Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

Senator John Kerry has made his 4-month combat tour in Vietnam the centerpiece of his bid for the Presidency. His campaign jets a handful of veterans around the country, and trots them out at public appearances to sing his praises. John Kerry wants us to believe that these men represent all those he calls his "band of brothers."

But most combat veterans who served with John Kerry in Vietnam see him in a very different light.

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has been formed to counter the false "war crimes" charges John Kerry repeatedly made against Vietnam veterans who served in our units and elsewhere, and to accurately portray Kerry's brief tour in Vietnam as a junior grade Lieutenant. We speak from personal experience -- our group includes men who served beside Kerry in combat as well as his commanders. Though we come from different backgrounds and hold varying political opinions, we agree on one thing: John Kerry misrepresented his record and ours in Vietnam and therefore exhibits serious flaws in character and lacks the potential to lead.

We regret the need to do this. Most Swift boat veterans would like nothing better than to support one of our own for America's highest office, regardless of whether he was running as a Democrat or a Republican. However, Kerry's phony war crimes charges, his exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam, and his deliberate misrepresentation of the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations compels us to step forward.

For more than thirty years, most Vietnam veterans kept silent as we were maligned as misfits, addicts, and baby killers. Now that a key creator of that poisonous image is seeking the Presidency we have resolved to end our silence.

This is a new website launched by people who served with John Kerry in Vietnam.

UPDATE: Since this is getting a lot of attention I figured I would provide some more substantive commentary. First, it seems that Kerry has been sending lawyer-letters to television stations reminding them that they don't have to accept the ad. I'm sure they knew that anyway, but having your lawyers write it is what I would describe as a threat by implication. But nevermind that.

Via Clayton Cramer we learn that one of the veterans retracted his claim, except that we also learn that he didn't. Confusing. At any rate, this tempest appears to have been truly stirred from a teacup; the dispute is about one man's testimony, among many other sources. To get an idea of just how confusing it can be to analyze this incident in depth, the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller has the scoop. The organization behind the ad are also publishing Unfit for Command detailing the accusations (sample chapter).

And the whole thing is only marginally relevant to the 2004 Presidential Election: much more relevant would be, frankly, Kerry's Senate career. Which, for some reason, the Kerry campaign seems reluctant to mention. Gee, I wonder why. It might be that Kerry has voted 100% for gun control, even though he claims to support the 2nd Amendment and loves to pose with firearms. Ya think that has something to do with it?

UPDATE: There was a contradiction between Kerry's claims in Senate testimony to have spent Christmas of 1968 in Cambodia while the President told the American people the troops were not in Cambodia. This was one of the claims challenged by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, since the military records say that Kerry was stationed some distance from the Cambodian border. Turns out that the Swift Boaters scored at least one hit with their first broadside. Kerry has admitted to a "mistaken recollection" about his earlier claim.

That's a claim he made under oath before Congress, folks. We call that perjury and we impeached President Clinton for doing it in a pathetically-minor sexual harassment lawsuit. Kerry's perjury concerned the lawful behavior of US troops in wartime. How much more weighty can the issue become?

While Kerry was not a sitting President when he was testifying, and I think the Republican party is too smart to try to pull another impeachment, I also think the public is not at all interested in a President vulnerable to that sort of charge. Just as important, the admission from Kerry lends credibility to the other charges of the Swift Boat Vets. It's one thing if they are nothing more than a pack of partisan liars, but they've already forced Kerry to change his story on one issue; they may well be right about more than that.