Kerry’s war record

August 11th, 2004 | by aobaoill |

By chance I read two pieces about John Kerry’s service in Vietnam side by side – one in the Telegraph of London and another in Counterpunch. Obviously the authors come from different political perspectives. Steyn, in the Telegraph, pokes holes in Kerry’s narrative of his service in Vietnam, exposing flaws and contradictions regarding what he claims to have done. Cockburn and St Clair do similar, both also draw attention to Kerry’s attitude to the war, highlighting his willingness to engage in attacks on civilians (seemingly a major role of the ‘swiftboat patrols’). They suggest that Kerry’s famous anti-war stance was largely a political calculation, rather than heartfelt. Debatable, of course, but ABB?
Of course, there is great reticence among Democrats about probing Kerry’s war record, with Kerry basing his campaign around it. The Republican attack ads by ‘Swiftboat veterans for Truth’, or whatever it is, have of course garnered lots of criticism from Democrats. There is something absurd, if not grotesque, however, about someone who came to fame by leading an attack on the inhumanity of a war now touting their service in that war (and not, notably, their opposition to that war) as a reason to be supported for office.

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