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Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
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 Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 5:15 am Post subject: Thomas Lipscomb: "Drowning in Cambodia" |
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Good to see Thomas Lipscomb has still got the scent.....
| Quote: | Drowning in Cambodia
By Thomas Lipscomb
Oregon Magazine
February 2005 Volume 5 No 2
It has been a rough ten days for Senator John Kerry. First Democratic Party moneybags George Soros said Kerry’s name on the Presidential ballot was a dead loser. Then Teresa Heinz Kerry decided to borrow a dead winner’s rather than a live loser’s last name, reverting to “Teresa Heinz” for public appearances. But the worst day Kerry had was a Sunday answering Tim Russert’s questions on Meet the Press on --- (what else?) ----Vietnam.
Asked about his Christmas Eve in Cambodia “seared, seared” in Kerry’s memory, according to one of his Senate speech transcripts, Kerry tried a half-baked variation on the theme: “Was it on that night? No, it was not on that night. But we were right on the Cambodian border that night. We were ambushed there, as a matter of fact. And that is a matter of record, and we went into the rec-- you know, it's part of the Navy records.”
To ambush or not to ambush
Alas “as a matter of fact,” at least according to Kerry’s own journal, supplied to his biographer Douglas Brinkley for inclusion in TOUR OF DUTY, “that night” Kerry was in Sa Dec in Viet Nam, south of Saigon and fifty miles from Cambodia, writing his parents about “visions of sugar plums.” And it isn’t “part of the Navy records” either. An “ambush” would require an official after action report like the ones Kerry exhibits on his “complete” website. So either Kerry doesn’t include one on this because there isn’t one, or Kerry’s website isn’t complete, or both.
It gets worse. Under Russert’s questioning Kerry has a burst of sudden recall. “But we did go five miles into Cambodia. It was on another day. I jumbled the two together, but we were five miles into Cambodia. We went up on a mission with CIA agents--I believe they were CIA agents--CIA Special Ops guys. I even have some photographs of it, and I can document it. And it has been documented.”
Unfortunately there is no indication “it has been documented” and no one has ever reported seeing “some photographs of it.” Admiral Roy Hoffman commanded all the Swift Boats in Vietnam and had the responsibility for parceling the missions assigned to him to the commanders of his bases. According to Hoffman, who commanded Kerry for the four months he served in Swift Boats, “In all the time I served in Vietnam, I never assigned a Swift Boat mission for the CIA to a South Vietnam base like Kerry’s at An Thoi. I assigned Swift Boats for several missions for the CIA infiltrating North Vietnam but I believe they are still classified.”
Hoffman, as Chairman of the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, is certainly a Kerry antagonist. But Navy lieutenants do not simply gather their crews and climb in their Swift Boats, gas up at the local Total station, buy some ammo at a sporting goods store en route and go swanning off on “secret missions” their commanders don’t know about. And not one of Kerry’s faithful crewmembers who stood on the stage with him at the Democratic Convention and exactly none of Kerry’s commanders confirmed Kerry’s first story of Christmas in Cambodia and so far, none confirm the Meet the Press revision, and neither does Douglas Brinkley.
Oregon Magazine - cont'd |
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kate
Admin
Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
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| Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 6:55 am Post subject: |
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He is on a roll
between him & Corsi, they sure are tearing Kerry up
from the link | Quote: | the least President Bush can do is appoint Kerry U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia before this gets any worse. Perhaps then Kerry can find out what really did
happen |
LOL
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one of..... We The People |
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Navy wife
Research Director
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 353
Location: Arlington, VA & Ft. Worth, TX
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| Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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I loved both of these pieces, but, oh, how I wish these were in the Washington Post or the New York Times  Or even better yet--the Boston Globe!!! |
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coffee
Founder
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 66
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| Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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Navy Wife,
You are absolutely evil  but I sure do agree with you. Wouldn't it be great to see it in the Boston Globe??? 
T. |
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RogerRabbit
Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 05 Sep 2004
Posts: 748
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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Some more
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=4221
| Quote: |
Senator Kerry takes a stand, or two, or three
January 31st, 2005
Weir Thinking About It
As I watched Senator John Kerry on Meet the Press on Sunday I imagined an appropriate scenario for one of Johnny Carson’s skits. As “Carnac the Magnificent,” Johnny puts the envelope to his head and says: “The answer is, yes and no, pro and con, for and against.” Then he opens the envelope and reads: “Describe John Kerry’s position on any major issues.”
Tim Russert, moderator for the weekly interview show, asked Kerry if he agreed with what Senator Ted Kennedy said about immediate withdrawal of some troops after the Iraq election. “No,” was Kerry’s terse reply. Then, there was the inevitable, “But,” as the former presidential candidate began his usual two-step into verbal ambiguity. In the next few sentences he agreed with his Massachusetts colleague as many times as he disagreed with him. It was déjà vu all over again as Russert played a video of Kerry during the campaign. “I actually voted for the military spending bill before I voted against it,” Kerry said.
When Russert brought up the claims by Kerry that he was in Cambodia on Christmas Eve of 1968, even though members of his unit said it was untrue, Kerry said, “I was on the border.” Then he quickly added, “Did I go into Cambodia, yes I went into Cambodia. It was not on that night, but I did go there.” The reason this is important is because it goes to the very heart of the man’s propensity to exaggerate, as Russert emphasized by showing an editorial from the New York Daily News in which Kerry’s veracity was questioned.
Once again, the junior Senator from Massachusetts did a quick shuffle by appearing indignant and attempting to distort what others heard him say. When the discussion moved to abortion, Russert referred to a statement by Kerry to a group of Democratic Party loyalists, several weeks after the election, in which he said that Democrats needed new ways to make people understand that the party didn’t like abortion. In addition, he said that Democrats needed to welcome more pro-life candidates into the party. Russert asked the Senator how he was going to broaden the base of the party when most Democrats have a Litmus Test regarding abortion.
Thus began another foray into political contortionism as Kerry made it “clear” that he was both pro- and anti-abortion. “I don’t want abortion. Abortion should be the rarest thing in the world,” he said, once again preparing to take both sides of an issue. “The discussion is not about pro-abortion, it’s about how you truly value life,” he added, parroting the recent statements by Hillary Clinton. “Abstinence is another choice, and it’s worth talking about,” he continued.
“That doesn’t mean that I’m not pro-choice,” he said quickly, as he made that sharp U-turn, trying desperately not to offend the radical wing of his party as he attempted to keep one foot on first base while stretching his elastic principles enough to reach second. He went on to say that he wouldn’t vote for a Supreme Court Justice that wasn’t pro-abortion, thereby endorsing the Litmus Test.
What has become clear is that George W Bush, in winning reelection, has given the Democrats a road map to follow if they expect to mount a formidable challenge to the GOP in future national elections. With the country moving inexorably to the right of center, those with presidential ambitions whose views are not in line with that shift, are destined to become dinosaurs unless they make some “adjustments.” We can expect to see many changes in the Oval Office wannabes as they keep their eyes on the prize and alter their views to conform to a rebirth of values in America.
The next Democratic president will have to be a renaissance man or woman who is prepared to lead this country back to its traditional roots; a time when motherhood was sacred and women didn’t use abortion as a failsafe backstop against an irresponsible and licentious lifestyle. A time when religion was viewed as the foundation of a healthy moral compass, and our children were being taught the virtues inherent in spiritual conformity.
However, true leadership comes from those who make decisions based on their core beliefs, and have the courage to challenge others to follow. Thankfully, most Americans were discerning enough to view Kerry’s style of vacillation as a liability for a commander in chief.
Bob Weir is a former detective sergeant in the New York City policy department. He is the editor of The News Connection in Highland Village, Texas. BobWeir777@aol.com |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 11:07 pm Post subject: |
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"Selective memory is everyone's secret enemy."(as Kerry has learned)
The title"Drowning in Cambodia" refers to another piece by Lipscomb back on Aug. 16. 2004: Swimming from Cambodia
(emphasis mine)
| Quote: | http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=6980
Special Report
Swimming From Cambodia
By Thomas Lipscomb
Published 8/16/2004 12:08:26 AM
NEW YORK -- John Kerry is desperately trying to slide safely away from the collapse of his "Christmas in Cambodia" fairy tale. Two embarrassing "failures of memory" now permanently scar Senator Kerry's campaign to gain trust and demonstrate strength as he tries to move from war hero to war president.
In March, reliable witnesses came forward who placed John Kerry at a November 1971 Kansas City meeting where the Vietnam Veterans Against the War secretly voted on a proposal to kill six pro-war senators. This appeared especially odd because Kerry had told two historians, Gerald Nicosia and Douglas Brinkley, that he was not there and that he had resigned from the organization before the meeting was held. He denied eyewitnesses' accounts as well, even when six witnesses had appeared, several of whom were working for his presidential campaign.
As the story developed, and was widely ignored by the major media, several things emerged that reflected favorably on Kerry's conduct at the meeting. He had argued strongly against the assassinations and prevailed in the final vote. But Kerry still denied the accounts. He stuck to the resignation story as well, even though there was clear evidence in the New York Times and other papers that Kerry had continued as a spokesman for the VVAW, making media and speaking appearances for a year and a half after his supposed resignation.
When FBI files emerged establishing Kerry's presence in Kansas City, the campaign conceded that Kerry somehow must have forgotten his involvement in the plot to assassinate U.S. senators while still on the executive committee of the VVAW. What might have been an unforgettable experience for a man who was now a Senator himself turned out to be just one of those little memory lapses we all have.
And now the new book by Kerry's fellow Swiftboat veterans, Unfit for Command, has inspired another "failure of memory." Kerry has maintained for years that he was forced to go on a secret mission to plant a CIA agent in Cambodia during Christmas 1968 under President Richard Nixon.
He mentioned it in the Boston Herald in October 1979, saying he had been in Cambodia "on more than one occasion." He referred to it at length on the floor of the U.S. Senate in 1986 and said, "I have that memory which is seared-seared into me… ." And in a touching sidelight to a Washington Post profile as recent as June 2003, Kerry revealed that his briefcase has a secret compartment that held a "frayed" souvenir he actually showed reporter Laura Blumenfeld. "My good luck hat, given to me by a CIA guy as we went in for a special mission in Cambodia."
It did seem odd that Douglas Brinkley's best-seller Tour of Duty, which came out a few months after the Post profile, placed Kerry in Sa Dec, inside Vietnam about 50 miles from the Cambodian border. And now with the publication of Unfit for Command, so do three of Kerry's Swiftboat crewmen at the time.
As the Cambodian fantasy began to look ridiculous, the "explanations" got positively surreal. Kerry apologist Jeh Johnson was sent to appear on Fox to explain. It seems that Kerry has had another memory failure, "a mistaken recollection," and Johnson spoke of a retraction of the Cambodia story. ""I believe he has corrected the record to say it was some place near Cambodia he is not certain whether it was in Cambodia but he is certain there was some point subsequent to that that he was in Cambodia." Got that?
John Hurley, head of the Veterans for Kerry campaign operation, had a totally different explanation on Tony Snow's radio program. Perhaps Kerry was not in Cambodia that Christmas after all, just close by. Perhaps he was confused about the date and unsure exactly where he was. "I don't know how anyone can say if they were in or near Cambodia." And Christmas is so easy to mistake for any other day of the year. Perhaps he had not been "under fire" there by South Vietnamese, Viet Cong, or the Khmer Rouge. It was so long ago. How is one to remember everything? We shouldn't be "shocked, shocked" in spite Kerry's Senate-floor assertion that his memory was "seared-seared." And how about that "lucky hat" in the secret compartment in the briefcase?
IT IS NOW CLEAR THAT Kerry spent many years trying to build his record. His political ambitions were obvious even as a Yale student. One former classmate relates a story about how a group of his fellow students had decided while they would support him as far as senator, but they had doubts about his making a good president. Like the young Jimmy Gatz "he always had some resolves." And like the Jay Gatsby young Jimmy grew into, Kerry's life is all about his ambitions and the green light at the end of the White House dock that has been drawing him to his destiny for 40 years.
Somewhere there are those hidden journals whose contents have been selectively shared with Douglas Brinkley. And as Brinkley puts it: "Kerry saves everything." To the amazement of supporters and opponents alike John Kerry elected to make his four-month service in Swiftboats 35 years ago the centerpiece of his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. One can understand why. He thought he had that period of his life boxed and ready for presentation.
Selective memory is everyone's' secret enemy. Kerry hadn't been challenged in his selective recall since he left Vietnam, and his stories kept getting better and better. No wonder Kerry told the Washington Post interviewer, "I wish they had a delete button on LexisNexis."
But what is now clear is that Kerry has gone a step farther. Kerry lies. He not only lies to the Senate, the press and historians, he lies to his own press people, and he lies to himself. And he has been lying for years. And whenever one of Kerry's lies is under attack, he attacks every one else -- as liars.
And there is a pattern to his responses as well. When the lie becomes undeniable, the sources are attacked. In the case of the VVAW plot, John Hurley, head of Veterans for Kerry and a former VVAW member himself, pressured eyewitnesses, like totally disabled vet John Musgrave, to change their story. In the case of the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, there has been a direct attack by lawyers for the campaign trying to silence their advertising as containing "outrageous lies." And yet no specific lie is ever charged. Nor does Kerry ever take the chance of actually bringing charges against his accusers for libel which would open the issue to a courtroom trial of the truth.
When the lie becomes unsustainable, it is attributed to a memory failure. Kerry never appears. He never tries to make an explanation. He takes no responsibility. He even hides from the press as he has for the past several days.
With rueful admiration, former Senator and Navy Seal Bob Kerrey called the last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, "an exceptionally good liar." Unfortunately Senator John Kerry is an exceptionally bad liar. How many lies he has told and how serious they are remains a question that is now under examination. Perhaps no one really cares. These days historians, journalists and the public alike appear to value sheer celebrity more than any standard of truth.
Today's journalists have so little experience with the military they haven't a clue how to evaluate the charges brought by the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth about Kerry's quest for medals. They can't tell the difference between a bronze star and a Boy Scout merit badge, and can't be bothered to learn. What does the press care about cowardice, deceitful conduct, and lying about a mere war record? At least Kerry has one and there is no arguing with that. But it will be very hard for Kerry to swim out of the Cambodian fiasco without getting all wet. For here Kerry was lying directly to the press itself and they know it.
NOW DOUGLAS BRINKLEY HAS taken on the thankless task of trying to explain the florid Cambodian Christmas fairytale Kerry has been flogging for 30 years to the press, in speeches, and in his own campaign publications and Internet site. In a speech on the floor of the Senate Kerry called it one of the defining moments of his life. Now it is time to redefine it to save Kerry's political life, before the embarrassed silence of the media gives way to a real desire to find out what else Kerry has lied about. And it's not going to be easy. Look at the challenge Brinkley has set for himself in his statement to the London Telegraph last week:
"Kerry went into Cambodian waters three or four times in January and February 1969 on clandestine missions. He had a run dropping off US Navy Seals, Green Berets and CIA guys."
That is really raising the ante. All Kerry had said until now was that he had been in Cambodia on "more than one occasion." It won't be easy to find "three or four" occasions in that time period. Remember Kerry crewmember Steve Gardner was with Kerry for almost all of January, and Gardner has already said he never went into "Cambodian waters."
These missions took place under the direction of Kerry's superior officers who had to detach Swiftboats from other duties to handle these insertions. And there were indeed missions like this. Swiftvet leader Admiral Roy Hoffmann is perfectly well aware of them. How likely are any of Kerry's commanders to support his latest insertion assertion?
Kerry was stuck down on an isolated base at An Thoi on Dao Phu Quoc Island off the coast of Cambodia during February 1969. He certainly wasn't going on these missions on his own without his superior officers being aware of them. Who else was going to pick Kerry out of the other Swiftboat commanders for the assignment? And "three or four times" is pretty conspicuous in a month with only 28 days.
Kerry has stated, "I took my patrol boat into Cambodia." He recalled it was his Swiftboat, which most likely would have been PCF94, with full naval markings. And that means he had his crew on board. He couldn't operate the Swiftboat on his own. Which of his crew will back Kerry up with memories of "three or four" trips into Cambodia the way they did on stage at the Democratic Convention? Or is there an ancient CIA man out there eager to try on his hat in a photo op with Senator Kerry?
Perhaps there is a pumpkin in a patch somewhere hiding microfilms of secret Kerry papers explaining all this written on his old Underwood typewriter. But after so many "memory failures" based on selections from Kerry's journals, they are unlikely to be taken at face value at this point. Whatever Brinkley comes up with, the payoff on this story is likely to be at least as fascinating as Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods' explanation of how she accidentally erased the 18 and a half minutes of a crucial Watergate tape. I can't wait.
Thomas Lipscomb broke the news story on Kerry's involvement with the senatorial assassination plot. He served as chairman of the New York Vietnam Veterans' Leadership Program, which worked to assist the employment of minority area veterans. |
note: URL BBCode applied |
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Harvuskong
Seaman
Joined: 17 Oct 2004
Posts: 174
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 11:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Navy wife wrote: | | I loved both of these pieces, but, oh, how I wish these were in the Washington Post or the New York Times Or even better yet--the Boston Globe!!! |
My suggestion is that a page or whatever ad size that it takes be purchased in the Boston Globe and any other paper that one wants to see then in and use that space to reprint the articles.
I am assuming that you would be able to get the author's permission to do the reprinting.
Money talks in any news paper. They will take the money and print it I think. Just make sure that you have a really good camera ready copy for the reprinting. |
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