John Kerry, who often exhibited the animation of a French cadaver without its Gallic charm while campaigning for the presidency in 2004, has disinterred himself from the political graveyard and is running again for - the presidency in 2004! – with the help of The New York Times, of course. Only this time around, Kerry is taking on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, instead of ignoring them and hoping they’ll just go away.
Interestingly, Kerry and the New York Times reporter both look at truth as having the qualities of malleable plastic, capable of being bent and shaped to fit their current “truth.” This is most clearly shown in their treatment of Kerry’s memories of spending Christmas 1968 in Cambodia, a memory that was “seared - seared” in him. According to the Times reporter, the Cambodian incursion is now reflected in Kerry’s logbook as occurring on 12 February 1969.
For those among us with very short, very selective memories, also known as Democrats, the following succinct recapitulation of the salient facts is in order. John Kerry said he spent Christmas Eve of 1968 in Cambodia, listening to South Vietnamese allies whooping it up and firing off guns in celebration. He remembers being worried that he might be shot accidentally by a celebrating ally, and having the realization that his government was lying, that President Nixon was denying we had any combat troops in Cambodia.
Are we all together so far? All of this is in John Kerry’s book, Tour of Duty, and in the Congressional Record, if you need to refresh your memories.
Now for the fun part. Nixon wasn’t President in December 1968. Nixon made no pronouncements about combat troops in Cambodia until two years later.
Although the Times reporter keeps referring to the testimony of Swift Boat veterans as “unsubstantiated,” in truth it is Kerry’s statements that are unsubstantiated. Kerry’s superior officers are all on record that there were no Swift Boat missions to Cambodia at that time, and many of Kerry’s shipmates say they never were in Cambodia, and only Kerry has stated that he and any of his shipmates were ever in Cambodia. Even shipmates who worked in his campaign would not say they were in Cambodia.
For many reasons, Swift Boats did not run missions into Cambodia. One reason is that there is no record, testimony, or other statements that the Swift Boats were ever assigned to do such missions for the CIA, Navy SEALS, Special Forces, or etc. Except of course by then Navy Lieutenant Kerry. A review of the Mekong Delta geography shows that the Mekong River flows directly from Cambodia into Viet Nam. At that time, descriptions indicated that there were physical barriers, armed patrol boats, and guard stations at the point where the Mekong left Cambodia and entered Viet Nam.
Besides the facts they weren’t assigned the jobs, and that it would have been physically impossible for Swift Boats to cross the armed border into Cambodia by going up the Mekong, are there any other reasons why this could not happen?
Well yes, and I’m glad you asked. The Swift Boats were extremely noisy, and because of that, were totally unsuited to performing clandestine missions. WHAT! YOU CAN’T HEAR ME? I SAID THE ENGINE IS TOO LOUD!
There. That’s better. Blessed silence. Damned things would wake up the dead. Speaking of the dead, look, Kerry’s saying something!
“I have that memory which is seared - seared - in me.”
John, since you label any veteran who disagrees with you a liar, and your supporters label whatever they say as “unsubstantiated,” it’s time to get personal. Just stop whining, John, and show us your hat. The one you got from the CIA, or was it the SEALS, or was it Special Forces? I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. While you’re at it, how about showing us your logbook, and all your military records, including medical? Especially the military record that shows you were awarded a Silver Star with a “V” for Valor device. The Navy says they never award a “V” for Valor device with the Silver Star. How did you get yours?
Meanwhile, back on the Mekong, you got a Purple Heart in an incident that was undocumented (you know, like unsubstantiated). When you applied to your commander for the Purple Heart, he turned you down because (1) there was no hostile report, and (2) your “wound” was only a scratch. The servicing physician concurred that it was very minor and did not appear to be the result of hostile fire. After your commander was reassigned, you reapplied, and like magic, got your Purple Heart.
By the way, John, since we’re hung up on this bit about unsubstantiated charges, you yourself in your book substantiated that, at the time of the Purple Heart action, you and your boat had not yet come under hostile fire. Did you lie in your book, or on your Purple Heart application? You can’t have it both ways. Even you can’t say: “I told the truth in my diary before I told it on my Purple Heart application.” You can’t change a story to fit the circumstances like you do with your votes in the Senate.
This is just a start, John, but I have to rest my fingers. “Unsubstantiated” is a big word to type over and over, and you’ve said and written so many other unsubstantiated things about your four months in Viet Nam that I need to pace myself.
Funny. You spent even less time in Viet Nam than Al Gore. I’ll bet that after you tried to ride those four months into the presidency, it seems like a lifetime.
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