SwiftVets.com

[glfsophia]

I saw this on FreeRepublic.

http://about.upi.com/products/perspectives/UPI-20041006-054024-4234R

Peter Principles: The race to the Swift
By PETER ROFF

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth laid waste to John F. Kerry's presidential campaign. The Swifties, as they have become known, used a single television ad -- which initially aired in less than 2 percent of U.S. households -- to undercut the Democratic nominee's principal virtue: his record in Vietnam.

The group's activities brought attention to a period in Kerry's life that, well-known and apparently well-documented, had never really be subject to intense scrutiny; certainly not the level of scrutiny given to either President George W. Bush's record in the Texas Air National Guard or former Vice President Dan Quayle's time in the Indiana National Guard.

The group's latest ad charges that, "Even before Jane Fonda went to Hanoi to meet with the enemy and mock America, John Kerry secretly met with enemy leaders in Paris though we were still at war and Americans were being held in North Vietnamese prison camps."

The group has drawn the nexus that was long in the making -- that Kerry's inconsistency on the war in Iraq has an historical antecedent: his inconsistency on the war in Vietnam.

On the one hand, there is his record as a decorated war hero: a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, several Purple Hearts and the life of at least one U.S. solider saved in battle.

On the other, there is his record as the leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, the activities on which he based his rise to political prominence leading to a career in Massachusetts politics.

One of the more notable actions taken by Kerry was his 1971 appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in which he uttered his famous line about asking the last American solider "to die for a mistake." But he said a lot of other things too, worth quoting at length.

"I am not here as John Kerry," he told the committee, "I am here as one member of the group of 1,000, which is a small representation of a very much larger group of veterans in this country; and were it possible for all of them to sit at this table, they would be here and have the same kind of testimony."

Kerry then brought up the Winter Soldier project, which he described as "an investigation at which more than 150 honorably discharged, and many very highly decorated, veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia."

What Kerry may not have known at the time, however, is that most of the participants in the so-called investigation, as later scholarship demonstrated, were not highly decorated veterans; in fact, many of them had never even been in Vietnam or in the U.S. military.

"They told stories," Kerry continued, "that at times they 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 countryside of South Vietnam ...

"The country doesn't know it yet, but it has created a monster, a monster in the form of millions of men who have been taught to deal and to trade in violence and who are given the chance to die for the biggest nothing in history," Kerry told the committee in a perfect illustration of what he himself criticized in his first debate with George W. Bush.

The communists in Southeast Asia used Kerry's testimony before the committee as a propaganda tool, and it was an integral part of the torture perpetrated by the North Vietnamese against U.S. POW's held in Hanoi. In what he told that U.S. Senate committee in 1971, the future U.S. senator from Massachusetts apparently could not distinguish between the war and the warriors who fought it.

The lasting outrage on the part of some veterans who, like Kerry, served nobly in and were discharged honorably from that long-ago war propelled them to action initially and has kept them going when their actions suffered a withering assault from those who would sooner dismiss their allegations than explore them.

Now the Swift Boat Veterans, together with some members of the POW community, have come together to form Swift Boats and POWs for Truth and to press on to extract from Kerry an apology.

The group recently opened an online petition addressed to Kerry that reads, in part, "The vast majority of the men who served with you, and the entire chain of command, has refuted your representations of your conduct in Vietnam. To date, you have repeatedly refused to respond to these statements, electing instead to have professional politicians flood the media with efforts to discredit these former comrades.

"If you betrayed us once, we need to be assured that you will not do it again," the petition reads. "It is time for you to set the record straight."

While the Swifties may be over the top, their personal connection to the events involved give them a certain license toward emotionalism; nevertheless, the allegations they raise deserve investigation. To the extent their activities provoke serious inquiry, even if Kerry is ultimately exonerated of all the charges they have made, they will have been a welcome development indeed.

(The Peter Principles explores issues in national and local politics, U.S. culture and the media. It is written by Peter Roff, UPI political analyst and 20-year veteran of the Washington scene.)

(Please send comments to nationaldesk@upi.com.)

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

[wovenhearts]

I was inspired to send a reply to 'nationaldesk@upi.com'

I wanted to thank Peter Roff for this fair and objective article about the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. I have been following the Swift Vets since early August, and have read John O'Neil's book: "Unfit for Command". I believe that these brave men have a story to tell, and it has been frustrating to see their reputations being smeared all over the MSM. I wish that your article could have a much broader readership. And I would love to see the Swift Vet charges fairly investigated by the main stream media. John Kerry has gotten a free ride for way too long. Somebody please ask him to Sign Form 180 to release all of his military records, and to explain the discrepancies in his accounts. George Bush's military records have been investigated to death . . . let's make it John Kerry's turn.

[Me#1You#10]

It seems almost impossible to imagine that Kerry hasn't held ONE press conference that I'm aware of since the publication of John O'Neill's book, and almost more astonishing that the MSM hasn't crucified him for it.

[Dimsdale]

That is a good letter. Too bad it is the "exception that proves the rule" in the liberally biased MSM.

The funny thing about the Peter Principle is that it states that "a person his promoted to his/her level of incompetence."

I think Kerry reached that somewhere in Vietnam.

Don't let him prove it in the Oval Office.
_________________
Everytime he had a choice, Kerry chose to side with communists rather than the United States.

[Anker-Klanker]

Great article. But let's not kid ourselves: "FreeRepublic" is not exactly MSM.

[glfsophia]

The link was freeped. UPI, from what I can tell, is right up there with Reuters in how often their reports are picked up.

[noc]

No matter how you look at it, this is progress.

[GoophyDog]

Note who the author writes for. UPI, the competitor of AP.

Over the past couple of months I've been tracking the headline news in three newspapers and the MSM. What I've found is downright frightening in its ramifications.

The bias shown in the MSM and the lead articles all have a base stemming from the Associated Press (AP). Even the "instant" media of T.V. use AP sources and articles to run with their headlines. Here's the breakdown:

AP wire leads and alerts were used in 90% virtually word-for-word, in lead stories on the 3 alphabet channels, the Globe and the NYT. (135/15)

Of the 10% or 15 that I tracked, those reporters were "guests" or on sub-contract, not employees of AP.

Why the tracking. We've been focused on media bias this year and have swung from various outlets as each has published their drivel. What I've found is that the base of the bias and as stated 90% of the stories all reside or originate from the desks of AP. It is AP that should be brought into the light of day and exposed for their driving monopoly over our media.

Off topic? Yep, but where else could I find such a shining example of what another newsfeed can come up with and still be muffled by the overriding fanaticism of our media to hold to AP.
_________________
Why ask? Because it needs asking.

[Stevie]

how do we get ahold of AP?

Why do they get to write the stories for other media? I guess I don't understand it all....

Where do they get their 'news' - make it up?
_________________
Stevie
Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage
morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should
be arrested, exiled or hanged.

[Anker-Klanker]

After GoophyDog's observations, I've been noticing today exactly what he said. That's sure information that will help me fine tune my reading...

I've observed that by-and-large most of the MSM do not do their own digging; they're merely the "presenters." AP, UPI, Reuters, and others of their ilk are apparently the news "gatherers."

Thanks for sharing that observation...

[Frank B]

GoophyDog....

If you haven't already, would you consider firing your findings off to Brit Hume at Fox? He likes to kick this kind of stuff around with his panel and it would be interesting to hear their comments on the AP bias.

Brit at Fox: special@foxnews.com
_________________
"Any government that believes money should be taken from Peter to pay Paul will, of course,
have the support of Paul" -- G B Shaw

[GoophyDog]

Frank B - been there, done that with a question as to why no one else is asking or looking. No response and I don't really expect one.

If you want to duplicate what I found, simply grab a couple of your major newspapers and check the headlines and articles, you'll see the AP sourcing right there with the byline. Jot down notes on the high-points then watch the alphabets go at it.
_________________
Why ask? Because it needs asking.

[Truegrit]

Maybe we are finally beginning to get a fair hearing from MSM on the SVBT claims, which were routinely dismissed by biased journalists.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
_________________
Ted Harwood, Ph.D.
Enlisted, U.S. Army ('57-'60)

[Wolfgang]

Let's remember that this was a column, not a news article. And UPI is now connected with the Washington Times--relatively conservative news organizations, though with connections to Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church. (Connections does NOT equal being run by, of course!)