Text 1139, 88 rader
Skriven 2004-08-09 17:44:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Kerry
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http://www.townhall.com/columnists/robertnovak/rn20040809.shtml

Kerry's war record
Robert Novak (archive)


August 9, 2004 |  Print |  Send


 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The television ad that aroused the wrath of John 
McCain and journalist supporters of John Kerry just begins 
deconstruction of the Democratic presidential candidate's war record. 
"Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," a 
214-page critique of his performance in Vietnam and the antiwar 
movement, is off the presses ahead of schedule.
 
I have read the book and found it is neither the political propaganda 
nor the urban legend that its detractors claim. It is a passionate but 
meticulously researched account of how Kerry went to war, what he did in 
the war and how he conducted himself after the war. The very serious 
charges by former comrades deserve answers but so far have produced only 
ad hominem counterattacks.

 Why should details of what Kerry did more than 30 years ago be part of 
this election campaign? Only because the senator has made them integral 
to his strategy. Kerry as war hero received more attention at the 
Democratic National Convention than plans for the future. Thus, what he 
did in his shortened four months of combat becomes a valid campaign 
issue.

 John E. O'Neill, co-author of "Unfit for Command," replaced Kerry as 
commander of Swift Boat PCF 94 in 1969 and has been confronting him 
since 1971. O'Neill told me he is no George W. Bush partisan and 
probably would have supported John Edwards had he been nominated for 
president, but is committed to keeping Kerry out of the Oval Office. 
Thus, reversing the usual formulation, the assault on Kerry is personal 
but not political.

 O'Neill told me neither he nor his co-author (Jerome R. Corsi, a writer 
and expert on the Vietnam antiwar movement) has had contact with the 
Bush White House or the Bush-Cheney campaign. He said he and Corsi, on 
their own initiative, went to conservative Regnery Publishing to offer 
the book. 

 The co-authors paint Kerry as a reluctant warrior. Contrary to claims 
by Kerry's supporters that he served two combat hitches in Vietnam, his 
one-year term aboard a guided missile frigate was far from action. His 
four months in the brown water navy were terminated eight months early 
by a third Purple Heart wound, none of which required hospitalization.

 The book's strength is the vehemence of testimony by swift boat 
veterans, alleging that Kerry "gamed" the system to win decorations and 
later betrayed comrades by charging war crimes. Typical is the quote by 
Bob Hildreth, commanding an accompanying boat: "I would never want Kerry 
behind me. I wouldn't want him in front of me, either. And I sure 
wouldn't want him commanding our kids in Iraq and Afghanistan." Some 200 
"Swiftees" on May 4 signed a letter to Kerry demanding full release of 
his service records.

 The book's weakness is support for Kerry's presidential campaign by his 
swift boat crewmates, presumably people who knew him best. O'Neill told 
me that these former sailors served with Kerry no more than five weeks. 
Jim Rassmann, now part of the Kerry presidential campaign, was a Special 
Forces lieutenant spending a few days with Kerry when he fell or was 
knocked off the swift boat while under fire and was fished out of the 
Mekong River by the future candidate. 

 The "band of brothers" was organized by Kerry, according to this book. 
It tells of a 2003 telephone call to Adm. Roy Hoffmann, who commanded 
swift boats in Vietnam, telling him he was running for president. 
Hoffmann, mistakenly thinking it was former Sen. Bob Kerrey, "responded 
enthusiastically." Once the admiral realized it was John Kerry, "he 
declined to give Kerry his support." Hoffmann is quoted as saying, "I do 
not believe John Kerry is fit to be commander in chief of the armed 
forces of the United States."

 "Unfit for Command" sends a devastating message, unless effectively 
refuted. Perhaps most disturbing are allegations that Kerry's combat 
decorations are unjustified. His first Purple Heart, the book alleges, 
was accidentally self-inflicted. His commander, Grant Hibbard, is quoted 
as saying: "I didn't recommend him for a Purple Heart. Kerry probably 
wrote up the paperwork and recommended himself." Full release of 
documents demanded by his critics could settle this claim quickly if it 
is unwarranted.


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