[Let the dance begin:] Vietnam vets challenge Kerryâs integrity
EFL. I wondered if any news service would pick this up.
By JAMES ROSEN, May 4, 2004
Dozens of Vietnam veterans questioned John Kerryâs fitness to be president Tuesday, accusing him of exaggerating his credentials as a war hero and having betrayed U.S. troops in Southeast Asia with anti-war activities after his return home. . . . About says it all, doesnât it? Calling themselves "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" - in reference to the type of gunboat Kerry commanded on Vietnamâs Mekong Delta - 184 vets signed a biting letter to him in which they said he is now trying to benefit from a war he once protested.
"You now seek to clad yourself in the very medals that you disdainfully threw away in the early years of your political career," the letter said. "You have deceived the public, and in the process have betrayed honorable men, to further your personal political goals. Your conduct is such as to raise substantive concerns as to your honesty and your ability to serve, as you currently seek, as commander-in-chief of the military forces."
* * * "The John Kerry I know is not the John Kerry that everyone has portrayed," Gardner said at a news conference. "His indecisive moves on our boat put our boat in jeopardy and put our crew in jeopardy. If a man like that canât handle a 16-foot boat, how can we expect him to be commander-in-chief of the United States military?"
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(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
Posted by: cingold 2004-05-05 |