Toride Kogusoku and KeithNolan – you miss the point about Kerry and the Swift Boat Vets. Kerry was/is an opportunist who lied to increase his profile after the war and kick-start his fledgling political career. I notice you don’t really go into Kerry’s claims (like Christmas in Cambodia) or his quotes: “they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan.”
I very clearly remember the attacks on Kerry and while some of them could honestly be described as one-sided and over the top, most included the acknowledgment that crimes WERE committed in Vietnam and that the scope of them had never been fully investigated. But the point was that Kerry was not involved and never knew anyone else who was. He exaggerated and used the claims (that certainly struck a cord with the anti-war movement in the US) to advance his career.
So let’s recap:
John Kerry: Lied about war crimes
Robert Gard: Did not have “court martial authority”
Swift Boat Vets: Told the truth about Kerry’s lies
Why are you defending folks who lied and attacking ones who told the truth. Lying/exaggerating is no way to expose atrocities. Neither is signing off on a report and doing nothing about it for nearly 40 years until you decide to criticize another Vietnam veteran, saying “If we want to hold people accountable, then let’s stand behind my friend Wes Clark — and hold John McCain accountable for what he’s said.” OK, let’s do that… to Gard.
