him a standing ovation, Kiley walked to within ten feet of podium and tossed a glass of wine onto the carpet directly in front of the podium, then set the glass on a table.

He said the wine represented the blood of all of the political prisoners and Prisoners of War that Khai and the communist government he represented were responsible for murdering.

Kiley waved his hand in an attempt to get Khai's attention.

When the crowd grew silent, Kiley, looking straight at Khai said, "Khai, you and your Government are killing religious leaders."

As security was pouncing on him, Kiley turned to face McCain and said "And you Senator McCain are a traitor to the live POW's left behind."

As Secret Service agents were escorting Kiley out the door, he yelled "Free Vietnam!"

Visibly outraged, McCain attempted to apologize to Khai.

After questioning Kiley outside of the ballroom, the Secret Service released him.

But, just after Kiley stepped outside the hotel door, the agents called him back and placed him under arrest.

The outraged McCain was claiming that he and Khai had been splashed with the symbolic blood Kiley had thrown and that constituted assault.

Kiley said that he is securing an attorney and that McCain would be subpoenaed as a witness.

Jerry Kiley
Gerard "Jerry" W. Kiley has been a key figure in the battle for U.S. POWs and MIAs and other U.S. veteran issues since 1983. He has served in a leadership role in a wide range of veterans' activities, from seminars and national meetings to protest demonstrations.

Kiley is proud of his fourteen months' service in a U.S. Army communications center in support of combat troops in Vietnam. Nearly thirty years after the end of the war he continues support of those who came home from an unpopular war to an unappreciative nation, as well those who were left behind.

For three years Kiley was Communications Director for the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition and later served as vice-chair of the organization for an additional three years. He also served in board positions for "The Last Firebase", "Veterans of the Vietnam War" and "Homecoming II Project", each dedicated to obtaining freedom for U.S. prisoners of war who remained in captivity in Southeast Asia after the end of the war.

Kiley learned his take-no-prisoners style and his tenacity while growing up in the Bronx and attending Catholic high school in Harlem. He received national attention when he confronted a college basketball player on court by holding an American Flag in front of her after her refusal to face the Flag during the playing of the National Anthem.

He currently holds a management position with thirty-seven years' service for a multi-billion dollar New York company, in which capacity he served a term as president of a Northeastern Industry professional association.

Kiley has been married for thirty-three years, and is the father of two children.

Jerry Kiley
Garnerville, NY 10923

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR MAILING LIST(S)

Joes Drivel:
Appears to be McCain at his best. This is one of the MANY Times I wish Col. Guy was still alive.

I don't know WHY you folks from AZ that get this don't vote him OUT!

Thomas Burch a Washington attorney and chairman of the National Vietnam and Gulf War
Veterans Coalition, a federation of 102 veterans' groups said "McCain forgot the veterans, and you don't
have to search too hard to see where he's dropped the ball."

For instance, "McCain would not cosponsor the 1984 Agent Orange Bill, the 1992 Senate Select Committee
on POW/MIA Affairs, the 1996 Missing Persons Personnel Act, the 1998 Persian Gulf Health Care Actor
the 1999 Bring Them Home Alive Bill.

He did cosponsor the 1991 Omnibus Agent Orange Bill, but at that point there was no struggle, it was a
done deal. Back in the 1980s when we really needed him he wasn't there."

During a three-day seminar on the Vietnam War at the Center for Vietnam War Studies at Texas Tech University, Joe Jordan (Houston)
and Charles Bates, director of Veterans for Government Accountability spoke to Bui Tin about McCain's treatment in Hanoi.
Tin said, `No, McCain was never tortured. He was too important. We called him the prince. He received special treatment.'"

Despite this above and whats to come - vets tend to split 50-50 on McCain.

(( Joes Notes from back then -as Joe Oliver was a NUT who opposed the 1991 amendment:))

The 1991 amendment was enacted not to AID the AOVet but to counter the Nehmer Vs. Vet Admin case won
in part by vets in a US District Court (ND-CA). The case was NOT appealed and it became law. If you read not only
the act but the proceedings you will note the Nehmer decision is mentioned many times there with in. The Nehmer
case was won by a group of attorneys in California, BUT a group of lawyers in DC was allowed to take jurisdiction
and unreasonably delayed implementation of Nehmer. Back then the Peripheral Neuropathy issue was on
the burner ( so to say ) and would have been allowed ( in fact a rule was being promulgated ) with a 10 year time
period after deros but with other exclusions. We were fighting the 10 year time period and exclusions as most
of the research ( the VA refused to recognize ) showed 30/40+ year latency factors for possible onset of
medical problems. As soon as the 1991 amendment passed, despite the VA's own scientists and a rule on the
table with a ton of promise letters being passed out - that it would become law "soon".. the issue was passed off
to NAS (National Academy of Sciences - who I hope all rot in hell ) who said NOPE! And the suffering continued
for Vets & Families. These lawyers who held up Nehmer untill the 1991 amendment was passed received as
an initial payment from the Agent Orange CA Settlement Fund, near ONE MILLION DOLLARS - and that was
just the FIRST payoff ( I mean payment ). Clinton stood on his porkbarrel and allowed a form of PN with
restrictions so tight I tend to doubt from the Vets & Family I have worked with - it applied to any Vet. ...

Mention Agent Orange and McCain in the same sentence and I get wounded .. and might write a book, a long story
concerning AO - the great american vet screw job and truely a "dying" issue. So let me stop here - and I ask
that those who can get on the phones and SUPPORT Jerry Kiley... as all can only do what YOU are WILLING to do..
and I pray you jump up and down and make lots of noise - but more importantly ( and I hope the minutemen understand this )
you DUMP McCain in AZ.

I will walk with Col. Ted Guy on PoW/MIA and his disdain for John McCain and his fairy tales about being
tortured.. I have emails in archives that I pulled out once before for Mike McGrath NAM POW Historian
as well as news clipings of Col. Guy's statements. Regarding his BS and Agent Orange - that will never
be forgotten. The Vets who suffered and died without benefits they EARNED, the families that fell apart because
of the preasure associated with the Ms. having to earn the bread while raising two or three kids.. and NO
MEDICAL INSURANCE, as AOVets are NOT insurable if they have a debilitating disease like PN.

No matter where or when - tack this on your monitor, car rearview, where ever you can see it - JUST SAY
NO to John McCain.

and thats the way it is...

Joe Oliver
News & Views
Houston, TX



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Guest]

CAN'T BELIEVE HE SPENT A DAY IN JAIL ON THIS BS.
MCCAIN REALLY IS A DIRTBAG

[Deuce]

Jerry Kiley is definitely a great American. I hold he and Ted Sampley in the greatest esteem....and was a great fan of their many websites last year when I wasn't reading this one. That said, I'll just say that I had to read too far down the article to get to the real issue....yep, McCain/Kerry sold out to the POW/MIAs, and sold out our country to boot, all for personal gain. So while I'm in complete agreement with that well written article on most issues, I'll agree to disagree on the concept of "Bush disappointing" in the invite to the Premier. I happened to be in Seattle the day the Premier arrived, and saw snippets of the news conference where he caught flak on landing...so I'm sure he expected more of the same, and got it. The guy's a communist...mebbe even more of one than Kerry.

This administration is well aware of what power they do have over the Vietnamese, and will wield it well, just as they are winning the War on Terrorism. I'd bet on some big teeth in any moves toward assisting them in any way....WTO, etc. And I'd also bet Bush is a fan of Sampley et al as well...as his meeting with Rolling Thunder suggests.

You just have to admire guys like O'Neill and Kiley for having the courage to face uneven odds and win....

Oh, and while I totally agree he should not have spent a day in jail on McCain's BS, if he get's McCain on the witness stand, and his lawyer isn't cowed, I think we can both agree that may be worth something. Watch McCain drop the charges at the last minute (is that July 7th?) or mebbe he'll do it the 4th of July to get airtime.
g'luck
Deuce

[mtboone]

I had the pleasure of meetingTed Sampley and Mike Benge at Rolling Thunder in 2004 in DC. They are a dedicated and fearless persons for their cause and you would always want them on your side. Ted and McCain had a run in several years ago about the POW issue so I know why McCain would be trying to get back. If the Republicans choose McCain for 2008, then it would be the same as I feel about Kerry, I would vote against him.
_________________
Terry Boone PCF 90
Qui Nhon 68-69

[Guest]

EMAIL TO ME FROM MR. KILEY:

Thanks again. The Vietnamese Community around the country will be donating
money to my defense fund because I'm being brought up on Federal charges.
If you are interested the "usverdsp" website will have some information
shortly.

Jerry Kiley
Garnerville, NY 10923

[Ohio Voter]

What is this? [paragraph quoted]. Microsoft is helping the Chinese filter content of Internet users in China? This seems to mean that email at Hotmail and Yahoo will be filtered between the US and Chinese contacts.

Anyone have anymore info on this type of thing? I regularly discuss our "freedom" and "democracy" with Chinese via the Internet.