Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

mml · 09-22-2004, 10:28 AM

Here is an article about the new add:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...iftboat22.html

Ad links Kerry to enemy talks

Campaign says Swift Boat claim has no credibility

Paul Farhi
Washington Post
Sept. 22, 2004 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - The veterans organization that sparked controversy last month when it questioned John Kerry's military service in Vietnam plans to launch a new commercial today that equates Kerry with Vietnam War protester Jane Fonda and accuses the Democratic presidential nominee of secretly meeting with "enemy leaders" during the conflict.

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth said it will spend $1.3 million to air its advertisement. The ad, titled Friends, makes no assertion of any direct link between Kerry and Fonda, but it suggests that their contacts with North Vietnamese leaders were equally dishonorable.

The group, whose members served in the Navy at the same time as Kerry, is referring to a meeting Kerry had in early 1971 with leaders of the communist delegation that was negotiating with U.S. representatives at the Paris peace talks. The meeting, however, was not a secret. Kerry, a leading anti-war activist at the time, mentioned it in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry acknowledged in that testimony that even going to the peace talks as a private citizen was at the "borderline" of what U.S. law permitted.

"This is more trash from a group that's doing the Bush campaign's dirty work," Kerry spokesman Chad Clanton said. "Their charges are as credible as a supermarket rag."

John O'Neill, an organizer of the Swift Boat group and co-author of the anti-Kerry book Unfit for Command, said it would be "unprecedented" for a future commander in chief to have met with the enemy.

This was not a secret, make of it what you will. It has no effect on my vote, just as what President Bush was or was not doing at that time has no effect on my vote. If anything, at least John Kerry was involved and acting on his beliefs. Right or wrong, he stood up for what he believed in.

Now, can all this garbage about Vietnam go away. We have too many important issues today, to worry about 30+ years ago.

09-22-2004, 10:28 AM	#8 (permalink)
mml Adrift Location: Wandering in the Desert of Life	Here is an article about the new add: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...iftboat22.html Ad links Kerry to enemy talks Campaign says Swift Boat claim has no credibility Paul Farhi Washington Post Sept. 22, 2004 12:00 AM WASHINGTON - The veterans organization that sparked controversy last month when it questioned John Kerry's military service in Vietnam plans to launch a new commercial today that equates Kerry with Vietnam War protester Jane Fonda and accuses the Democratic presidential nominee of secretly meeting with "enemy leaders" during the conflict. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth said it will spend $1.3 million to air its advertisement. The ad, titled Friends, makes no assertion of any direct link between Kerry and Fonda, but it suggests that their contacts with North Vietnamese leaders were equally dishonorable. The group, whose members served in the Navy at the same time as Kerry, is referring to a meeting Kerry had in early 1971 with leaders of the communist delegation that was negotiating with U.S. representatives at the Paris peace talks. The meeting, however, was not a secret. Kerry, a leading anti-war activist at the time, mentioned it in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry acknowledged in that testimony that even going to the peace talks as a private citizen was at the "borderline" of what U.S. law permitted. "This is more trash from a group that's doing the Bush campaign's dirty work," Kerry spokesman Chad Clanton said. "Their charges are as credible as a supermarket rag." John O'Neill, an organizer of the Swift Boat group and co-author of the anti-Kerry book Unfit for Command, said it would be "unprecedented" for a future commander in chief to have met with the enemy. This was not a secret, make of it what you will. It has no effect on my vote, just as what President Bush was or was not doing at that time has no effect on my vote. If anything, at least John Kerry was involved and acting on his beliefs. Right or wrong, he stood up for what he believed in. Now, can all this garbage about Vietnam go away. We have too many important issues today, to worry about 30+ years ago.