"truth" ???????

[Gimpy]

Commentary: Swift Boat Veterans for "Truth?"


The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are not really interested in the truth. If they were, they would be condemning Bush--not Kerry.


By Mick Youther


After John Kerry returned from Viet Nam in 1969, he began to speak out against the Nixon Administration and the war in Southeast Asia. By 1971, Nixon knew the war was already lost, but he wanted to keep it going long enough to assure his re-election. (He didn?t care how many lives might be lost in the process). Public opinion was turning against the war, and Nixon could not afford anyone bad-mouthing the war, especially a war hero. Something had to be done to counteract Kerry?s anti-war message.

? ?We found a vet named John O'Neill and formed a group called Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace. We had O'Neill meet the President [Nixon], and we did everything we could do to boost his group.?-- Watergate conspirator Chuck Colson, quoted in the 1/5/04 issue of The New Yorker

Thirty-five years later, history is repeating itself. John Kerry is speaking out against another paranoid Republican Administration and its inept prosecution of an unwinnable war; and the same John O?Neill has been bankrolled to help the Republicans. This time the group is ?Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,? but the goal is the same?discredit John Kerry.

? ?I think this is some of the sleaziest lies I've ever seen in politics. [John O'Neill] has been a Republican functionary for over 30 years... He?s a liar. He started with?he started with Chuck Colson. He was a pawn of Chuck Colson.?-- Albert R. Hunt, Executive editor, The Wall Street Journal, on CNN's The Capital Gang, 8/7/04

? ?[The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth] are simply malcontents who have never forgiven Kerry for his actions in speaking out against the war. They seek retribution by fabricating stories to destroy him... John O'Neill has zero credibility. He was -- and still is -- Richard Nixon's patsy.?-- Douglas Brinkley, author of ?Tour of Duty?, quoted on Salon.com, 8/6/04

? ?It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me? I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is, none of these individuals served on the boat (Kerry) commanded. Many of his crew have testified to his courage under fire.?-- John McCain, AP, 8/5/04

I saw O?Neill on MSNBC?s Hardball with Chris Matthews (8/12/04). He claimed that John Kerry had somehow fooled the Navy into awarding him three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star. He made it sound like Kerry was awarded his Silver Star for ?shooting a kid in the back??a phrase O?Neill carefully emphasized four or five times, while failing to mention that the ?kid? was carrying a rocket propelled grenade launcher and was preparing to shoot it at Kerry?s Swift Boat (according to an actual eye witness). For a lie by lie refutation of these muckraker?s claims about John Kerry?s service, go to http://www.eriposte.com/media/liars_inc/swiftboat.htm .

John O?Neill and the Bush Campaign want voters to ignore the Navy?s records, ignore the testimony of Kerry?s shipmates, and believe some people who weren?t on Kerry?s boat or, in some cases, weren?t even in Viet Nam at the same time as Kerry.

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth claim they were organized to ensure that ?ALL presidential candidates [are] totally honest and forthcoming regarding personal background and policy information that would help the voting public make an informed decision when choosing the next president of the United States.? That is obviously not true. If it were, they would direct some of their energy and outrage toward George W. Bush?s mysterious military career.

? ?A spokesman for the Alabama National Guard estimates there were 600 to 700 members in the unit Bush was supposed to have served with in 1972. But none of these men has ever come forward to say he remembers Bush, and Bush has not named a single one of them.?-- The New Republic, 10/16/00

? ?[Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver Colorado] then designated Bush as AWOL and a ?non-locatee? (i.e. a deserter) who had failed to satisfactorily participate in TXANG, and certified him for immediate induction through his local draft board. Once the Houston draft board got wind of the situation, strings were pulled... ?(... and once again George got a pass). The AWOL Project, see link below.

? ?Rather than only asking how a young George W. got out of the National Guard, we ought to ask how he got in when 350 American men were dying each week in Vietnam and 100,000 were on National Guard waiting lists across the country.?-- LA Weekly, 2/13/04

So come on, you Swift Boat Veterans for Truth! If you?re really looking for a Presidential candidate that shirked his military obligation, you need look no further than your Commander in Chief, George. W. ?Bring ?em on? Bush.

For the sad truth about Bush the Deserter, go to The AWOL Project .

Posted Saturday, August 14, 2004

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