Goose the Blog 2.0

Now, I personally do not believe that John Kerry’s four month tour in Vietnam 30 years ago qualifies him for anything, much less Commander in Chief, but the DNC and John Kerry for some reason think it is relevant, and have made his service a centerpiece in his campaign, which invites reflection on the following:

These honors were a disgrace to him 30 years ago when he threw (didn’t throw) his (someone else’s) medals (ribbons) over the White House Fence. In senate testimony, Kerry’s own statements portrayed his 4 month service as consisting of nothing but war crimes. Kerry also did (or did not) break international law by crossing into Cambodia, Christmas Eve, 1968

Numerous Vietnam Veterans groups, such as Swift Vets (No, no one recanted, the press misquoted and failed to retract), Vietnam Vets against Kerry , Veterans against Kerry, and POW/MIA Family Members Against Kerry, feel he is not suited to lead, partially because they question the honors that he received, but a larger motive would be his perceived betrayal of U.S. Soldiers after the war (see below). Kerry will not release the complete military records to prove his valor, stating the fact that he was in fact decorated as proof enough that he deserved them. President Bush released all of his military records (the missing ones were found, and they do not prove or disprove charges he was AWOL. Bush was Honorably Discharged from the Service indicating that, to the same degree that Kerry was in fact decorated by the Navy, the military establishment felt both men did their duty)

After returning from Vietnam, Kerry became active in a group called Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). The VVAW boasted “Hanoi” Jane Fonda who aided the enemy while in Vietnam, and liar Al Hubbard, as members, both of which had strong communist leanings, and the whole group was closely monitored by the FBI. Kerry’s memories of his activities while with this group seem somewhat fuzzy, but the FBI files suggest Kerry illegally met with representatives from North Vietnam, Obtained funding for the VVAW when they were broke, and attended a meeting where the VVAW contemplated the assassination of U.S. Senators. Kerry finally resigned from the organization over the latter matter (though some say immediately and some say a few months later)

As part of the VVAW, Kerry may have lied (or perhaps he was just given bad intelligence?) when he testified before the Senate as to the statements made at the VVAW organized Winter Soldier conference. A reputedly lost NIS report requested by Senator Mark Hatfield claims that many of the soldiers at the conference refused to co-operate with investigators (as instructed by VVAW), were imposters, or were never deployed to Vietnam. At best, the Winter Soldier testimony is hear-say. It has neither been discredited (except in the missing report) nor independently confirmed. Regardless of its veracity, Kerry’s testimony was used as part of the torture routine applied to our POWS to obtain admissions of war crimes in the “Hanoi Hilton” for years after the war.

Kerry’s anti-war activities eventually earned Kerry official recognition from the North Vietnam Government, where his picture hangs , with Jane Fonda’s, in the American Protestors section of the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. A former staff member of the North Vietnam Army admits to the critical role the American Anti-War movement played in expelling the U.S. from South Vietnam and allowing North Vietnam to Win the war. As a result of the U.S. defeat, 65,000 Vietnamese died, and millions of others emigrated to other countries. Many of these settled in “Little Saigon” where most residents are against Kerry. As a senator, Kerry fought against pressuring Vietnam with a Civil Rights Bill that may have helped the natives who served as U.S. Allies during the war and abandoned POWs in favor of normalized relations with North Vietnam.. These normalized relations resulted in Kerry’s cousin’ Forbes’ company, Collier International landing lucrative contracts. I don’t think this last point proves anything, but there are those who think acquaintance means collusion.