Why is he afraid?
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| Thu, 08-19-2004 - 10:16pm |
By Kevin D. Korenthal
Aug 20, 2004
The Democratic Nominee, Senator John F. Kerry was among those that bullied the president into signing a release to have all of his Air National Guard service records released to the public. You remember the assault: The media went non-stop quoting this Democrat and that Democrat calling on Bush to prove that he did not go Absent Without Leave (AWOL) from the Guard where he served, stateside as a pilot. Democrats that had never served in any branch of the military like DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe were among those screeching the loudest for Bush to release the records but John Kerry; the decorated Vietnam Veteran was over on the side agreeing Bush is not being forthcoming. Not that this issue even matters against the issues. Nonetheless, Bush complied.
Fast forward to today. Senator Kerry’s medals from Vietnam are being challenged by a group of veterans that served with Mr. Kerry in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Among the allegations Mr. Kerry has not fully answered are those that challenge the severity of and the circumstances surrounding 2 of Kerry’s 3 purple hearts, the commendation to those who are significantly wounded in battle. John E. O'Neill who leads the Swift Boat Vets For Truth and is the co-author of Unfit For Duty insists he's only trying to spread the truth about a man who has used his combat record as the centerpiece of his presidential bid. Based on Mr. O’Neill’s words and actions and on his critical comments of Kerry dating all the way back to 1972, we have reason to believe the allegations against Mr. Kerry do have merit.
The need for answers does not stop there. This week the Bush Campaign came out with a television add that blasts the Democrat nominee for missing almost all of the Senate Intelligence Committee meetings while just 2 weeks ago claiming he would “rebuild our intelligence community†after the failures of 9/11 and Iraq. Specifically the Bush ad claims John Kerry missed 70 meetings in a row following the 1st WTC attack in 1993. Today the Kerry campaign in it’s usual spin says that Kerry did indeed miss the PUBLIC meetings but went to the entire closed-door Intelligence Committee meetings throughout his time on that committee. The records from the open committee meetings are a matter of public record and cannot be disputed. But the records of attendance to the closed-door meetings cannot be released on a specific member w/out that member’s authorization. The Head of The Senate Intelligence Committee has said that upon receiving such authorization from Mr. Kerry he would produce the records.
You have heard the Democrats convict the Bush Administration of being “the most secretive administration in historyâ€. The Democrats as we have discussed have had no compunction about demanding The President be 100% forthcoming. But where are the calls from the top Democrats for Kerry to release his Vietnam Medical records that would describe the nature and severity of the wounds he used to obtain 3 purple hearts and thus an early ticket home from Vietnam? Why aren’t the talking heads from CNN, ABC, MSNBC, CBS as well as the editorial writers of The New York & Los Angeles Times calling for John Kerry to give permission for the Chairman of the Select Intelligence Committee to release his attendance records?

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It debuted at #5 on the NYT bestseller list.
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Good point, and so true for most vets who wear their heroism with great humility and nonchalance. That's always been the American way.
Renee ~~~
"Yet the liberals have treated Bush in the same manner. What makes Kerry's records exempt from scrutiny? He's the challenger. It behooves him to prove that he's the better candidate for the job of president."
"Liberals complain that Kerry's past shouldn't be scrutinized yet they keep harping on about the president's past. Yet, if you will remember, Kerry made his Viet Nam war experience the centerpiece of the DNC in Boston. Since he has done so, it's fair game."
Kerry's military record is posted on his web site so go scrutinize all you want, if you think that's going to accomplish anything.
Venus
Kerry has not released his military record for 3rd party vetting, Kerry has only released selected portions of his record. It is time for Kerry to fill out form 180 as Bush has and to allow review of his record.
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