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ok, i just didn't equate speech with congressional testimony.
i don't think this warrants a brand new thread... but i'll certainly do my best to respond to your questions.
my problem with kerry's testimony is this: a lot of what he said regarding the war crimes that were allegedly perpetrated by his fellow veterans are unsubstantiated. thousands upon thousands of veterans will tell you that they never took part in or saw the kinds of things kerry describes. kerry, as a young lieutenant (the lowest officer rank in the heirarchy) spending 4 months in combat accused the soldiers still lying in the mud in vietnam of horrible deeds. a lieutenant on a swift boat for four months is going to make theaterwide accusations of heinous war crimes, with responsibility going to the top of the chain of command? those who are familiar with military organizational structure know that it would be a rare thing for a lieutenant to make such observations about the entire American war effort with any degree of authority.
so what does this have to do w/my statement about dole? well, kerry had no problem testifying before congress that his fellow soldiers where acting like the Mongol hoard while his brothers in arms where held captive in enemy prisons. yet when senator dole, being at the very least kerry's equal on the issue, expresses doubt on something as trivial as the level of desert in an awarded medal people express outrage at senator dole.
it seems like there is a double standard. if the pertinent concern is the respect of veterans as the washpost article suggests, then what right do any of us have to look down our nose at senator dole when he questions a single veteran who, on a world stage, indicted nearly EVERY OTHER veteran he served with?
accusing kerry of fudging on his medals on a cable news show is drawing more outrage on veteran's respect grounds than kerry's broad attack on the soldiers in vietnam before congress.
does this seem right to anyone?
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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
~ Winston Churchill
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