G
Gandalf Grey
Guest
Can conservative bloggers tell the truth?
By Eric Boehlert
Created Apr 19 2007 - 9:41am
Here's a simple challenge for John Hinderaker, a writer for the popular
conservative blog Power Line who recently revisited the 2004 Swift Boat
Veterans for Truth campaign controversy. Upset by recent media references
that suggested the Swift Boat attacks on Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) had been
"discredited," Hinderaker claimed [1], "Most of what the Vets said in their
ads has never been disputed, let alone discredited."
The challenge for Hinderaker is straightforward: Read the assembled facts
below and explain how I'm wrong about the countless ways in which the Swift
Boat ads were disputed and the accusers were discredited, or apologize for
your fact-free claim and post a correction at Power Line.
I realize that highlighting the factual deficiencies of Power Line bloggers
is hardly a novel pursuit. After all, Power Line played a starring role in
advancing the Terri Schiavo talking points memo hoax [2] during the spring
of 2005. Power Line played a starring role in the rush [3]
to declare guilty an Associated Press photographer who was accused of
working with insurgents in Iraq. Power Line played a starring role in
advancing the phony [4] accusation that the AP had invented an Iraqi police
captain and used him as a source. And just this month, Power Line played a
starring role in advancing the phony [5] story that CNN reporter Michael
Ware had heckled Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) during a recent Baghdad press
conference.
Meaning, Power Line rarely lets the facts get in the way of its pro-GOP
spin. But there was something so audacious and egregious about Hinderaker's
claim that little about the Swift Boat attacks had been "disputed, let alone
discredited" that I think an old-fashioned challenge is on order. Let's see
if Hinderaker has the nerve to act on it.
I admit I have an unfair advantage over Hinderaker when it comes to the
Swift Boat topic. Namely, I'm familiar with the details. He apparently is
not. In fact, I wrote an entire chapter about the Swift Boat attacks for my
book, Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush [5], and I'll draw on that
research here.
Let's recap the Swift Boat episode by examining the key facts and the
flip-flopping players involved, as well as their credibility. Since the
Swift Boat vets had no official documentation to support their claims about
Kerry's misconduct, which they hatched 35 years after the fact, all they had
was their word and their reputation. Let's see if any of their claims were
"disputed" or if they were "discredited."
a.. Alfred French
The first person seen in the first Swift Boat ad broadcast on cable
television, French made the initial televised allegation against Kerry: "I
served with John Kerry. He's lying about his record."
In preparation for the ad, French, a senior deputy district attorney in
Oregon and registered Republican, signed a sworn affidavit for the Swift
Boat Vets asserting that Kerry received his Purple Heart "from negligently
self-inflicted wounds in the absence of hostile fire." A fundamental
requirement of any affidavit is that the person signing it must have
personal knowledge of the matters involved. In fact, the affidavit French
signed declared, "I do hereby swear, that all facts and statements contained
in this affidavit are true and correct and within my personal knowledge and
belief." (Emphasis added) But in an interview with The Oregonian newspaper
of Portland, French freely admitted he had no firsthand knowledge of the
events surrounding Kerry's medals and that his information came from
secondhand accounts from "friends."
Nearly three dozen local attorneys quickly filed complaints with the Oregon
State Bar, complaining that French, a practicing prosecutor, never should
have signed an affidavit about events that he knew nothing about. The county
prosecutor's office launched an investigation, and French was quickly
reprimanded for improperly using office resources to criticize Kerry. The
office also discovered that French had previously lied to his superior about
having an affair with a co-worker, an affair that would have cost French his
job. Yet French spent the summer of 2004 publicly labeling Kerry a liar
based on nothing more than secondhand gossip.
French's claim disputed? Yes.
French discredited? Yes.
a.. George Elliott
Kerry's former commanding officer, Elliott was the third person seen in the
first Swift Boat ad. Elliott looked into the camera and said, "John Kerry
has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam."
The problem was Elliott simply could not make up his mind about what
actually "happened in Vietnam." Back in a December 1969 fitness report on
Kerry, Elliott wrote, "In a combat environment often requiring independent,
decisive action, LTJG Kerry was unsurpassed," noting Kerry was an
"acknowledged leader in his peer group. His bearing and appearance are above
reproach."
Years later when he campaigned for Kerry during the senator's re-election
bid, Elliott told Massachusetts voters that Kerry's Silver Star was awarded
for "an act of courage." In an April 13, 2004, article, Elliott told USA
Today that he had no qualms about Kerry's actions that earned him the Silver
Star. "This was an exemplary action," he said. "There's no question about."
For 35 years, Elliott testified to the senator's bravery -- and then, in an
instant, changed his story when he signed off on the Swift Boat Veterans'
May 4, 2004, letter delivered to the Kerry campaign documenting their
allegations.
In August 2004, just as the first Swift Boat ad was being aired, Elliott
experienced another change of heart, confessing to The Boston Globe, "It was
a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words.
I'm the one in trouble here. ... I knew it was wrong. ... In a hurry I
signed it and faxed it back. That was a mistake."
And then, amazingly, Elliott flip-flopped again. After conferring with the
Swift Boat leaders, Elliott quickly signed a new affidavit that stood by the
first account. Much to the Swift Boat Vets' relief, Elliott then promptly
cut off all press interviews.
Elliott's claim disputed? Yes.
Elliott discredited? Yes.
a.. Dr. Louis Letson
The fourth person to appear in the first Swift Boat ad, Letson announced, "I
know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart, because I treated him
for that injury." In another affidavit, Letson claimed Kerry's wound was too
small to justify a medal.
First, Navy guidelines during the Vietnam War for Purple Hearts did not take
into account the size of the wound when awarding the honor, which meant
Letson's claim was irrelevant. Second, Kerry's medical records indicate
Letson did not sign off as the "person administering treatment" on December
3, 1968, which raised doubts about whether Letson ever even treated Kerry.
(Why, if Kerry's wounds were so minor, was Letson able to recall the
incident so vividly 35 years later?)
Additionally, Letson claimed the reason he knew Kerry was lying about his
wound was because that's what Letson overheard, secondhand, from Kerry's
crewmembers: that there was no enemy fire during their mission when Kerry
was injured. But Letson could not name the person who allegedly told him
that tale, which was bizarre since, on the night in question, Kerry was in
the company of just two other crewmembers.
Letson's claim disputed? Yes.
Letson discredited? Yes.
a.. William Schachte
Schachte claims he was one of those two men with Kerry that night;
specifically, that he was the commander of the December 2, 1968, mission for
which Kerry won his first Purple Heart. According to Schachte, the boat they
were on did not receive enemy fire, and Kerry's wound, which Letson
allegedly treated, was the result of Kerry's improper use of a grenade
launcher.
But the servicemen who were on the boat that night don't remember seeing
Schachte. Since the boat was a small skimmer, it would have been hard for
him to escape notice. Besides Kerry, the other crewmembers that night were
Bill Zaladonis and Patrick Runyon. They had told the same story for years,
and they both insisted neither Schachte nor anyone else was with the three
of them that night. (''Me and Bill aren't the smartest, but we can count to
three,'' Runyon told The New York Times.)
An attorney by training, Schachte never signed an affidavit detailing his
dubious accusations against Kerry.
Schachte's claimed disputed? Yes.
Schachte discredited? Yes.
a.. Adrian Lonsdale
During the 2004 campaign, Lonsdale claimed that Kerry "lacks the capacity to
lead." That was odd, because during Kerry's 1996 Senate race, Lonsdale
explained the success of river operations during the Vietnam War by telling
Massachusetts reporters, "It was because of the bravery and the courage of
the young officers that ran boats ... the swift boats and the Coast Guard
cutters, and Senator Kerry was no exception."
Also in 1996, Lonsdale walked reporters through the citation process for
medals. Lonsdale, along with Elliott, handled the reports, he said. Lonsdale
noted that awards were approved only if there was corroboration from others.
His explanation completely contradicted later Swift Boat Vet claims that
Kerry won his bogus awards only because he was able to write up false
reports and fool his commanders.
Lonsdale's claim disputed? Yes.
Lonsdale discredited? Yes.
a.. Larry Thurlow
Another registered Republican, Thurlow commanded a Navy Swift boat alongside
Kerry's in Vietnam. And up until the election season of 2004, he had nothing
bad to say about Kerry's service. Even as late as April 2004, Thurlow told
USA Today that Kerry "was extremely brave, and I wouldn't argue that point."
During the summer of 2004, everything changed as Thurlow's key role was to
serve as Swift Boat Vets' point person on what they claimed was Kerry's
disputed Bronze Star and third Purple Heart, won during a mission in Viet
Cong-controlled territory on March 13, 1969. Thurlow claimed Kerry's award
was a fraud. Thurlow signed a sworn affidavit for the Swift Boat Vets that
stated Kerry was "not under fire" when he pulled Lt. James Rassmann out of
the water. He described Kerry's Bronze Star citation, which stated that all
units involved came under "small arms and automatic weapons fire," as
"totally fabricated." The Swift Boat Vets also accused Kerry of "fleeing the
scene."
But then The Washington Post got ahold of the citation for a Bronze Star
that Thurlow won that very same day for actions on a boat that was right
alongside Kerry's. The citation detailed how both his boat and Kerry's boat
faced "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire." Asked for a response,
Thurlow still insisted there had been no enemy fire that day.
But how could Thurlow have been foolish enough to sign a Swift Boat Vet
affidavit about there being no enemy fire that day when his own citation
made reference to there being enemy fire? Thurlow had a good explanation. In
fact, he had at least three of them: He alternately told patient reporters
he paid little or no attention to the citation when he won the Bronze Star
("Well, I just took it home, put it away, and kind of ignored the whole
thing"); that he lost the citation 20 years ago; or that the citation was
with his ex-wife, take your pick. And no, Thurlow told reporters, he would
not authorize the release of a copy. (The Post obtained its copy through a
Freedom of Information request.) Nonetheless, Thurlow, who accepted a Bronze
Star for bravery under fire even though he insisted there was none that day,
spent the summer of 2004 accusing a man who everyone else said had displayed
bravery under fire of lying.
Thurlow's claim disputed? Yes.
Thurlow discredited? Yes.
a.. Roy Hoffmann
According to Swift Boat legend, it was Hoffmann, the crusty retired Navy
officer and Kerry's former commander, who formed the genesis of the attack
campaign. Upset after reading Douglas Brinkley's Tour of Duty [6], the
Kerry-friendly telling of the senator's Vietnam experience in which veterans
portrayed the commander as "'hotheaded,' 'blood-thirsty,' and
'egomaniacal,'" Hoffman took aim at Kerry. (Kerry himself had little
negative to say about Hoffman in the book.) "I couldn't bear that someone
was betraying us and being a dastardly liar," Hoffman told The Washington
Post.
The fact that Hoffmann "couldn't bear" to remain silent about Kerry was odd
because in 1969, Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann congratulated Kerry on the daring
Swift boat attack he led, calling it a "shining example of completely
overwhelming the enemy." More recently, in 1995, Hoffmann attended a wedding
party for Kerry and Teresa Heinz. In a June 2003 Boston Globe profile of
Kerry, Hoffman was still praising the senator as he recalled the events
surrounding Kerry's Silver Star: ''It took guts, and I admire that.'' In an
interview with Brinkley in March 2003, when asked about Kerry, Hoffmann
said, "I am not going to say anything negative about him. He's a good man."
But after seeing his name trashed in Tour of Duty by his own men, Hoffman
changed his mind, and then had trouble keeping his stories straight.
According to a May 6, 2004, article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the
former commander "acknowledged he had no first-hand knowledge to discredit
Kerry's claims to valor and said that although Kerry was under his command,
he really didn't know Kerry much personally." The next month, Hoffmann
reiterated, "I did not know Kerry personally. I didn't ride the boat with
him."
Fast-forward to August 2004, when the first Swift Boat ads hit the airwaves,
and Hoffmann suddenly updated his Vietnam memories, telling Fox News, "I
knew [Kerry] well, because I operated very closely with him."
Hoffmann's claim disputed? Yes.
Hoffman discredited? Yes.
a.. John O'Neill
If Hoffman was the heart behind the Swift Boat Vets, O'Neill was the brains.
He served as the smooth-talking attorney out front dealing with reporters,
while at the same time tapping his deep-pocketed Texas Republican
connections to make sure the ad-hoc attack machine was well-oiled. At times
it was harder to keep track of the myriad of O'Neill contradictions than it
was the accusations he was leveling against Kerry and his combat service.
For instance, like Thurlow, O'Neill was emphatic that Kerry didn't deserve
his March 13, 1969, Bronze Star medal for saving Jim Rassmann on the Bay Hap
River because Kerry wasn't under enemy fire. As proof, O'Neill told Fox
News, "There's not a bullet hole in any of those three boats, not one." In
fact, a report on the battle damage to a boat that motored upriver alongside
Kerry's on March 13 made reference to "three 30 cal bullet holes about super
structure."
During an August 11, 2004, appearance on CNN, O'Neill insisted, "[T]he
people in our organization have no partisan ties." Nine days later, the
Swift Boat Vets unveiled a new ad that featured Vietnam veteran Ken Cordier,
who served at the time as a member of the Bush-Cheney '04 National Veterans
Steering Committee. Cordier had also been selected to serve on the Bush
administration's POW Advisory Committee. So much for no partisan ties.
During another appearance on CNN on August 12, 2004, O'Neill said there "are
more than 60 people that served with John Kerry that contributed to" the
Swift Boat book. Perhaps, but only one man who served with Kerry, Stephen
Gardner (a Rush Limbaugh devotee), contributed to the book.
O'Neill's claims disputed? Yes.
O'Neill discredited? Yes.
Your move, Hinderaker.
_______
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
By Eric Boehlert
Created Apr 19 2007 - 9:41am
Here's a simple challenge for John Hinderaker, a writer for the popular
conservative blog Power Line who recently revisited the 2004 Swift Boat
Veterans for Truth campaign controversy. Upset by recent media references
that suggested the Swift Boat attacks on Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) had been
"discredited," Hinderaker claimed [1], "Most of what the Vets said in their
ads has never been disputed, let alone discredited."
The challenge for Hinderaker is straightforward: Read the assembled facts
below and explain how I'm wrong about the countless ways in which the Swift
Boat ads were disputed and the accusers were discredited, or apologize for
your fact-free claim and post a correction at Power Line.
I realize that highlighting the factual deficiencies of Power Line bloggers
is hardly a novel pursuit. After all, Power Line played a starring role in
advancing the Terri Schiavo talking points memo hoax [2] during the spring
of 2005. Power Line played a starring role in the rush [3]
to declare guilty an Associated Press photographer who was accused of
working with insurgents in Iraq. Power Line played a starring role in
advancing the phony [4] accusation that the AP had invented an Iraqi police
captain and used him as a source. And just this month, Power Line played a
starring role in advancing the phony [5] story that CNN reporter Michael
Ware had heckled Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) during a recent Baghdad press
conference.
Meaning, Power Line rarely lets the facts get in the way of its pro-GOP
spin. But there was something so audacious and egregious about Hinderaker's
claim that little about the Swift Boat attacks had been "disputed, let alone
discredited" that I think an old-fashioned challenge is on order. Let's see
if Hinderaker has the nerve to act on it.
I admit I have an unfair advantage over Hinderaker when it comes to the
Swift Boat topic. Namely, I'm familiar with the details. He apparently is
not. In fact, I wrote an entire chapter about the Swift Boat attacks for my
book, Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush [5], and I'll draw on that
research here.
Let's recap the Swift Boat episode by examining the key facts and the
flip-flopping players involved, as well as their credibility. Since the
Swift Boat vets had no official documentation to support their claims about
Kerry's misconduct, which they hatched 35 years after the fact, all they had
was their word and their reputation. Let's see if any of their claims were
"disputed" or if they were "discredited."
a.. Alfred French
The first person seen in the first Swift Boat ad broadcast on cable
television, French made the initial televised allegation against Kerry: "I
served with John Kerry. He's lying about his record."
In preparation for the ad, French, a senior deputy district attorney in
Oregon and registered Republican, signed a sworn affidavit for the Swift
Boat Vets asserting that Kerry received his Purple Heart "from negligently
self-inflicted wounds in the absence of hostile fire." A fundamental
requirement of any affidavit is that the person signing it must have
personal knowledge of the matters involved. In fact, the affidavit French
signed declared, "I do hereby swear, that all facts and statements contained
in this affidavit are true and correct and within my personal knowledge and
belief." (Emphasis added) But in an interview with The Oregonian newspaper
of Portland, French freely admitted he had no firsthand knowledge of the
events surrounding Kerry's medals and that his information came from
secondhand accounts from "friends."
Nearly three dozen local attorneys quickly filed complaints with the Oregon
State Bar, complaining that French, a practicing prosecutor, never should
have signed an affidavit about events that he knew nothing about. The county
prosecutor's office launched an investigation, and French was quickly
reprimanded for improperly using office resources to criticize Kerry. The
office also discovered that French had previously lied to his superior about
having an affair with a co-worker, an affair that would have cost French his
job. Yet French spent the summer of 2004 publicly labeling Kerry a liar
based on nothing more than secondhand gossip.
French's claim disputed? Yes.
French discredited? Yes.
a.. George Elliott
Kerry's former commanding officer, Elliott was the third person seen in the
first Swift Boat ad. Elliott looked into the camera and said, "John Kerry
has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam."
The problem was Elliott simply could not make up his mind about what
actually "happened in Vietnam." Back in a December 1969 fitness report on
Kerry, Elliott wrote, "In a combat environment often requiring independent,
decisive action, LTJG Kerry was unsurpassed," noting Kerry was an
"acknowledged leader in his peer group. His bearing and appearance are above
reproach."
Years later when he campaigned for Kerry during the senator's re-election
bid, Elliott told Massachusetts voters that Kerry's Silver Star was awarded
for "an act of courage." In an April 13, 2004, article, Elliott told USA
Today that he had no qualms about Kerry's actions that earned him the Silver
Star. "This was an exemplary action," he said. "There's no question about."
For 35 years, Elliott testified to the senator's bravery -- and then, in an
instant, changed his story when he signed off on the Swift Boat Veterans'
May 4, 2004, letter delivered to the Kerry campaign documenting their
allegations.
In August 2004, just as the first Swift Boat ad was being aired, Elliott
experienced another change of heart, confessing to The Boston Globe, "It was
a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words.
I'm the one in trouble here. ... I knew it was wrong. ... In a hurry I
signed it and faxed it back. That was a mistake."
And then, amazingly, Elliott flip-flopped again. After conferring with the
Swift Boat leaders, Elliott quickly signed a new affidavit that stood by the
first account. Much to the Swift Boat Vets' relief, Elliott then promptly
cut off all press interviews.
Elliott's claim disputed? Yes.
Elliott discredited? Yes.
a.. Dr. Louis Letson
The fourth person to appear in the first Swift Boat ad, Letson announced, "I
know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart, because I treated him
for that injury." In another affidavit, Letson claimed Kerry's wound was too
small to justify a medal.
First, Navy guidelines during the Vietnam War for Purple Hearts did not take
into account the size of the wound when awarding the honor, which meant
Letson's claim was irrelevant. Second, Kerry's medical records indicate
Letson did not sign off as the "person administering treatment" on December
3, 1968, which raised doubts about whether Letson ever even treated Kerry.
(Why, if Kerry's wounds were so minor, was Letson able to recall the
incident so vividly 35 years later?)
Additionally, Letson claimed the reason he knew Kerry was lying about his
wound was because that's what Letson overheard, secondhand, from Kerry's
crewmembers: that there was no enemy fire during their mission when Kerry
was injured. But Letson could not name the person who allegedly told him
that tale, which was bizarre since, on the night in question, Kerry was in
the company of just two other crewmembers.
Letson's claim disputed? Yes.
Letson discredited? Yes.
a.. William Schachte
Schachte claims he was one of those two men with Kerry that night;
specifically, that he was the commander of the December 2, 1968, mission for
which Kerry won his first Purple Heart. According to Schachte, the boat they
were on did not receive enemy fire, and Kerry's wound, which Letson
allegedly treated, was the result of Kerry's improper use of a grenade
launcher.
But the servicemen who were on the boat that night don't remember seeing
Schachte. Since the boat was a small skimmer, it would have been hard for
him to escape notice. Besides Kerry, the other crewmembers that night were
Bill Zaladonis and Patrick Runyon. They had told the same story for years,
and they both insisted neither Schachte nor anyone else was with the three
of them that night. (''Me and Bill aren't the smartest, but we can count to
three,'' Runyon told The New York Times.)
An attorney by training, Schachte never signed an affidavit detailing his
dubious accusations against Kerry.
Schachte's claimed disputed? Yes.
Schachte discredited? Yes.
a.. Adrian Lonsdale
During the 2004 campaign, Lonsdale claimed that Kerry "lacks the capacity to
lead." That was odd, because during Kerry's 1996 Senate race, Lonsdale
explained the success of river operations during the Vietnam War by telling
Massachusetts reporters, "It was because of the bravery and the courage of
the young officers that ran boats ... the swift boats and the Coast Guard
cutters, and Senator Kerry was no exception."
Also in 1996, Lonsdale walked reporters through the citation process for
medals. Lonsdale, along with Elliott, handled the reports, he said. Lonsdale
noted that awards were approved only if there was corroboration from others.
His explanation completely contradicted later Swift Boat Vet claims that
Kerry won his bogus awards only because he was able to write up false
reports and fool his commanders.
Lonsdale's claim disputed? Yes.
Lonsdale discredited? Yes.
a.. Larry Thurlow
Another registered Republican, Thurlow commanded a Navy Swift boat alongside
Kerry's in Vietnam. And up until the election season of 2004, he had nothing
bad to say about Kerry's service. Even as late as April 2004, Thurlow told
USA Today that Kerry "was extremely brave, and I wouldn't argue that point."
During the summer of 2004, everything changed as Thurlow's key role was to
serve as Swift Boat Vets' point person on what they claimed was Kerry's
disputed Bronze Star and third Purple Heart, won during a mission in Viet
Cong-controlled territory on March 13, 1969. Thurlow claimed Kerry's award
was a fraud. Thurlow signed a sworn affidavit for the Swift Boat Vets that
stated Kerry was "not under fire" when he pulled Lt. James Rassmann out of
the water. He described Kerry's Bronze Star citation, which stated that all
units involved came under "small arms and automatic weapons fire," as
"totally fabricated." The Swift Boat Vets also accused Kerry of "fleeing the
scene."
But then The Washington Post got ahold of the citation for a Bronze Star
that Thurlow won that very same day for actions on a boat that was right
alongside Kerry's. The citation detailed how both his boat and Kerry's boat
faced "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire." Asked for a response,
Thurlow still insisted there had been no enemy fire that day.
But how could Thurlow have been foolish enough to sign a Swift Boat Vet
affidavit about there being no enemy fire that day when his own citation
made reference to there being enemy fire? Thurlow had a good explanation. In
fact, he had at least three of them: He alternately told patient reporters
he paid little or no attention to the citation when he won the Bronze Star
("Well, I just took it home, put it away, and kind of ignored the whole
thing"); that he lost the citation 20 years ago; or that the citation was
with his ex-wife, take your pick. And no, Thurlow told reporters, he would
not authorize the release of a copy. (The Post obtained its copy through a
Freedom of Information request.) Nonetheless, Thurlow, who accepted a Bronze
Star for bravery under fire even though he insisted there was none that day,
spent the summer of 2004 accusing a man who everyone else said had displayed
bravery under fire of lying.
Thurlow's claim disputed? Yes.
Thurlow discredited? Yes.
a.. Roy Hoffmann
According to Swift Boat legend, it was Hoffmann, the crusty retired Navy
officer and Kerry's former commander, who formed the genesis of the attack
campaign. Upset after reading Douglas Brinkley's Tour of Duty [6], the
Kerry-friendly telling of the senator's Vietnam experience in which veterans
portrayed the commander as "'hotheaded,' 'blood-thirsty,' and
'egomaniacal,'" Hoffman took aim at Kerry. (Kerry himself had little
negative to say about Hoffman in the book.) "I couldn't bear that someone
was betraying us and being a dastardly liar," Hoffman told The Washington
Post.
The fact that Hoffmann "couldn't bear" to remain silent about Kerry was odd
because in 1969, Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann congratulated Kerry on the daring
Swift boat attack he led, calling it a "shining example of completely
overwhelming the enemy." More recently, in 1995, Hoffmann attended a wedding
party for Kerry and Teresa Heinz. In a June 2003 Boston Globe profile of
Kerry, Hoffman was still praising the senator as he recalled the events
surrounding Kerry's Silver Star: ''It took guts, and I admire that.'' In an
interview with Brinkley in March 2003, when asked about Kerry, Hoffmann
said, "I am not going to say anything negative about him. He's a good man."
But after seeing his name trashed in Tour of Duty by his own men, Hoffman
changed his mind, and then had trouble keeping his stories straight.
According to a May 6, 2004, article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the
former commander "acknowledged he had no first-hand knowledge to discredit
Kerry's claims to valor and said that although Kerry was under his command,
he really didn't know Kerry much personally." The next month, Hoffmann
reiterated, "I did not know Kerry personally. I didn't ride the boat with
him."
Fast-forward to August 2004, when the first Swift Boat ads hit the airwaves,
and Hoffmann suddenly updated his Vietnam memories, telling Fox News, "I
knew [Kerry] well, because I operated very closely with him."
Hoffmann's claim disputed? Yes.
Hoffman discredited? Yes.
a.. John O'Neill
If Hoffman was the heart behind the Swift Boat Vets, O'Neill was the brains.
He served as the smooth-talking attorney out front dealing with reporters,
while at the same time tapping his deep-pocketed Texas Republican
connections to make sure the ad-hoc attack machine was well-oiled. At times
it was harder to keep track of the myriad of O'Neill contradictions than it
was the accusations he was leveling against Kerry and his combat service.
For instance, like Thurlow, O'Neill was emphatic that Kerry didn't deserve
his March 13, 1969, Bronze Star medal for saving Jim Rassmann on the Bay Hap
River because Kerry wasn't under enemy fire. As proof, O'Neill told Fox
News, "There's not a bullet hole in any of those three boats, not one." In
fact, a report on the battle damage to a boat that motored upriver alongside
Kerry's on March 13 made reference to "three 30 cal bullet holes about super
structure."
During an August 11, 2004, appearance on CNN, O'Neill insisted, "[T]he
people in our organization have no partisan ties." Nine days later, the
Swift Boat Vets unveiled a new ad that featured Vietnam veteran Ken Cordier,
who served at the time as a member of the Bush-Cheney '04 National Veterans
Steering Committee. Cordier had also been selected to serve on the Bush
administration's POW Advisory Committee. So much for no partisan ties.
During another appearance on CNN on August 12, 2004, O'Neill said there "are
more than 60 people that served with John Kerry that contributed to" the
Swift Boat book. Perhaps, but only one man who served with Kerry, Stephen
Gardner (a Rush Limbaugh devotee), contributed to the book.
O'Neill's claims disputed? Yes.
O'Neill discredited? Yes.
Your move, Hinderaker.
_______
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
